Classic Rock Bottom

PERSONAL CHALLENGE - RONNIE JAMES DIO (BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL)

So I'll begin this and each installment by recapping  what I have listened to so far:

1. Rainbow - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

2. Rainbow - Rising

3. Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

Next up is Dio's contribution to Black Sabbath.  I'm including Heaven And Hell here because it's basically a previous incarnation of Black Sabbath with a different name.  The albums below are from the box set The Rules Of Hell (except for the Heaven And Hell album).

4. Black Sabbath - Heaven And Hell (1980)

I don't have a purchase date for the box set, so I'll just list the release year to the side.  This is a good album that I originally listed in my Top 5 Albums Featuring RJD list recently (by the way, I'll revise that list if needed when I'm done with this).  To me, it contains four really strong songs (Neon Knights/Children Of The Sea/Lady Evil/Heaven And Hell) and no bad songs.  The vibe of the album is strong and cohesive.  One note, in 1980 I was listening to Unmasked by Kiss.  Black Sabbath was not on my radar at all.  All of you die hard Sabbath fans may have issue with this, but it is of no consequence to me.  I listened to what I liked at the time.  But all of these years later, I wish I would have had this on my radar back then.

Top 3 Songs 

1. Neon Knights

2. Heaven And Hell

3. Children Of The Sea

5. Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (1981)

This album, quite like Rainbow's Rising, just misses the beat for me.  Again, it's not weak, but it's just not something that I want to listen to.  It's not without good songs though.

Top 3 Songs

1. The Mob Rules

2. Slipping Away

3. The Sign Of The Southern Cross

6. Black Sabbath - Live Evil (1982)

From what I've read, one of the main reasons this was released was because Ozzy released a live album the same year with mostly Black Sabbath songs.  It seems kind of weird hearing Dio sing Ozzy's songs, but I think he did a good job overall.  They are just totally different vocalists.  It seems like there is practically no crowd noise on this. There was a bonus disc of 5 live tracks released with the box set.  Needless to say, I do prefer the songs that Dio performed on the studio albums here over the songs Ozzy performed in the studio.  I'll include a top 3 here but I'll not use any live performances for the Ultimate RJD Playlist.

Top 3 Songs

1. Neon Knights

2. The Mob Rules

3. Heaven And Hell

7. Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (1992)

Again, like the third Rainbow album to feature RJD, I really like this better than the previous effort.  Maybe it's because of the 10 year lay off.  But it's really strong from top to bottom.  And now that I've given it a good listen, I'm gonna say I prefer it over Heaven And Hell (definitely have to update that RJD albums list).  The best songs here are Computer God, After All (The Dead), TV Crimes, Letters From Earth, Sins Of The Father and Buried Alive.  Hey Walking Dead TV show, you need to use After All (The Dead) for your show.  And how 'bout the bass work on TV Crimes?  Way cool.  Lastly, my disc had a bonus track called Time Machine.  I believe it was from Wayne's World.  It's okay, but really adds nothing to the original album.

Top 3 Songs

1. Letters From Earth

2. Sins Of The Father

3. Buried Alive

8. Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know (2009)

And now we have Ronnie's last official studio album before his death.  This is another album that made my Top 5 list for RJD, but with a fresh listen, I'm not so sure.  Don't get me wrong, at it's worst it's a very steady, tough, driving album.  Definitely worth your money, but probably no longer top 5 material.  I have come away from this listen with four very good songs (Bible Black/Double The Pain/Turn Of The Screw/Eating The Cannibals).

Top 3 Songs

1. Double The Pain

2. Bible Black

3. Turn Of The Screw

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Black Sabbath And Heaven And Hell Albums Rank

1. Dehumanizer

2. Heaven And Hell

3. The Devil You Know

4. Mob Rules

5. Live Evil

Top 5 Black Sabbath Songs

1. Neon Knights

2. Heaven And Hell

3. Letters From Earth

4. The Mob Rules

5. Sins Of The Father

Album Covers Rank

1. The Devil You Know

2. Heaven And Hell

3. Mob Rules

4. Dehumanizer

5. Live Evil

Rainbow/Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell Albums Rank

1. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll (Rainbow)

2. Dehumanizer (Black Sabbath)

3. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (Rainbow)

4. Heaven And Hell (Black Sabbath)

5. The Devil You Know (Heaven And Hell)

6. Mob Rules (Black Sabbath)

7. Rising (Rainbow)

8. Live Evil (Black Sabbath)

Ultimate Ronnie James Dio Playlist

1. Man On The Silver Mountain

2. Self Portrait

3. Catch The Rainbow

4. The Temple Of The King

5. Sixteenth Century Greenslaves

6. Tarot Woman

7. Stargazer

8. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

9. Lady Of The Lake

10. L.A. Connection

11. Gates Of Babylon

12. Kill The King

13. The Shed (Subtle)

14. Rainbow Eyes

15. Neon Knights

16. Children Of The Sea

17. Lady Evil

18. Heaven And Hell

19. The Sign Of The Southern Cross

20. The Mob Rules

21. Slipping Away

22. Computer God

23. After All (The Dead)

24. TV Crimes

25. Letters From Earth

26. Sins Of The Father

27. Buried Alive

28. Bible Black

29. Double The Pain

30. Turn Of The Screw

31. Eating The Cannibals

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