Style: heavy metal
Label: Vertigo
Year: 1992
Home: Los Angeles
Members: Ronnie James Dio ~ vocals/keyboards
Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldy, Rowan Robertson ~ guitars
Jimmy Bain, Teddy Cook ~ bass
Vinny Appice, Simon Wright ~ drums
Claude Schnell, Jens Johansson ~ keyboards
In honor of his death today, this review gets put up early form its place in the queue. Ronnie James Dio was a great singer, even if he's a walking elfin caricature who was performing as wild as ever well past retirement age. With Rainbow, Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell, and his own band RJD has seen a stream of hits come from his pen and through his distinctive vocals, putting a stamp on all bands that no successor has been able to match. I'll even confess that I actually might like the Dio era of Black Sabbath better than the Ozzy days or, aghast, the Tony Martin albums. But, really, those are three different bands. I do know, after having seen Heaven & Hell last year at Madison Square Garden Dio was probably the far better performer and had more control over his vocals than his foe Ozzy. The problem with Dio, the namesake band formed with fellow Sabbath alum Vinny Appice, is, perhaps due to line-up changes, the hits just weren't always there. They have but a few classics which makes this collection both good and bad. Good in the sense that it has all the hits ("Holy Diver," "Rainbow In The Dark," "Don't Talk To Strangers" & "We Rock") spanning their career from 1983-94 and if you're a casual fan this will complete the Dio requirement for your album collection. There's a few later songs that don't hold up as well so the album starts stronger than it ends but it'll take care of all your needs without you having to week through the entire up and down discography. But, listening just to their hits, Dio pretty much has everything you want from metal, both in terms of the band and the man. Rest in piece one of our rock icons!
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