The Ronnie James DIO album-by-album thread

Hi all!

It must've been about a month ago that I was listening to the old Rainbow On Stage album and was once more totally amazed at Ronnie James Dio's vocals... I thought then about starting a thread, calling it "The best ever live vocal performance in a hard-rock/metal context?" (or something along those lines), but I never did...

Now we all know about Ronnie's untimely passing and, caught in the middle of this wave of remembering all-things-Dio as we are, I figured this is a good time to take a look at his output over the years and hopefully rekindle the fire we once felt for some music we may have forgotten with the passage of time...

I mean for this album-by-album thread to cover up every official release (studio or live) in which Ronnie was a major participant and not just a collaborator; and so in this thread we shall review and talk about everything from his very early records as Ronnie Dio And The Prophets, all the way up to his last release as a member of Heaven And Hell, including his stints with Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath...

Here is the list of releases I propose to look into and comment along with anybody who is willing to:

1963 - DIO AT DOMINO'S
1972 - ELF
1974 - CAROLINA COUNTY BALL
1975 - TRYING TO BURN THE SUN
1975 - RAINBOW
1976 - RISING
1976 - LIVE IN GERMANY (Cologne/Düsseldorf/Nuremberg/Munich shows)
1977 - ON STAGE
1977 - LIVE IN MUNICH 1977
1978 - LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL
1980 - HEAVEN AND HELL
1980 - BLACK AND BLUE (video)
1981 - MOB RULES
1981/82 - LIVE AT HAMMERSMITH ODEON
1982 - LIVE EVIL
1983 - HOLY DIVER
1983 - LIVE IN CONCERT ("We Rock" DVD 1983)
1984 - THE LAST IN LINE
1984 - A SPECIAL FROM THE SPECTRUM ("We Rock" DVD 1984)
1985 - SACRED HEART
1985 - SUPER ROCK '85 (video)
1986 - THE DIO E.P.
1986 - INTERMISSION
1986 - SACRED HEART - THE VIDEO/DVD
1987 - DREAM EVIL
1990 - LOCK UP THE WOLVES
1992 - DEHUMANIZER
1994 - STRANGE HIGHWAYS
1996 - ANGRY MACHINES
1996/97 - INFERNO
2000 - MAGICA
2002 - KILLING THE DRAGON
2002 - EVIL OR DIVINE
2004 - MASTER OF THE MOON
2005 - HOLY DIVER LIVE
2007 - LIVE! RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL
2009 - THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

I'm well aware some albums will attract more posts than others, but such is the nature of the beast...

Let us remember Ronnie James Dio \m/

 

Dio: Album by Album thread

With Ronnie's passing let's do a Dio album by album thread. We have done one for
Sabbath:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=103240&highlight=black+sabbath+album
&
Rainbow:
http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=120616&highlight=rainbow+album

We can do his early years at the end and include Elf too.

First up Holy Diver...

 

from Wikipedia.org
Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre.[1][2] The album was eventually certified Gold in the US on September 12, 1984 and Platinum on March 21, 1989.[3] The original vinyl release had a photo-montage LP-liner.

The album was remastered and re-released by Rock Candy Records in 2005. The only notable addition to the original album is an audio interview with Ronnie James Dio. Tracks 10-19 on the 2005 edition are Dio's answers to various questions about the album. The questions are not posed during the interview itself, but can be found inside the CD's booklet instead. The B-sides to the singles, most of them live, remain generally unavailable on CD. Some were included in a limited-edition Japanese CD box set.

Album art
The cover was controversial, featuring a devil killing a cleric. Dio was quick to argue that appearances are misleading, that it could just as easily be a priest killing a devil, wanting people not to "judge a book by its cover."[cite this quote]

The demon-like monster is the band's mascot known as "Murray" and is featured on several other Dio albums as well.[4] When the logo is upside-down it spells the word "Devil". However, Ronnie James Dio has disclaimed this and called it purely coincidental.

Track listing
Side one
"Stand Up and Shout" (Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain) – 3:18
"Holy Diver" (Dio) – 5:51
"Gypsy" (Dio, Vivian Campbell) – 3:39
"Caught in the Middle" (Dio, Vinny Appice, Campbell) – 4:14
"Don't Talk to Strangers" (Dio) – 4:53
Side two
"Straight Through the Heart" (Dio, Bain) – 4:31
"Invisible" (Dio, Appice, Campbell) – 5:24
"Rainbow in the Dark" (Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell) – 4:15
"Shame on the Night" (Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell) – 5:20

Album chart positions
Billboard 200 UK Album Charts
1983 Holy Diver #56 #13

US Mainstream Rock Tracks
1983 "Holy Diver" #40
"Rainbow in the Dark" #14

[edit] Credits
Ronnie James Dio – vocals, keyboards
Vivian Campbell – guitar
Jimmy Bain – bass, keyboards
Vinny Appice – drums
Recorded at Sound City, Los Angeles, California, USA
Produced by Ronnie James Dio
Engineered by Angelo Arcuri
Assistant engineered by Ray Leonard
Originally mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York, USA
Illustration by Randy Berrett
Original art rendering by Gene Hunter
Original concept by Wendy Dio

I'll do my review later on.

 

Here's a list of early singles by Ronnie, compiled from various sources to the best of my ability (additions and corrections always welcome):



1958 – Conquest / Lover (Ronnie And The Red Caps)

1960 – An Angel Is Missing / What’d I Say (Ronnie Dio And The Red Caps)

1962 Jan 24 – The Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo/ Love Pains (Ronnie Dio And The Prophets)
1962 – Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow / Bad Man In Town (Ronnie Dio And The Prophets)



I believe Ronnie only plays trumpet on the very first single (it has been said that one of the reasons for the amazing vocal power he displayed later on was his trumpet practice in the early years), but takes over lead vocals starting with the second single, and his style is immediately recognizable; not the growl of later years but his unmistakable tone and character is right there already...

 

And so, on to the very first album:

DIO AT DOMINO'S



GUITAR - Dick Bottoff, David Feinstein, Nick Pantas
VOCALS, BASS - Ronnie James Dio
DRUMS - Tommy Rogers, Gary Driscoll

Live album recorded at Domino’s Restaurant. Nowadays the very place where this album was recorded is called Domino’s Pizza Restaurant; they hold the moniker of “We Rock” on a sign outside, making a tribute to Ronnie’s career. The songs that featured on it included “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” a song from the Ronnie And The Red Caps days, called “An Angel Is Missing.” It also included “Great Balls Of Fire” along with other famous rock and roll songs. The final track was “Love Pains,” the B-side to the Prophet’s first single.
http://www.padavona.com


Everywhere I see it mentioned as a live album, but I don't hear much audience noise, if at all... It may have been simply recorded in the restaurant without an audience...

 

Never heard the early stuff... better start with Elf ;-)

 

That's a pretty complete list of his work!

If we're going to be completists then, there were three new songs recorded as Black Sabbath for the "Black Sabbath - The Dio Years" greatest hits collection released in 2007 which spawned the Heaven and Hell Live 2007 tour and the rest of the Black Sabbath / Heaven and Hell releases since.

 

What about the early singles by Ronnie & The Red Caps/Prophets?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmbuHKuyDRc

I think this is a great idea for a thread, BTW.

 

What on earth?? I never heard of such an animal. I assume this is an impossibly rare private pressing??

I must say that I was surprised to learn that Dio was 67 years old when he passed. He certainly did not look to be in his '60s to me. I never realized before that when he joined Rainbow in the '70s he was already in his mid-30's, a bit older than one would normally expect to just start hitting it big. Not knowing a lot about his past, I had to think he was involved in music far before then.

 

I think he may have been actually older. Ronnie's age has always seemed to be in dispute.

 

For years, Dio's year of birth was given as 1949. I remember reading a an article in CREEM around 1985 and his age was given as 35. It was known that he had been recording since the late 50's but he could have made some independent recordings at age 9 or 10. When those recordings became more available in trading circles, it became apparent that the singer sounded older than 10, more like 16 or 17. Some photos also started to circulate showing one Ranald James Padavona who looked to be in his late teens. A few years ago, someone found a yearbook from 1960 which shows the future metal legend as part of the graduating class. It was then that Dio finally revealed his true age.

 

His obituary said he was survived by his father, so it's unlikely he was too much older, though I guess his dad could be in his 90s.

 

Argh! I forgot that one... good catch! I think we should include that one... it was an important release in that it was the spark that lit the fires of Heaven & Hell

I'm kinda throwing them in with the Dio At Domino's album, since few people have heard them and they're pretty much the same era/style... I listed the ones prior to the album, and I will list the following ones later till we catch up with Elf proper...

 

I think you should also incuded 1984's 'Hear N Aid - Stars' and the album that went with it in that list?

 

Great idea for a thread!

I'll be watching and learning! \m/

 

I posted this in the RIP thread, but it seems like it would do well here too. Check this out if you want to hear the bulk of the pre-Elf RJD material:

http://www.padavona.com/mp3.html

 

Like this:

http://theearlyyears.angen.net/music/Great_Balls_of_Fire.mp3

 

Thanks Toka for the link so that more people can become familiar with Ronnie's early stuff

At this point in time, The Red Caps consists of Ronnie on bass and trumpet, Tommy Rogers on drums and Nick Pantas on guitar, along with Jack Musci on saxophone and Billy DeWolf on lead vocals (only on the first single)...

Of the above listed early singles, of special interest is the first one featuring Ronnie on bass as well as on the prominent trumpet on the instrumental Conquest... Billy DeWolf sings lead vocals on Lover, and his voice is mediocre, to put it mildly...

Ronnie would take over lead vocals (in addition to his bass duties) starting with the second Red Caps single, and though young, his voice is technically much better than the previous singer... He is also clearly recognizable, especially when he shouts a little at the end of What'd I Say...

Here's a couple pictures of Ronnie and the Red Caps:

 

My original intention was to go over releases that fully feature Dio as a band member and not one-offs or collaborations, but I wouldn't like to leave stuff out if people wanna discuss it... So, if more here are up for it we can include the Hear N' Aid album, no problem... Ditto for other side projects if there's an interest, suggestions welcome

 

i went to high school in upstate new york in late 60s-early 70s. saw elf prior to and right after their first lp was released and they were a killer band. they originally were called the electric elves because all band members were about 5 foot 2 inches in height.they kind of lost some of their power in the 2nd and 3rd lp days but seeing them locally in clubs(the drinking age then was 18) they were very powerful.in the begining they did a lot of covers ie; jethro tull etc etc. many fond memories of those days.

 

With the new decade, the band changes its name to The Prophets, and guitarist Dick Botoff joins...

The Ooh-Poo-Pah-Doo I'd say it's as crappy as its name, but we get another glimpse of Ronnie's shouting at the end...
On the other hand, both Love Pains (complete with female backing vocals) and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow are far more charming...

 

You saw them back in Electric Elves days? How awesome is that? Thanks for sharing!

 

A few of Ronnie's earlly singles are availabe on Itunes by the way.

 

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I'm afraid this thread will sink quickly by starting with his early work...

I can't even join in the conversation until his Rainbow releases, I haven't heard any of the earlier stuff.

But once you get to Rainbow, Sabbbath, or Dio albums, I'd love to talk about it! Wake me when we get there...

In the meantime, I'll try to go and find some Elf...

I saw this on the Dio message board, it was announced before his passing but I hope it still happens (well, minus the autographs anyway):

"Coming later this year, "For The Record: The Complete Dio Vinyl Collection"
featuring 16 Dio LP's all on 180 gram vinyl, each LP will have a
different color vinyl, a deluxe photo book, replica All Access Tour
Laminates all housed in a special LP carrying case! The first 300 will
be autographed and numbered by Ronnie James Dio! "