"Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre. The album was certified Gold in the US on September 12, 1984, and Platinum on March 21, 1989. In the UK it attained Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in January 1986, at the same time as The Last in Line." (wiki)
Personnel
Assistant Engineer: Ray Leonard
Bass Guitar, Keyboards: Jimmy Bain
Digital Remasterer: Lee Herschberg
Drums: Vinny Appice
Engineer: Angelo Arcuri
Guitar: Vivian Campbell
Keyboards, Producer, Vocals: Ronnie James Dio
Masterer: George Marino
Composer, Lyricist, Writer: Dio
Composer, Lyricist: R.J. Dio
Contributor: Gene Hunter
Contributor: Wendy Dio
Writer: Ronnie James Dio
Let me tell you about all the tracks. The album opens with Stand Up and Shout. It's s fast heavy metal anthem with a muted guitar chugging riff. "You got the power! Stand up and shout!" The vocals delivered by Dio are so powerful and operatic but not so operatic that it sounds like classical music or progressive rock. There is no pretenstiousness here. Only straight up rock and roll. The guitar solo is super fast and technical. Most people who don't like metal would say its fretboard wankery but it hardly takes up any space in the song-its so fast. What we notice more is the vocal performance. At the end of the song there's a second guitar solo that's more bluesy and soulful. A classic 80's metal type of tune.
Next, Holy Diver. This is Dio's most recognizable and well known tune other than Eye of the Tiger. It opens with eerie keyboard chords then turns into something else entirely-a straight up metal song. The riff is so simple but its so catchy and infectious. The vocals are well known by pretty much anyone who's heard metal music. It's hard for even me not to sing along to this tune-it's that good! I have no idea what the lyrics mean but Dio sounds like he means every word. That's the true mark of a great singer. The way he conveys emotion through the vocals here is nothing short of amazing. The guitar solo is much more organized and meaningful than most of the other solos on the album. It has a beginning, middle, and end. It's straight up cliche 80's metal licks but its bluesy and soulful mixed in with some fast scalar runs. It has a nice melody too.
Then, there's Gypsy. This song starts out with some great guitar licks as Dio growls a bit. Hello early death metal? Vivan Campbell (guitar) is well known for his fretboard wizardry but this is the first time I've ever heard him. He does a great job as a studio guitarist in a rock group. I bet he does wonders on his solo albums. This song has a much more laid-back tempo and bluesy guitar riffs. The drums played by Vinnie Appice are especially much more tame here. He knows when to accent and when to hold off. The guitar solo here is straight up long hair guitar shredder stuff. It's fast and technical but lacks a coherent melody.
One of the other most well known Dio tunes is the next track-Caught in the Middle. A former co-worker of mine used to like singing this tune at work a lot. I didn't know the song back then but now that I know it now I can see why he loved it so much. It's a catchy melodic metal tune. Something that doesn't happen in these death and metal-core times of heavy metal. This is probably the best tune on the album other than Holy Diver. I would sing along to this too but its far beyond my vocal capabilities. The guitar solo is a twin melodic harmony-basically when guitars are played in different intervals but playing the same melodies.
The next tune is Don't Talk to Strangers. A ballad that opens with lush chords. I'm not usually the heavy metal power ballad type of guy but Dio's vocals are so phenomenal that it doesn't come across as corny or poppy. This is still metal, especially when the electric guitar riff comes in. It has this dark melodic harmonic guitar part that mixes it up between straight chugging riffs and rung out power chords. This would be a great song for the Guitar Hero video game. The guitar solo here is awesome! Tons of super fast scalar licks in his own style but it also has a nice melody (from Dio's vocals) mixed in the fast runs. Kiss wishes they were this good. Heck, Ozzy wishes he was this good.
Another well known Dio tune is Straight Through the Heart. It has this lazy guitar riff reminiscent of Deep Purple with a laid back drum beat. The riff has a bluesy flavor to it. Its almost like the guitar riff has a voice-like quality. It sounds like the guitar is doing the "Mojo rising" vocal line that Jim Morrison used to sing in that popular Doors song. The guitar solo is more relaxed and harmonic than most of the other solos heard thus far.
Invisible starts off as a power ballad that sounds corny. Then the true intentions of this album comes out when a pure metal riff gets played. Its nothing fancy but it sounds so catchy. They've done the same formula that the early metal pioneers did-play a riff and then just keep playing it. If it's good enough it will work. The interlude has this great guitar solo that favors melody before going into hyper speed overdrive. It can't be said enough how good of a singer Dio is. If his vocals weren't so great none of these simple guitar riffs, bass, and drums would mean anything. He brings so much to the table.
Rainbow in the Dark seems like another popular Dio tune. I've heard it before in the past but I didn't know the name or anything. It's one of those popular metal tunes. In the midst of the metal guitar riff there's a catchy keyboard part that joins in during the chorus. At this point in the album we know what Vivan Campbell is capable of. He's a great guitarist with tons of chops and his solos never disappoint. The cool thing about this album is that even though every song has guitar solos on it they never take up too much space in the songs. They're there to compliment the song rather than to show off. Okay, maybe he does show up just a bit.
The album ends with Shame on the Night. It has another super duper heavy metal guitar riff then when the vocals come in the bass is accented and played solo with the drums. Meanwhile, the guitar is doing some cool whammy bar effects, coming in with some power chords on the chorus alongside Dio's vocals. This tune also has a lot of feeling to it-everything but mostly the vocals. There's a bridge with some organ chords alongside a bluesy guitar riff. Then the metalness comes back in. It ends with a dark melodic guitar riff over some choir background vocals. Interesting tune.
What a great album! It's got me listening to early metal stuff. Dio died back in 2010 but his spirit lives on when we listen to his great music. "Despite being known for his powerful singing voice, Dio claimed never to have taken any vocal training. Rather, he attributed his singing ability to the use of correct breathing techniques learned while playing trumpet." (wiki) He was a true musician. If you like metal music of any kind check out this album. You will not be disappointed.
No comments:
Post a Comment