In celebration of the new Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell CD The Devil You Know (which debuted at #8 on the Billboard chart!), I took all my Dio-related CDs and ripped them to my computer and then to my MP3 player. That means the three Rainbow albums, the three Black Sabbath albums (plus the three new songs on the Dio Years compilation), and the ten Dio band albums (and even Time to Burn, from Intermission). I added the songs from The Devil You Know, so I’m only missing a few soundtrack/charity items and Japanese bonus tracks. As it is, there’s a total of 155 songs. I’ve been playing those on random shuffle, to put new and old songs into some perspective, relative to Dio’s career since 1975.
I expected to be surprised in some ways, as this sort of exercise always brings out nuances that aren’t fully realized in listening to one CD at a time. I found that the new songs hold up well in the catalog. They aren’t Rainbow-esque- but they fit right in with many moments in Black Sabbath and Dio’s body of work from 1992’s Dehumanizer onward. That wasn’t a surprise to me, but it was nice to have confirmation for the feeling I got upon first listening to The Devil You Know. Also, The Devil Cried, from the 2007 The Dio Years, now sounds better than ever to me.
What was a bit surprising was to hear how solid Craig Goldy’s contribution was, over the years. I had always rated Goldy a bit behind Vivian Campbell and Doug Aldrich, but hearing his songs randomly in the mix of other Dio-related pieces made them become highlights, in many cases. Goldy isn’t flashy, his playing isn’t ostentatious, it simply serves the songs effectively.
I’ve tried many times to get into Angry Machines and Lock Up the Wolves, and it still just isn’t happening. There’s good moments and good songs on both, but they are at the bottom in my preference for the 17+ albums mixed together on my player.
I also ripped the five Tony Martin fronted Black Sabbath albums, and the Ozzy fronted compilation We Sold Our Soul For Rock ‘N’ Roll. I don’t have them in the same mix with the Dio fronted material described above, but I can still make comparisons. Riff-wise, the Tony Martin stuff sounds very much in the Black Sabbath tradition, much more so than it is usually credited for. The Ozzy material still sounds crude to my ears, and my dislike of his voice hasn’t been overcome yet. The only songs I really enjoy are Tomorrow’s Dream and Snowblind (I do like N.I.B. when Dio sings it on Live Evil, but I haven’t added any live tracks to these mixes yet).
I’ve now owned The Devil You Know for just over a week. My opinion could well change with time, but at this point I’m ready to declare it as being as good as anything its players have done in their careers. It isn’t the single best album any of them have recorded, but it is in the top tier of their work, alongside such famous albums as Heaven & Hell, Holy Diver, and Headless Cross (and it doesn’t even have an “H” in the title!). Rock On, everyone!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Dio's Deep Purple Whitesnake Rainbow
One of the great things about this current era of downloaded music and MP3 players is that album sales are no longer relevant to the quality of a given piece of music. It used to be that only records or CDs that sold well were considered "successful" and stayed in print for new listeners to hear. But now, most any song ever recorded can be found somewhere, whether in legal downloads, illegal torrents, or on Youtube and Myspace. New listeners can easily discover a band or artist, and usually their only context for judging now is whether or not the music is any good. Media hype, press releases, and so on have far less influence than ever before.
An example of this is that many media outlets such as Rolling Stone Magazine like to pretend that the history of Black Sabbath begins and ends with Ozzy Osbourne. It is vaguely acknowledged that Ronnie James Dio played with the band for a bit, but any other albums are forgotten. But a kid just discovering heavy music can explore various torrents, and find a host of Black Sabbath albums to download, and decide for his or her own self what they like and dislike. Awesome (IMHO) Tony Martin-sung releases such as Headless Cross and Tyr are now on an equal footing with Paranoid and Dehumanizer.
This widespread access to music makes it possible for music fans to explore vast, interconnected discographies. There's various ones out there, as musicians switch between bands and projects, but my favorite one is what is sometimes referred to as "the extended Deep Purple family." Deep Purple were one of the founders of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The second lineup of the band included Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Ian Gillan on vocals, Jon Lord on keyboards, Roger Glover on bass, and Ian Paice on drums. The third lineup saw Glenn Hughes replace Glover, and David Coverdale replace Gillan.
Ronnie James Dio's band Elf toured with Deep Purple, and Dio performed on Glover's Butterfly Ball project while Glover helped produce Elf's albums. When Blackmore left Deep Purple, he took on Dio and Elf (minus the guitarist) as his backing band to form Rainbow. After the debut Rainbow album, Jimmy Bain joined the band on bass, and Cozy Powell took over drum duties.
From this start, it gets really crazy, and I won't go into it all at this time. But here's a taste of what occured in the following 30+ years. Ozzy Osbourne left Black Sabbath, and Dio took over the vocals. He then left and was succeeded by Ian Gillan. Ozzy formed his own band with Bob Daisley on bass (Bain's replacement in Rainbow), and Dio formed his own band with Bain on bass. Dio's band included Vinny Appice on drums, after Appice had met Dio in Black Sabbath.
Roger Glover had joined Blackmore in Rainbow after Daisley, and Joe Lynn Turner took over vocals in place of Graham Bonnet, who had succeeded Dio. Bonnet then formed Alcatraz with Swedish guitar wizard Yngwie Malmsteen. Yngwie then launched a solo carer, which saw him work at times with several former Rainbow members, including Turner and Powell. Meanwhile, Coverdale had formed Whitesnake, and was eventually joined by Lord and Paice, and then by Powell. Neil Murray was Whitesnake's bassist for a time.
By 1989, Powell had joined guitarist Tony Iommi to bring a new focus to Black Sabbath. Murray joined them an album later. Powell was eventually replaced, twice(!), by former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Dio kept plugging along on his solo career, with Rudy Sarzo settling in as bassist in recent years. Sarzo had earlier replaced Daisley as bassist in Ozzy's solo band, after even earlier having played with Ozzy's first solo guitarist, Randy Rhoads, in Quiet Riot. By the time Sarzo joined Dio, Craig Goldy (aka Goldie) was on his third stint as the band's guitarist. Sarzo and Goldy knew each other from the early 80's LA scene, when Sarzo was in the reformed Quiet Riot, and Goldy was in Rough Cutt. They had later formed a project together while Goldy was out of Dio's band the first time. Goldy's third stint in Dio's band was as the replacement for Doug Aldrich, who had left to join Coverdale in a reformed Whitesnake!
There's dozens of further connections I could point out, but I mentioned what I did to illustrate that, for fans of any one of these bands or performers, there are loads of releases to seek out. Someone who enjoys Turner's singing in Rainbow will probably equally enjoy his work with Yngwie Malmsteen, or on the one Deep Purple album he recorded. Whitesnake fans might well enjoy the Deep Purple albums with Coverdale on vocals. In that version of Deep Purple, Hughes also provided some vocals, and listeners who enjoy his sound can then check out the one Black Sabbath album on which he sang, and the two later albums he recorded with Iommi.
Not everyone will like everything, of course. I've stated a number of times in various forums that I can't stand Ozzy's voice. That doesn't stop me from admitting that he's produced a lot of wonderful music with Black Sabbath and his solo band. I need to explore his catalog more than I have. There's hundreds of hours of music out there for fans of any and all of these cross pollinating hard/heavy bands to enjoy. Go to sites such as Encyclopedia Metallum to find discographies and band rosters. Or check out books such Garry Sharpe-Young's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - The Battle for Black Sabbath, and Martin Popoff's studies of Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Dio's solo career.
If the above was new to you, I hope it opened your eyes and ears to a different world. If you were already in on the story, I hope it made you aware of some additional possibilities. Happy investigating, and happy listening!
An example of this is that many media outlets such as Rolling Stone Magazine like to pretend that the history of Black Sabbath begins and ends with Ozzy Osbourne. It is vaguely acknowledged that Ronnie James Dio played with the band for a bit, but any other albums are forgotten. But a kid just discovering heavy music can explore various torrents, and find a host of Black Sabbath albums to download, and decide for his or her own self what they like and dislike. Awesome (IMHO) Tony Martin-sung releases such as Headless Cross and Tyr are now on an equal footing with Paranoid and Dehumanizer.
This widespread access to music makes it possible for music fans to explore vast, interconnected discographies. There's various ones out there, as musicians switch between bands and projects, but my favorite one is what is sometimes referred to as "the extended Deep Purple family." Deep Purple were one of the founders of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The second lineup of the band included Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Ian Gillan on vocals, Jon Lord on keyboards, Roger Glover on bass, and Ian Paice on drums. The third lineup saw Glenn Hughes replace Glover, and David Coverdale replace Gillan.
Ronnie James Dio's band Elf toured with Deep Purple, and Dio performed on Glover's Butterfly Ball project while Glover helped produce Elf's albums. When Blackmore left Deep Purple, he took on Dio and Elf (minus the guitarist) as his backing band to form Rainbow. After the debut Rainbow album, Jimmy Bain joined the band on bass, and Cozy Powell took over drum duties.
From this start, it gets really crazy, and I won't go into it all at this time. But here's a taste of what occured in the following 30+ years. Ozzy Osbourne left Black Sabbath, and Dio took over the vocals. He then left and was succeeded by Ian Gillan. Ozzy formed his own band with Bob Daisley on bass (Bain's replacement in Rainbow), and Dio formed his own band with Bain on bass. Dio's band included Vinny Appice on drums, after Appice had met Dio in Black Sabbath.
Roger Glover had joined Blackmore in Rainbow after Daisley, and Joe Lynn Turner took over vocals in place of Graham Bonnet, who had succeeded Dio. Bonnet then formed Alcatraz with Swedish guitar wizard Yngwie Malmsteen. Yngwie then launched a solo carer, which saw him work at times with several former Rainbow members, including Turner and Powell. Meanwhile, Coverdale had formed Whitesnake, and was eventually joined by Lord and Paice, and then by Powell. Neil Murray was Whitesnake's bassist for a time.
By 1989, Powell had joined guitarist Tony Iommi to bring a new focus to Black Sabbath. Murray joined them an album later. Powell was eventually replaced, twice(!), by former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli. Dio kept plugging along on his solo career, with Rudy Sarzo settling in as bassist in recent years. Sarzo had earlier replaced Daisley as bassist in Ozzy's solo band, after even earlier having played with Ozzy's first solo guitarist, Randy Rhoads, in Quiet Riot. By the time Sarzo joined Dio, Craig Goldy (aka Goldie) was on his third stint as the band's guitarist. Sarzo and Goldy knew each other from the early 80's LA scene, when Sarzo was in the reformed Quiet Riot, and Goldy was in Rough Cutt. They had later formed a project together while Goldy was out of Dio's band the first time. Goldy's third stint in Dio's band was as the replacement for Doug Aldrich, who had left to join Coverdale in a reformed Whitesnake!
There's dozens of further connections I could point out, but I mentioned what I did to illustrate that, for fans of any one of these bands or performers, there are loads of releases to seek out. Someone who enjoys Turner's singing in Rainbow will probably equally enjoy his work with Yngwie Malmsteen, or on the one Deep Purple album he recorded. Whitesnake fans might well enjoy the Deep Purple albums with Coverdale on vocals. In that version of Deep Purple, Hughes also provided some vocals, and listeners who enjoy his sound can then check out the one Black Sabbath album on which he sang, and the two later albums he recorded with Iommi.
Not everyone will like everything, of course. I've stated a number of times in various forums that I can't stand Ozzy's voice. That doesn't stop me from admitting that he's produced a lot of wonderful music with Black Sabbath and his solo band. I need to explore his catalog more than I have. There's hundreds of hours of music out there for fans of any and all of these cross pollinating hard/heavy bands to enjoy. Go to sites such as Encyclopedia Metallum to find discographies and band rosters. Or check out books such Garry Sharpe-Young's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - The Battle for Black Sabbath, and Martin Popoff's studies of Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Dio's solo career.
If the above was new to you, I hope it opened your eyes and ears to a different world. If you were already in on the story, I hope it made you aware of some additional possibilities. Happy investigating, and happy listening!
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