A lot of serious rockers reveled in the metallic mastery of Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona) during his time on this earthly sphere and mourned his passing in May 2010. Dio may no longer be here with we mere mortals, but he is survived by what may be the best Dio collection ever. Released two months after his death, Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 unleashes the pure sonic fury of Dio at the very top of his game and is so rock-solid end-to-end that I had to blog about it.
I didn't buy the album. My brother Joe and I bonded over Dio a long time ago, and when an unexpected package showed up last week I first said, "Hey, I didn't order this"--and then I knew. Yet when I read the set list, I realized I knew most of the songs and wondered if I was in for a warmed-over rehash.
How wonderfully wrong that notion turned out to be. This two-CD set powers up fast and propels the listener on a wave of rolling thunder that never subsides. Disk 1 was recorded at the 1983 Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival, where Dio, a veteran of bands Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath, unveiled the new band bearing his name on a bill that included a somewhat eclectic lineup of others: Meat Loaf, Twisted Sister, Whitesnake and ZZ Top. As Eduardo Rivadavia eloquently puts it in the Zune review of the album, Dio "guided his handpicked band members--faithful Sabbath partner drummer Vinny Appice, veteran former Rainbow associate bassist Jimmy Bain and white-hot guitar prodigy Vivian Campbell--through an energized set of past and future heavy metal classics." Listening to the album I am blown away...then blown away again...and then blown away again. Stand Up and Shout? Best ever. Straight Through the Heart: not really one of my favorites on other albums. Dio and band positively crushed it here. New favorite. I love the studio version of Children of the Sea. Love the raw energy of this one even a bit more. Rainbow in the Dark: incomparable. On past cuts I've been ambivalent on Holy Diver and would often skip listening. Cannot stop spinning this one. Heaven and Hell is an extended, fan-participation affair, the kind of song I usually have no patience for. I think I could listen to this one for another 10 minutes.
Rivadavia and I part ways on Disk 2: He says it felt a bit less inspired and spontaneous. I say thank God they didn't stop after Disk 1. Recorded upon Dio's return to Donington in 1987, where they shared the bill with Anthrax, Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Metallica and W.A.S.P., this one leads off by bringing to life studio favorites such as Dream Evil, Neon Knights and Naked in the Rain. I have long preferred Queensryche's version of Neon Knights; this live Dio version makes it a toss-up. Rock and Roll Children is magnificent, and I'm confident many will have a hard time listening to All the Fools Sailed Away--and in truth, many of the tunes on both disks--without pummeling an imaginary drum kit. Dio's supporting lineup in 1987 again included Bain and Appice but this time featured Craig Guldy on guitar in place of Campbell, and Claude Schnell on keyboards.
Downside to Donington? The repeats. Five songs from 1983's Disk 1 poke their heads out again, albeit 1987 versions, on Disk 2. The presence of five repeats out of 25 total tracks on the two-CD set is not so bad, perhaps, when you consider these performances were four years apart, and that some on the second disk are not the full songs but presented in snippet/medley form.
Ted Nugent was once asked what he liked best about playing rock 'n roll, and he was quoted as responding, "I love it when the music crushes me." That's one thing I love about Dio at Donington. Another is that when I finished listening all the way through the first time, somewhere in my subconscious I realized: Not once did I have to make excuses in my mind, as I have often found myself doing with other bands, for why the vocalist couldn't hit the same high notes in concert that were crystal-clear in the studio version. Or why the singer was out of tune on notes throughout the vocal range.
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