Artist: Dio, Ronnie James
Label: Eagle Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 2/5
Last day, last show of the UK tour! It’s October 22, 2005 (the CD booklet has a typo, listing the date as 22.10.1995). London’s Astoria is sold out, with a total of 2,000 devoted heads packed inside. They’re waiting impatiently for the full performance of the studio album “Holy Diver”. The tour is winding down, and in the final leg of the British run, which counted a whopping 11 dates, Ronnie James Dio decides to play the entire classic “Holy Diver” live. The lineup is supposedly tight as can be, or is it? Craig Goldy is missing because of a wrist injury! He had to drop off the tour, and Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) stepped in for him. It wasn’t long ago that Doug had the Dio repertoire down cold! He carried it in his pinky finger as part of the Dio lineup, probably the best guitarist in the whole Dio career so far. A better replacement couldn’t have been picked. I may be exaggerating, so let me add that in this particular case it would have been damn interesting to hear Vivian Campbell (these days with Def Leppard) playing alongside Ronnie, the original guitarist who recorded the studio album “Holy Diver” with Dio.
A short intro speech from tape and the band kicks the devil in the teeth with Stand Up And Shout. Dio is back in “vibe” mode, emphasized and pushed decisively to the front! And just look at how passionately he attacks the Holy Diver track, as if he wants to spew out all his fire and devour the audience! Ronnie sings in the style of that perpetual dark, obscure “gloomy” mask, which already ties him to his buddy-buddy relationship with the occult, vampires, black magic, tarot ladies,… At times he literally attacks with a “wicked” vocal! The classic sounds of the classics have come alive. How great it is to hear the classics Gypsy, Invisible, Caught In The Middle, Straight Through The Heart or Shame On The Night ringing out live. Ronnie is literally raging on vocals. He sings rougher, with less of the polish and melody that “Evil Or Divine” is full of, the live album released last year, taken from the “Killing The Dragon” tour show in New York in 2002.
Still, Dio’s performance does show a few weaknesses! At first it seems the problem only shows up here and there. But no. The whole show proves more than ever that Dio has lost some of his power.. Some choruses Ronnie can barely wrangle within the melody of the original, as a half-tone slip wickedly pops up a few times, but Dio always manages to tame it! Still, he attacks with a fury I can’t remember when I compare his live recordings against each other, which is a fresh atmospheric plus for “Holy Diver Live”. Of course, the album “Holy Diver” in its live version is now much rawer and much more steel-sharpened, which is only logical. It’s a gig, after all. There are no gaps between the songs live, Dio just charge from one point to the next. With Rudy Sarzo on bass, the rhythm section has gained even more quality, especially since Sarzo brings a much greater dose of melodicism than the legendary Jimmy Bain offered before him in the band. The solos are definitely not copies of the originals. Aldrich is flawless in his work. Flawlessly inventive. Another difference from the original is the inclusion of a drum solo after Gypsy and a guitar solo in Shame On The Night, where we get to enjoy Doug’s venomous soloing. Dio just yells: “C’mmon Dougie!!!” and at his command, the guitarist’s private party can begin. It flows into a “jam” by the whole crew, and in the end it returns to the song with Dio’s vocal, and the live performance of the Dio classic “Holy Diver” wraps up through the repeated main motif of the album’s title track. The recording is authentic, practically transferred straight from the hall onto a studio record, with the natural feel of the concert atmosphere preserved, which is an absolute plus of the album.
Anyway. Purists would definitely leave this live disc alone, saying: “Why bother with this, when the sound and performance on the studio album are way better?” Heh heh! They’d be jumping the gun. The second disc is here. It has songs that are real gems, and that Dio hadn’t released on any official live document before. First up is the one-of-a-kind Rainbow classic Tarot Woman, sawed off even faster than the original, then another Rainbow classic, the magical Gates Of Babylon, where Ronnie shows off all his mastery – the first peak of the second disc! Then there’s also the Black Sabbath treat Sign Of The Southern Cross. Along with the standards Heaven And Hell – the second peak of the same disc, “the man from the silver mountain”, Long Live Rock N’ Roll and We Rock, this double live CD becomes a must for any true rocker. Dio fans all have this disc at home already. Despite the remarks that Ronnie’s vocal doesn’t radiate the freshness, melodic purity and explosiveness he spoiled us with over the years, his new live disc is still a document that keeps the full character of a top-notch concert recording. Ronnie James Dio remains God!
Lineup
Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Doug Aldrich – guitar
Scott Warren – keyboards
Rudy Sarzo – bass
Simon Wright – drums
Track List
CD1.:
1. Stand Up & Shout
2. Holy Diver
3. Gypsy
4. Caught In The Middle
5. Don’t Talk To Strangers
6. Straight Through The Heart
7. Invisible
8. Rainbow In The Dark
9. Shame On The Night
CD2.:
1. Tarot Woman
2. Sign Of The Southern Cross
3. One Night In The City
4. Gates Of Babylon
5. Heaven & Hell
6. Man On The Silver Mountain
7. Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll
8. We Rock
Running time: 113:50
