Dio live at Donnington, remastered from the original BBC recordings. I knew this was gonna be good.
Disc one is from 1983 and was the unveiling of his brand new band. It featured his old pal from Black Sabbath, Vinnie Appice on the drums, Rainbow buddy Jimmy Bain on the bass and Claude Schnell on the keyboards. It also featured a 21 year old Vivian Campbell on the guitar.
The show opens with "Stand up and Shout" and "Straight Through the Heart" from the debut album. Right from the start, the crowd was with them. No small feat considering this was a Donnington crowd. They're aren't easily impressed, especially when they're watching a new band playing new songs. Dio was smart enough to know this and included a healthy dose of Rainbow and Sabbath songs in the set in case the new songs didn't go over. He didn't have to worry. The crowd response was awesome!
I could do without the drum and guitar solos that start and end "Stargazer", but aside from that, I have no complaints. The sound is great, as is the performance.
Vivian decided to part ways with DIO in 1986 and went on to join Whitesnake in 1987. He played on their hugely successful self-titled album but was fired by leader David Coverdale upon its' completion. He eventually went on to abandon all of his metal roots and join Def Leppard, the biggest corporate sellouts around. haha Wasted talent.
Anyway, disc 2 features the same band as the '83 show minus Campbell. His replacement was Craig Goldy. He was previously a member of Rough Cutt and Guiffria.
They were touring behind the "Dream Evil" album at the time and included 3 songs from it. The opener "Dream Evil", a really cool version of "Naked in the Rain" and "All the Fools Sailed Away". I was a little surprised they didn't play "I Could Have Been a Dreamer" but it might have been a little too poppy for this crowd.
Also nice to hear "Rock and Roll Children" and the Sabbath tune "Neon Knights".
I was kind of surprised that I actually like the '87 show a little better. I really didn't listen to DIO much after the first 2 or 3 albums but Craig Goldy is a heck of a guitarist. Very impressive!
Anyway, this is a fine tribute to one of the greatest singers in the metal world.
I was fortunate to see him once on his own in the late 90's and also as a member of Heaven and Hell in the summer of 2007. His voice was incredible both times.
When he passed away earlier this year, he left a void in the metal world that will probably never be filled. Thankfully, we have recordings such as these to keep his memory and his music alive.
Long live rock and roll! \m/
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