Got my DVD yesterday in Durham, NC. Pretty good turn-around time, IMO. Too bad that wasn't the case for One Nite Alone or ONA Live CD. I think Prince should stick with musictoday.com for distribution of mail order items.

The packaging is a bit blah but I wasn't expecting much since the CD package was so impressive.

As for the actual DVD, the camera work was not as bad as I expected after reading other reviews. Yes, it was shaky at times and there weren't enough full shots that also included the backdrops. But, there were good close-ups. Did they only have one crowd shot from an angle that they repeatedly showed? lol They were not nearly enough shots of Blackwell where you could see his drum tricks and appreciate the complicated fills in many of the songs.

The sound did leave a bit to be desired. Numerous times through the viewing, I found myself turning up the volume. That WAS a disappointment.

The actual performances were great! 1+1+1 is 3 was the highlight. The jazz instrumental portion of Strollin' was a surprise highlight and he tore it up on guitar on Family Name and Whole Lotta Love (btw, I read on other threads about his guitar tricks on that song...he was re-enacting Jimmy Page's solo and trickery, folks). I couldn't keep myself from moving throughout the DVD as Prince was on point. But, I found myself frustrated/disappointed. Why couldn't the DVD include the entire show? How can you show less than half the concert? No Rainbow Children, Xenophobia, Muse, Avalanche, only one song from the piano medly?! A viewer who had not attended the concerts would have no clue about the theme of the show (religious theme of the Rainbow Children, real music by real musicians, jazz experimentation), why the covers were played (WNPG), etc.

While I love Prince's music and messages throughout the years, I continually do not understand his business decisions. Maybe I'm not supposed to understand them and maybe I have no business questioning the man. I just wish Prince had better business sense so that more people could hear his outstanding music as well as the messages that he wishes to spread (whether I agree with them or not).

I agree with most of your review. The DVD seems to lack continuity and seriously misses the flow of themes and styles that Prince developed in the full concert.

The only possible explanation that I can come up with is that he wanted the set list from the ONA Live CD to be different from the DVD.

In comparing these releases to the actual ONA concert experience, I'd give the 3-disc CD an "A" and the DVD a "C-". Prince has a terrific sense of humor and playfulness, but in my opinion, it got a little ridiculous in the Las Vegas DVD when so many of the themes that he was singing about were more on the serious side.