2010 has been a curse and a blessing for Ronnie James Dio’s fans. Obviously his passing earlier this year was a tough blow. Who imaged metal without him? Since then there has been a glut of tributes. Some have been good, some terrible. This thankfully is the real deal, the man himself.
First off, forget iTunes on this one. Get it on amazon (it’s $9.99), bestbuy, whatever but get the physical copy. You get two CD’s, a laminated backstage pass and a booklet with some cool photos. Niji Entertainment, RJD’s label he started with wife Wendy, did a first-rate job on packaging.
Disc one is Dio’s set from Donnington from 1983. The recording is really cool and very raw. I actually enjoyed some of the songs more on this recording than on the record. You get to hear Vivian Campbell (current Def Leppard, current Thin Lizzy, former Whitesnake, former Riverdogs) on guitar and that is worth the price of the disc alone. “Rainbow In The Dark” I would say is the highlight. Almost no keyboard so you get a very different sound. The version of “Heaven And Hell” also shines.
Disc two is the set from 1987 featuring Craig Goldy on guitar. If you ever heard a live version of “Last In Line” this disc is a no-brainer. A little more polished sound on this disc and a little more pure-Dio set.
For $10, you can’t go wrong. Heck for $30 you’d still be getting your money’s worth.
For Dio fans, check out David “Rock” Feinstein’s new CD “Bitten By The Beast” (amazon) also from Niji which features one of the last songs Ronnie every recorded. David is Ronnie’s cousin and has played in ELF and the Rods. ELS was Ronnie’s first band prior to Rainbow.
