Classic Rock Bottom

Dio

At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987

Niji Entertainment - 2010

http://www.ronniejamesdio.com

 

The first release from the company created in the wake of Ronnie James Dio's passing, Niji Entertainment is the 2 disc live recordings of Dio in his solo incarnation at the rather famous Castle Donington Festival.

 

You'll find two full concert performances here and you can't go wrong with either show. It is kind of expected that when you hear a live concert that Ronnie James Dio is performing that he will sound fantastic, and that is obviously the case here once again.

 

The quality of the sound recordings here is magnificent. The band sound great, the crowd noise is there but never overwhelms the actual performance.

 

The song selections from the solo Dio era weren't classics at the time but along with the Rainbow and Black Sabbath cuts, they've all become Dio concert staples.

 

And the packaging for the release isn't skimpy either. You get two replicas of the all access backstage passes from the two shows, the artwork posters for each show are recreated on the disc holder sections and an interesting essay about the performances.

 

About the only thing I can say remotely negative about the set is that while it is a pretty great collection from a historical angle, it is otherwise, just another live release from Dio of which there have been quite a number of them over the years. Being a fanatic fan of Dio myself, that is okay. However, for those less devoted to the music of Ronnie, a live release with songs they've heard both the studio and many live versions of already might be asking a bit too much.

 

 Grade: A Minus

 

 

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Nice review TR. I haven't made a decision whether or not to purchase yet.
How big of a Dio fan are you?

I think that is really the decision point most people will come to about whether or not to purchase it.

Are you a huge Dio fan - MUST BUY

Are you a casual Dio fan - MIGHT BUY
I love Dio's work with Rainbow and Black Sabbath, and "Holy Diver" is a good album, but then it went downhill imo, so I guess, this is not for me.
I have to disagree...Dio's solo work has always been fantastic in my eyes.
At the time, I liked both "The last in line" and "Sacred Heart", but I grew tired of them rather fast. When I bought "Dream Evil", I did'nt really like it, and it became the last time, I bought a "new" Dio-album. With that said, I am a BIG fan of his years with black Sabbath, "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" are my favorite Black Sabbath-albums.
Dream Evil was the first Dio album I ever bought and it was love at first listen for me.

I just wish his stuff PRE-Elf was more readily available.

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