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My thoughts on the 2010 Revolver Golden Gods Awards
This was the second annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards and the first to be broadcast on VH1 Classic (was the first on Fuse TV?). The awards took place in April and aired last night on VH1 Classic at 10PM as a one-hour special. Revolver is a hard rock & heavy metal magazine based in the U.S. I’ve never bought an issue but just by flipping through it a few times in the last couple of years, they seem to focus more on the current metal scene than anything else but don’t come across as a genre band-riding fanzine like other U.S. metal mags Metal Edge, Circus or Hit Parader have.
I knew “Golden Gods” sounded familiar. Apparently this awards show is going to co-exist with the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (both magazines are owned by Future Publishing, which also publishes the amazing Classic Rock magazine). Both shows have similar categories but their nominees aren’t always the same. Basically, the Revolver show caters more to America and Metal Hammer more to England. I can understand that as there’s often a big difference between both countries in terms of rock and metal preferences but I think having them both billed as “Golden Gods Awards” is a bit confusing and unnecessary. I guess they’re betting on fans in both countries to not care enough about the other to realize there are two of these shows.
The show itself was okay but the editing was HORRIBLE. I’m sure this event easily was about three hours in length so why they decided to chop it down to one hour of “highlights” is beyond me. There was so much jumping around it was annoying, no segment had time to breathe. As soon as a band was done playing, the show clipped to the next batch of presenters rambling off the list nominees.
In my opinion, an event that brings together Chris Jericho (host), Andrew W.K. (host), Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Slash, Ozzy, Ronnie James Dio, Vinnie Paul, Lemmy, Dave Grohl, Dave Mustaine, Jerry Cantrell, Zakk Wylde, Joey Vera, Rob Halford, Kerry King, et cetera, et cetera is a HUGE event and should be treated like such. The whole set up was cheap looking and was not helped by the intimate little venue it was booked to be held in. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the idea of the Golden Gods, I LOVE that VH1 Classic aired it, I just wish better care was given to the editing and the production of the show in general. Hopefully, the show did decent numbers and Future will pump a little more money into the show next year.
I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh on an awards show that is only in it’s second year but it would really help if they took the time to explain what the categories were all about and what they meant. Obviously “best guitarist” is self-explantory but one example is the actual Golden God Award. There was no build up given to this award. Ozzy announced what the award was the handed it over to Rob Halford. TELL US WHAT IT MEANS! In addition to that, another cool feature would have been maybe some clips of Halford footage and a narration telling us why Rob deserved to be “honored” with this award. Things like that go a long way in making the show and the individual awards feel special. This goes for all the awards. Show some clips of the best guitarist shredding, show a graphic of each nominated album of the year as you’re reading the list of nominees, etc. It’s pretty easy.
Again, the idea is great but the execution was lacking. Hopefully as the years go on, this will become a bigger and better hard rock & heavy metal awards show. They’ll know what worked, what didn’t work, hopefully get a bigger budget, hopefully get some more airtime on whatever station it ends up airing on.
Of note, the late, great Ronnie James Dio won Best Vocalist for his work in Heaven & Hell. How cool is that? This was Ronnie’s last public appearance and you couldn’t even tell he was sick. It’s so sad that just a few weeks after this was filmed the cancer took a turn for the worse and took Ronnie away from us.
Check out Ronnie accepting the award:
Complete list of winners:
Revolver Golden God Award: Rob Halford
Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award: Lemmy Kilmister
Album Of The Year: Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
Best Vocalist: Ronnie James Dio
Best Guitarist: Zakk Wylde
Best Drummer: Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan
Best Live Band: Metallica
Comeback Of The Year: Alice In Chains
Best Underground Band: The Dillinger Escape Plan
Hottest Chick In Metal: Maria Brink
Ronnie James Dio – 1942-2010
When I woke up this morning and got online, I logged into my Google account and scrolled through the news that had piled up since last night in my Google Reader’s “Music” folder. Late last night news “broke” that Ronnie had passed away. Ronnie’s wife Wendy quickly laid those rumors to rest but added they were at a hospital and that Ronnie was not doing well at the moment. Fast forward to this afternoon and I am saddened and heartbroken to say that this early morning Ronnie passed away and unfortunately that is the truth.
The statement Wendy Dio issued to Blabbermouth.net:
Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.
Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all.
We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us.
Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss.
Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.
I know in the coming days and weeks there will be many touching tributes and words directed towards Ronnie James from family, friends and fans alike. In fact, many are already be posted online.
For myself, I must admit that up until just a few years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of Dio’s music. I had no ill feelings towards his work but it never clicked with me despite owning a few Black Sabbath and solo albums: Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, The Last In Line, Stand Up and Shout: The Dio Anthology. It wasn’t really until he reunited with Black Sabbath under the name of Heaven and Hell that I gave him (and Sabbath) a second chance. I started to immerse myself in the works of Sabbath, revisited those first two albums with Dio and fell in love with them. Then I began to pick up the rest of Dio’s solo work (only Intermission and Strange Highways elude me now) and just recently I picked up Rainbow’s Rising and Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll.
I won’t turn this into some retrospective, as I’m sure many of those are to come, but the guy had an amazing career dating as far back as 1958. It wasn’t until the early ’70s and the band Elf that the Ronnie James Dio the world knows and loves began to take shape. From there, he went on to front Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven and Hell. In short, if you’re not familiar with Ronnie’s discography then you’re missing out on some of the most essential and landmark rock and metal albums of all time.
I never got the chance to see Ronnie perform in person. Heaven and Hell came to nearby Detroit last summer but I didn’t go see them. It’s been a regret of mine ever since and obviously an even bigger regret now.
Dio has played a large part in my music obsession these last few years. His songs have dominated my playlist in the last year and because of this I’ve grown to feel a great connection and fondness for this man, who by all accounts, legitimately comes across as one of the nicest and most intelligent and articulated men in rock. No matter what band he was in at the very least you knew the album would be solid and it’s not hyperbole to say he’s one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time. No longer do I have a merely passing interest in all things Dio. He is one of my favorite singers and personalities in rock ‘n’ roll and Black Sabbath and Dio are two of my favorite bands of all time.
Literally just yesterday I was watching Dio’s Evil or Devine concert DVD courtesy of Netflix and now here I am writing about his passing. It’s all a bit hard to take. Ronnie had been battling stomach cancer since last year so I think everyone knew this outcome was a real possibility but it doesn’t lessen the impact or shock.
I don’t really know what else to say other than rest in peace, Ronnie James Dio. You will be missed greatly.
UPDATE:
A number of my metal blog brothers have posted their own thoughts & feelings on this tragic situation. Here are the links. I will post more as they come to my attention:
- http://heavymetaladdiction.com/2010/05/16/r-i-p-ronnie-james-dio/
- http://demolishmag.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/dio-r-i-p-reflections-on-a-metal-legend/
- http://hardrockhideout.com/2010/05/16/rest-in-peace-ronnie-james-dio-july-10-1942-may-16-2010/
- http://metalmark.blogspot.com/2010/05/remembering-ronnie-james-dio.html
- http://metalodyssey.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/ronnie-james-dio-rest-peacefully-and-rock-with-the-angels/
- http://themetalfiles.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/thanks-senor-dio/
- http://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/dio-rip/
Here is one of my most favorite songs that Dio ever sang on– Black Sabbath’s “I”. Amazing vocal performance.
DIO – Sacred Heart
Dio – Sacred Heart (1985, Vertigo Records – West German Import)
1. “King of Rock and Roll” … 3:49
2. “Sacred Heart” … 6:27
3. “Another Lie” .. 3:48
4. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Children” … 4:32
5. “Hungry for Heaven” … 4:10
6. “Like the Beat of a Heart” … 4:24
7. “Just Another Day” … 3:23
8. “Fallen Angels” … 3:55
9. “Shoot Shoot” … 4:20
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Vivian Campbell – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Producer: Ronnie James Dio
Alright! I own a Cold War-era import! I’m guessing the U.S. pressing (where it was released on Warner Bros.) is out of print? Doesn’t matter, owning imports gives you an extra bit of credibility and cool and this is one of the last few Dio album I needed to acquire to make my collection complete.
I’ve read a lot about this album not stacking up to Holy Diver or The Last in Line and that may be true but it doesn’t make Sacred Heart anything to stick your nose up at! In fact, this is pretty good stuff. It’s Dio! How can you go wrong? Just his voice alone makes his albums worth the price of admission and sure he’s criticized for using the same themes over and over again but honestly — what’s wrong with angels, dragons, rock ‘n’ roll and evil women? I’ve listened to this album 4 or 5 times in full since buying it and I haven’t gotten tired of it.
There are a few keyboard-heavy commercial efforts here. Seems a if Dio was trying to replicate “Rainbow in the Dark” with songs like “Rock ‘n’ Roll Children” and “Hungry for Heaven” but that’s okay because I happen to like the songs. They’d be better though without the keyboards and that goes especially for “Hungry for Heaven” which is a catchy rocker but it totally loses its balls when the keys come in.
Dio’s first two albums went platinum and this one only went gold (500,000 copies sold). None of his albums have been certified gold or platinum since. If this is the beginning of any popularity “downfall” for Dio there’s still more than a few good notes here for him to go out on. Quality certainly isn’t the issue as far as I’m concerned. Sacred Heart is a solid release in a long history of them from Dio.
In addition to being Dio’s last flirt with mainstream success, this was guitarist Vivian Campbell’s last album in the group. Vivian joined Whitesnake in 1987 and has enjoyed a cushy job in Def Leppard since 1992.
“Shoot Shoot” is often cited as one of Dio’s worst songs but I don’t see it that way. It’s not great and the lyrics are silly but I don’t think the song is terrible. I guess I’m just not that hard to please when it comes to Dio.
Highlights: “King of Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “Sacred Heart”, “Another Lie”, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children”, “Hungry for Heaven”
DIO – Dream Evil
Dio – Dream Evil (1987, Warner Bros. Records)
1. “Night People” … 4:06
2. “Dream Evil” … 4:26
3. “Sunset Superman” … 5:45
4. “All the Fools Sailed Away” … 7:10
5. “Naked In The Rain” … 5:09
6. “Overlove” … 3:26
7. “I Could Have Been a Dreamer” … 4:42
8. “Faces in the Window” … 3:53
9. “When a Woman Cries” … 4:43
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Producer: Ronnie James Dio
I’m not really sure why I put off buying Dio’s solo albums for so long. I’ve never had a problem with the music or the man and I’ve become a HUGE Black Sabbath fan over the last two years. I basically figured Ronnie’s Stand Up and Shout collection was pretty much all I’d ever need but boy was I wrong! Dio is going to be one of those artists for me where I eventually plan on collecting all of his studio albums.
I bought this album the same time I bought Lock Up the Wolves. For whatever reason, I was drawn to Lock Up the Wolves first but now that I’ve backtracked chronologically to this album — I can say as much as I liked Lock Up the Wolves, Dream Evil is much better. Dream Evil is right up there with Holy Diver and The Last in Line as far as classic Dio goes. Perhaps if 1986′s Sacred Heart had stuck to the traditional Dio sound a bit more closely, Dio wouldn’t have already seen such quickly diminishing returns by the time this album was released.
Their really isn’t any filler to be found on this album in my opinion but I have to admit the album’s second single, “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”, is a guilty pleasure. Definitely the slickest most radio-ready song of the bunch but it peaked at No. 33 on the U.S. rock radio charts.
It’s a shame this album started Ronnie’s spiral into obscurity (though it was the gold-status Sacred Heart that did the damage, really) when it comes to the masses because this is a great heavy metal album that stands shoulder to shoulder with the group’s first two efforts.
Highlights: “Night People”, “Dream Evil”, “Sunset Superman”, “All The Fools Sailed Away”, “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”
www.ronniejamesdio.com
www.myspace.com/dioofficial
Buy It!
Amazon.com
CD Universe
DIO – Lock Up The Wolves
Dio – Lock Up The Wolves (2008, Reprise Records)
Original Release: 1990, Reprise Records
1.”Wild One” … 4:02
2.”Born on the Sun” … 5:39
3.”Hey Angel” … 4:59
4.”Between Two Hearts” … 6:27
5.”Night Music” … 5:05
6.”Lock Up The Wolves” … 8:30
7.”Evil on Queen Street” … 6:01
8.”Walk on Water” … 3:42
9.”Twisted” … 4:44
10.”Why Are They Watching Me” … 5:00
11.”My Eyes” … 6:34
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Rowan Robertson – Guitar
Teddy Cook – Bass
Simon Wright – Drums
Jens Johansson – Keyboards
Producer: Tony Platt and Ronnie James Dio
This album is from a reissue series called ‘Flashback’, a line of budget priced titles from artists and labels that fall under the giant umbrella of Warner Bros. Barnes & Noble’s website lists the label releasing this edition as Rhino Entertainment but all I see on the CD and in the liner notes is Reprise Records, so I’m still going with that. Doesn’t really matter though, since both Rhino Entertainment and Reprise are owned by Warner Bros.
To be honest, I never intended to buy this album. I’ve always read mixed reviews on it. For an album with mixed reviews, I never saw a price low enough to warrant the investment. Luckily, these Flashback titles are priced to sell at $5.99 so I couldn’t resist when I saw it at Barnes & Noble and figured it nothing else I’d be getting a cool piece of cover art. The insert folds out to reveal Dio posing with some hair band.
For my tastes, Dio albums (while good) can sometimes be a bit too slow. That’s not really the case here. This album was recorded and released when heavy metal was flashy and more often than not it was accessible to the mainstream as well. Therefore, this release find itself straddling the line between Dio’s typical brand of metal and a more “eighties” metal sound. The results are really enjoyable if not really amazing.
“Wild One” is a fast number and the best choice to open the album. “Born on the Sun”, “Lock Up the Wolves” (Does anyone else think of Back to the Future with those clocks ticking?) and “Hey Angel” are typically epic Dio songs. “My Eyes” is a fun nod to Dio’s past bands and songs. I’m usually a sucker for a song like this from veteran bands.
Definitely worth the $5.99 I paid for it and I think this is an underrated Dio album. I think it probably isn’t favored as much from Dio fans just because it’s a bit more flashy and polished than his albums are usually known to be. There’s some great guitar playing here from Rowan Robertson.
I would have like to have heard more from this line-up that consisted of former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright, wunderkind Rowan Robertson (who went on to do a series of instructional guitar videos and plays in various bands to this day) and Jens Johnasson (who has played in power metal band Stratovarius since 1995). Don’t ask me about Teddy Cook. I don’t know.
Highlights: “Wild One”, “Born on the Sun”, “Hey Angel”, “Night Music”, “Lock Up The Wolves”, “My Eyes”
DIO – Stand Up and Shout: The Anthology
Dio – Stand Up and Shout: The Anthology (2003, Rhino Records)
Disc One:
1. “Hoochie Koochie Lady” … 5:34
2. “I’m Coming Back for You” … 3:28
3. “Carolina County Ball” … 4:47
4. “Man on the Silver Mountain” … 4:39
5. “Starstruck” … 4:07
6. ” Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” … 4:21
7. ” Neon Knights” … 3:53
8. “Children of the Sea” … 5:34
9. ” Heaven and Hell” … 6:58
10. “Turn Up the Night” … 3:42
11. “The Sign of the Southern Cross” … 7:45
12. “The Mob Rules” … 3:15
13. “Voodoo (live)” … 5:30
14. “Sacred Heart (live)” … 6:28
Disc Two:
1. “Stand Up and Shout” … 3:18
2. “Holy Diver” … 5:51
3. “Don’t Talk to Strangers” … 4:55
4. “Straight Through the Heart” … 4:32
5. “Rainbow in the Dark” … 4:16
6. “We Rock” … 4:35
7. “The Last in Line” … 5:45
8. “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” … 7:01
9. “King of Rock and Roll” … 3:51
10. “Hungry for Heaven” … 4:12
11. “Dream Evil” … 4:24
12. “All the Fools Sailed Away” … 7:13
13. “Lock Up the Wolves” … 8:33
14. “Strange Highways” … 6:52
Musicians:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
(No, I’m not listing 30+ years worth of musicians. You know the bands, you know who played what.)
Spectacular career retrospective of Ronnie James Dio and it isn’t just his solo work that’s featured. This two disc collection covers his work in Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath as well. All that’s missing is a few doo-wop songs from his days with the Red Cap and the Prophets! Disc one covers his time in Elf, Rainbow and Sabbath while disc two focuses entirely on the band Dio.
This is hardly the first Dio compilation, but to my knowledge, it is the first to not focus exclusively on his solo career. All of the original songs by the original bands are here (meaning these aren’t re-recordings by Dio and his band), which is awesome. Getting the Sabbath songs on the album probably wasn’t too hard because Rhino is a part of Warner Bros. (the longtime label of Black Sabbath), but Elf was released under Epic Records (owned by Sony) and Rainbow comes from Polydor Records (owned by Universal). So Kudos to Rhino Entertainment for working with three separate labels to give us a truly wonderful career overview of one of rock’s most amazing singers.
It’s evident from “Hoochie Koochie Lady” to “Strange Highways” that Ronnie’s voice has not faltered through the decades. Ronnie James Dio defies time itself! In fact, if anything, his voice has better more rich and powerful as time soldiers on. The only gripe I can have about this album is that “Computer God” is the only song from Dehumanizer. That album was great! “Voodoo” is from Sabbath’s Live Evil and I’m assuming the live version of “Sacred Heart” comes from Intermission.
I wanted to pick this album up when it was first released because I was just then beginning to take an interest in Black Sabbath and Dio, but I held off because I think the album was $25-30 at the time and I wasn’t sure if I would even like it. I picked it up a year or two later at Walmart for $13. I’m sure this album can probably be found for that same price or maybe even less these days.
Sometimes referred to as The Dio Anthology: Stand Up and Shout or Stand Up and Shout: The Dio Anthology.
DIO – Magica & Killing the Dragon
Dio – Magica & Killing the Dragon (2007, Snapper Music – German Import)
Fantastic import because it is a two-disc set featuring Magica (2000) and Killing the Dragon (2002) and I picked it up online brand new for only $10. These albums had been on my “I”ll get to it someday” wish list since they were first released. I hadn’t had a full sampling of Dio’s music yet earlier this decade and I knew both albums had positive reviews at the time of their release. I couldn’t pass this up when I saw it listed. I like the album art, incorporationg both albums, but I would have also liked a more prominent representation of the original albums’ art. All we get are two TINY thumbnails of each album’s full cover on the back of the booklet insert!
Let’s break down each disc…
Disc 1: Magica (Original Release: 2000, Spitfire Records)
1. “Discovery” … 0:54
2. “Magica Theme” … 1:16
3. “Lord of the Last Day” … 4:04
4. “Fever Dreams” … 4:37
5. “Turn to Stone” … 5:19
6. “Feed My Head” … 5:39
7. “Ebeil” … 7:25
8. “Challis” … 4:25
9. “As Long as It’s Not About Love” … 6:04
10. “Losing My Insanity” … 5:04
11. “Otherworld” … 4:56
12. “Magica (Reprise)”… 1:53
13. “Lord of the Last Day (Reprise)” (Dio) … 1:44
14. “Magica Story” … 18:26
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Simon Wright – Drums
Scott Warren – Keyboards
Produced by: Ronnie James Dio
Magica is a concept album, a “science fiction tale of the future”. It’s good vs. evil and Dio’s singing about it. What more do you really need to know to get on board?
I personally think the album is a bit bogged down with instrumentals, reprises and spoken word pieces (there’s only 9 legit songs here), but all of the songs are rock solid and at least the tracks that are there only to flesh out the “concept” are fairly short. Well, “Magica Story” is extremely long. It’s Ronnie telling the tale of “Magica”. That’s interesting, but thankfully, it was included as the last track in order to skip it quite easily. =)
Overall, this is definitely one of Dio’s finer moments. I think it is similar to Master of the Moon in that it doesn’t have a lot of fast rockers, but these trudging numbers are so heavy and scream “classic Dio” so loud that it doesn’t even matter.
Veteran Dio guitarist Craig Goldy made his return with this album.
Highlights: “Lord of the Last Day”, “Fever Dreams”, “Turn to Stone”, “Feed My Head”, “Ebeil”, “Challis”
Disc 2: Killing the Dragon (Original Release: 2002, Spitfire Records)
1. “Killing the Dragon” … 4:25
2. “Along Comes a Spider” … 3:32
3. “Scream” … 5:02
4. “Better in the Dark” … 3:43
5. “Rock & Roll” … 6:11
6. “Push” … 4:08
7. “Guilty” … 4:25
8. “Throw Away Children” … 5:35
9. “Before the Fall” … 3:48
10. “Cold Feet” … 4:11
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Doug Aldrich – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass, Keyboards
Simon Wright – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Scott Warren – Keyboards (“Before the Fall”)
King Harbour Children’s Choir — Chorus (“Throw Away Children”)
Produced by: Ronnie James Dio
This isn’t a concept album, but a bit of Dio’s fascination with the future & technology carries over from Magica as he has said the dragon in “Killing the Dragon” is meant to be technology.
Anyway, this album is another great moment in Dio’s career and one of his top albums, in my opinion. Not sure where guitarist Craig Goldy went, even though he has a few songwriting credits here. He played on Magica, skipped out on this album, then came back for 2004′s Master of the Moon. Doesn’t really matter though because his replacement here is the amazing Doug Aldrich. I was fortunate enough to catch Doug live with Whitesnake in 2009 and he’s gotta be one of the rock’s top active guitarists.
Back to this album, maybe Dio realized Magica was a plodding beast (heavy and solid, but plodding) because Killing the Dragon doesn’t have that problem. The tempo is a bit faster and some of Dio’s best numbers roost here. “Killing the Dragon” is a great opener and “Scream” is just too catchy. Who wouldn’t love a song featuring Dio screaming “SCREEEEAM”?
“Cold Feet” is my favorite song from the album (yes, I know it is a mid-tempo number). It’s got a great classic rock vibe and I like the use of keyboards in it.
An even better release than Magica. And Magica is nothing to stick your nose up at.
Highlights: “Killing the Dragon”, “Scream”, “Better in the Dark”, “Push”, “Guilty”, “Cold Feet”
THIS IS ’80s HAIR METAL
This Is ’80s Hair Metal (2003, Deadline Records/Cleopatra Records)
Disc One: STUDIO FUELED
1. “Cherry Pie” by Warrant … 3:05
2. “Someone Like You” by Bang Tango … 4:24
3. “Cum on Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot … 4:38
4. “Smooth Up” by Bulletboys … 5:03
5. “Pissed” by Dangerous Toys … 4:10
6. “Sex Action” by L.A. Guns … 3:53
7. “Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz” by Pretty Boy Floyd … 4:07
8. “Bathroom Wall” by Faster Pussycat … 4:58
9. “Little Teaser” by Jetboy … 3:14
10. “Love Removal Machine” by Great White … 4:29
11. “Make It Go Away” by Michael Monroe … 3:01
12. “Tooth & Nail” Lynch Mob … 3:24
13. “Mean Street Machine” by King Kobra … 4:24
14. “River Gold” by Hurricane … 4:04
15. “Black Out” by Love/Hate … 2:56
Disc Two: LIVE & DANGEROUS
1. “Gypsy Road” by Cinderella … 3:39
2. “Kiss Me Deadly” by Lita Ford … 4:21
3. “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” by Great White … 2:38
4. “One More Reason” by L.A. Guns … 3:49
5. “(You Can Still) Rock in America” by Night Ranger … 5:37
6. “Hollywood” by Junkyard … 2:50
7. “Dressed Up Vamp” by Bang Tango … 4:30
8. “Around Again” by Union … 5:53
9. “Teas’n, Pleas’n” by Dangerous Toys … 4:41
10. “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” by L.A. Guns … 2:18
11. “Wrathchild” by Paul DiAnno … 2:48
12. “Somebody Save Me” by Cinderella … 2:57
13. “Ramble On” by Great White … 4:36
14. “What You Say” by Saigon Kick … 3:49
Disc Three: POWER BALLADS
1. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Bret Michaels … 4:49
2. “When the Children Cry” by White Lion … 6:17
3. “Headed for a Heartbreak” by Kip Winger … 2:56
4. “Ballad of Jayne” by L.A. Guns … 5:15
5. “House of Pain” by Faster Pussycat … 7:50
6. “Ready for Love” by Great White … 4:40
7. “Sometimes She Cries” by Warrant … 4:38
8. “Don’t Know What You’ve Got (‘Til It’s Gone)” by Cinderella … 5:39
9. “Dream On” by Ronnie James Dio & Yngwie Malmsteen … 4:28
10. “Sister Christian” by Night Ranger … 5:15
11. “Close My Eyes Forever” by Lita Ford … 5:02
12. “Lights” by Tuff … 3:11
13. “Still Lovin’ You” Steve Whiteman & George Lynch … 4:52
14. “Here I Go Again” by Bernie Shaw & Bernie Madsen … 4:01
15. ??? … 3:59
Oddball hair metal compilation that I picked up from FYE shortly after it’s release. I can’t remember how much I paid for it, but I don’t think it was too much. Maybe around $15 or so, which is a good thing because as you can expect from an indie hair metal compilation — these are not the original recordings. In some cases, not even the original artists are used! Ex-Dokken guitarist George Lynch and his band Lynch Mob sub for Dokken on “Tooth & Nail”, Bret Michaels stands in for his own band Poison and then there’s the odd inclusion of Great White’s cover of The Cult’s “Love Removal Machine” (this cover has apparently made its way around many a compilations). Another odd bit is that for some reason, Love/Hate’s “Black Out in the Red Room” is now simply called “Black Out”.
Back to the re-recordings, I actually like some of these versions better than the originals (though I think it’s also possible some of these songs were demos). Working on a small budget and stripped of the overproduction that was common in the ’80s, many of these songs sound fresh, raw and energetic compared to the originals. Disc One is nothing but studio recordings and Warrant’s re-recording of “Cherry Pie” is my favorite track and I think I actually like it better than the original version. Not all of Disc One is as enjoyable though– Joe Leste and Marq Torien struggle to hit their notes on “Someone Like You” and “Smooth Up”, respectively. Then there’s the awful industrialized version of “Bathroom Wall”. Look, why does this industrial garbage version of Faster Pussycat keep getting work on these hair compilations? If Taime Downe doesn’t want to represent the music in an accurate manner, I’m sure most hair metal fans would rather Faster Pussycat is not included at all.
Disc Two is nothing but live songs. The quality (and performances) vary greatly. Disc Three is power ballads, re-recordings again, but there’s some live versions as well. On Disc Three, there is a 15th track that I cannot find any info on (my slipcase/jewel case are in storage), but the song definitely does not belong here. I’ve never heard it before and it sounds like some mellow acoustic rock/pop you’d hear on the pop stations. I’m sure there’s some hair metal connection, but sonically, it’s not there. Anyone know the song title and artist?
Personally, I wouldn’t really say “this is ’80s metal”. Not when there’s so many cover songs (by Great White alone!), re-recordings and original artists are missing. The inclusion of Union alone is enough to strike down that this is a tribute to the ’80s (they didn’t formed until 1997)! Basically, the album is hit-or-miss. It’s an inconsistent three disc set, but despite the shady marketing, I still think this is a decent collection for anyone who is heavily into the hair metal scene. There’s enough gems here to make up for having to dig through the garbage to get to them.
Highlights:
Disc One: “Cherry Pie”, “Pissed”, “Sex Action”, “Love Removal Machine”, “Tooth & Nail”, “Mean Street Machine”
Disc Two: “Gypsy Road”, “(You Can Still) Rock In America”, “Hollywood”, “Ramble On”
Disc Three: “When the Children Cry”, “Ready for Love”, “Dream On”, “Still Lovin’ You”
Buy THIS IS ’80s HAIR METAL at Amazon.com
BLACK SABBATH – Mob Rules
Black Sabbath – Mob Rules (1981, Warner Bros. Records)
1. “Turn Up the Night” … 3:42
2. “Voodoo” … 4:32
3. “The Sign of the Southern Cross” … 7:46
4. “E5150″ … 2:54
5. “The Mob Rules” … 3:14
6. “Country Girl” … 4:02
7. “Slipping Away” … 3:45
8. “Falling Off the Edge of the World” … 5:02
9. “Over and Over” … 5:28
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
Produced by: Martin Birch
Another great piece of classic heavy metal and a fine companion to the previous year’s Heaven and Hell.
It’s quite amusing when you consider the songs & style of the Ozzy era compared to the Dio stuff. Ozzy Sabbath was political and “evil”, while Dio Sabbath became more fantasy-based and even talked about the ladies a bit (“Country Girl”) and good time sounding songs like “Turn Up the Night” (though the lyrics are fairly dark).
Out of the four Dio Sabbath albums (counting Heaven and Hell’s The Devil You Know), I think this would be my favorite. Though the song “Heaven and Hell” may be the best song the Dio lineup ever did, songs like “Turn Up the Night”, “Voodoo”, “The Sign of the Southern Cross”, “The Mob Rules”, “Country Girl” and “Over and Over” are just too powerful and have really stacked this album to monstrous proportions of quality.
Highlights: One of the top heavy metal albums of all time, in my opinion. So everything is a highlight!
www.blacksabbath.com
www.heavenandhelllive.com
www.myspace.com/heavenandhelllive
