You’ve got the fire — stand up and shout!
For the metallically inclined, Ronnie James Dio is a name which figures prominently, a sort of godfather of the whole strange genre. Among other (more musical) accomplishments, Ronnie is the man who created the “devil horns” sign (not a Satanic symbol, but actually his Sicilian grandmother’s ward against the evil eye), internationally recognized gesture of metalness.
And for fans of the actual music, Ronnie’s presence as frontman on three legendary records has forever cemented his position in the genre:
- Rainbow Rising (1976)
- Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell (1980)
- Dio Holy Diver (1983)
Each of these three records proved both a milestone for each of those bands, and milestones for heavy metal / hard rock as a whole. (As a kind of rambling aside, ironically my favorite records of each of these three bands are instead: 1. Rainbow Long Live Rock n’ Roll (1978); 2. Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell (1980) — the same in this case; 3. Dio The Last In Line (1984).)
I’ve been listening a lot to Rainbow and the first two Dio (the band) albums of late, and boy have they weathered the test of time well. I’ve often wanted to write up a little post singing forth praise for these records, but have found no catalyst around which to write a piece. Until now.
Yesterday (the 30th of May) in the US (the 29th most everywhere else) Eagle Rock Entertainment put out an extremely inexpensive live DVD recorded at the London date of Dio’s tour of the UK in Autumn 2005. What makes this show so special, and so worthy of a DVD release, is that for these UK dates the band performed the entire debut album Holy Diver, in song order (preceded and followed by songs from other albums, to round out the set length), the first time they have ever done so.
For a DVD which is so surprisingly inexpensive (ten bucks at Amazon), the disc is surprisingly replete. DTS is offered in addition to 5.1-channel Dolby and a stereo mix, the entire contents are in anamorphic widescreen (and thus enhanced for widescreen displays), and a sort of casual interview short is offered as an extra. The performance itself is well-filmed on digital video (though not HD cameras, I’m pretty sure), and edited in a very straightforward, lucid way. I prefer live performances to be edited to offer as clear and detailed a look at the performances, rather than the arty-farty lightning-cut approach of amateurs trying to be MTV music video directors. Fortunately the editors of this disc chose the more subtle approach. There’s even a little photo booklet insert, with brief essay by rock journalist (and metal fan) Dave Ling, something I really didn’t expect given the low price tag.
And the performance itself? Dio, now well into his sixties, has lost none of his energy, enthusiasm, or vocal range. Truly, the man is astounding, bopping around on stage, matching the audience’s devil horns signs, and belting out the tunes with the abandon unmatched by people a quarter of his age. So many rock singers have lost their voices due to the ravages of time and dissipated living: Dio remains at the peak of his form, perhaps slightly more gravelly than on the 80s recordings, but just as impressive and full.
Quick aside: I just love that Ronnie rocks out with out any interest in retiring, flying in the face of any ageist comments, or the cries of “where is your decency?” from those who think that being older means putting on a tie and slowing down. Ronnie is still the diminutive little hippie with the long hair and the fun of rocking out with the headbangers, and for Ronnie, the number of years he’s chalked under his belt simply has no meaning. It’s all about attitude, it’s all about preference. It’s the way it should be, and I really honor him for it.
Current lineup: Simon Wright on drums (really doing a good job matching Vinnie Appice’s awesome, involved drumming style from the albums), bass legend Rudy Sarzo on, ehm, bass (thank god he finger-picks), enigmatic Scott Warren at keyboards, looking like a supreme gothic vampyre type (and the keyboards are doubly important here because there’s none of the guitar-overdubbing to fill out the sound as on the records), and, finally, Doug Aldrich, who looks like he just stepped out of a Z-Boys competition down in Dogtown.
Let’s talk about Doug for a second. Dio fans tend to be divided about whether Doug Aldrich or Craig Goldy is the “better” guitar player to be in the band. It seems that for most, either Doug is a god or he’s “totally wrong” for the band. Without any offense at Goldy, I’m one of the people who likes Doug in the band. His presence on Killing the Dragon for me was a major reason why it was such a return to the vintage Dio sound when it was released in 2002. He has this fabulous capacity to mix insane technical speed with bluesy, swaggery soul. The man is just on fire, and he both manages to recreate the spirit of original Dio guitarist Viv Campbell’s performances, while contributing his own personality. On this DVD, he’s in much better form than on Dio’s last DVD, “Evil or Divine”, and the sense of cameraderie he shares on stage with Ronnie is a treat to witness.
I could go on, but there’s not really any point, except to say that if you’ve never experienced Dio before, or if you’re intimidated or hesitant about trying out classic heavy metal with lots of hard rock vibes, this is a fabulous place to start, and to witness one of the genre’s elder statesmen at the supreme height of his creative and artistic powers. If you don’t want to buy it, stick it in your Netflix queue — it’s worth the look, I warrant you.
We rock!