Blog Archives
Black Sabbath – Mob Rules [Deluxe Edition]
Black Sabbath – Mob Rules [Deluxe Edition] (2010, Universal Music/Sanctuary Records – UK Import)
Original Release: 1981, Warner Bros. Records
Disc One: Mob Rules
1. Turn Up the Night … 3:42
2. Voodoo … 4:32
3. The Sign of the Southern Cross … 7:44
4. E5150 … 2:54
5. The Mob Rules … 3:15
6. Country Girl … 4:02
7. Slipping Away … 3:42
8. Falling Off the Edge of the World … 5:03
9. Over and Over … 5:28
Bonus Tracks
10. Die Young (Live – 12″ Single B-Side) … 4:04
11. The Mob Rules (Heavy Metal Soundtrack Version) … 3:14
Disc Two: Live at Hammersmith
1. E5150 … 1:18
2. Neon Knights … 4:37
3. N.I.B. … 5:16
4. Children of the Sea … 6:07
5. Country Girl … 3:53
6. Black Sabbath … 8:24
7. War Pigs … 7:40
8. Slipping Away … 3:18
9 Iron Man … 7:04
10. The Mob Rules … 3:35
11. Heaven and Hell … 14:24
12. Paranoid … 3:21
13. Voodoo … 5:45
14. Children of the Grave … 5:05
Mob Rules is an album I’ve spoken about before. That review was very brief, but really, what can you say? Looking back, it’s not my favorite of the Dio era (that nod would go to Heaven and Hell) but it’s still a classic that’s almost as good as the first album they did together. In addition to the original album of Mob Rules, Disc 1 features two bonus tracks: the original version of “The Mob Rules” (which was recorded for the Heavy Metal movie) and a live version of Heaven and Hell‘s ”Die Young”.
The real pull for me getting this Deluxe Edition was to get the second disc which features performances taken from Dec 31, 1981 through January 2, 1982 at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. This entire disc was originally released as Live at Hammersmith Oden by Rhino Records with an extremely limited print run of 5,000 copies back in 2007. As you can imagine, copies of that album are expensive and hard to come by so it’s great to now have the entire album included as a bonus disc.
If you don’t already own Mob Rules, or even if you do, this is still worth the pick up just for Disc 2. The band is in top form but then again, the Dio line-up was never not in top form! There are four live albums to choose from this particular Sabbath line-up (two as Black Sabbath, two as Heaven & Hell) and all of them are classics but if you want to hear this group in their formative years with a recording that takes places even before Live Evil, here’s your chance! Great studio album, great live disc = great deluxe edition!
http://heavenandhelllive.com/
http://www.blacksabbath.com
http://www.facebook.com/BlackSabbath
The Rods – Vengeance
The Rods – Vengeance (2011, Niji Entertainment Group)
1. “Raise Some Hell”
2. “I Just Wanna Rock”
3. “Rebels Highway”
4. “Ride Free Or Die”
5. “The Code”
6. “Livin’ Outside The Law”
7. “Let It Ripp”
8. “Fight Fire With Fire”
9. “Madman”
10. “Runnin’ Wild”
11. “Vengeance”
Band:
David “Rock” Feinstein – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Garry Bordonaro – Bass, Vocals
Carl Canedy – Drums, Vocals
Additional Musicians:
Ronnie James Dio – Lead Vocals (“The Code”)
Producer: The Rods
After David “Rock” Feinstein turned in his solid Bitten By The Beast solo effort last year, I was pretty much expecting The Rods’ Vengeance to be more of the same. I mean, just look at these song titles. The Rods aren’t setting out to reinvent the wheel, all they want to do is crank out some rock solid heavy metal and that’s exactly what they’ve done on this release.
As with Bitten By The Beast, the song on this album featuring Ronnie James Dio is the true point of interest (for me anyway). “The Code” could easily be from a latter day Dio album and I think I prefer it over the cousins’ collaboration on “Metal Will Never Die” from Bitten By The Beast.
As for the rest of the album, there’s nothing here that’s going knock your combat boots off. Songs like “Raise Some Hell” and “I Just Wanna Rock” are typical heavy metal bashers but it’s 100% pure old school heavy metal and that’s good enough in the middle of the summer when you’re washing your car!
Highlights: ”Raise Some Hell”, “I Just Wanna Rock”, “The Code”, “Livin’ Outside The Law”, “Vengeance”
Rainbow – On Stage
Rainbow – On Stage [Remastered] (1999, Polydor Records)
Original Release: 1977, Polydor Records
1. “Kill The King” … 5:31
2. Medley: “Man On The Silver Mountain/Blues/Starstruck” … 11:15
3.”Catch The Rainbow” … 15:36
4. “Mistreated” … 13:07
5. “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves” … 7:37
6. “Still I’m Sad” … 11:05
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Cozy Powell – Drums
Tony Carey – Keyboards
Producer: Martin Birch
This seems to be one of those live albums that everyone likes to point to as a live-album-gone-wrong. Not really sure why. I can understand some of the bitching about the track listing but Ritchie has always done whatever he’s wanted to — fans be damned. So I’m sure he had his reasons for not including “Stargazer”, probably just to tick people off. Whatever the case was, with only the debut and Rising under their belt, I think the collection of songs here is just fine. Especially when you factor in the band debuts “Kill The King” from the forthcoming Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll album, plays Deep Purple’s “Mistreated” and basically plays an extended version of the songs.
I’ve even read some state this album is boring, that is lacks energy. I just don’t see it that way. I’m one of those guys that LOVES going to a concert and watching guitar solos and drum solos and all of that stuff. I don’t see how anyone who truly appreciates rock music or music in general can say stuff like that is boring. Just listen to Blackmore and keyboardist Tony Carey as they duel together in the middle of the medley. Listen to that bit of blues played in that medley as well. That’s great and classic stuff. I love it whenever a band stretches out a song in concert and segues in and out of different songs and solos. The crowd obviously was having a blast because they started clapping to a beat while Ritchie fiddles around in the middle of “Mistreated”.
This is one of the grandest and most epic live albums I have ever heard and not for one second was I bored with it. It’s like actually being there in concert. This is what you would have heard. Extended versions like these are where you really get to see a band act like a band and play off each other. It’s amazing. This a true classic featuring Ronnie James Dio and Ritchie Blackmore — two of the most legendary figures in the world of rock and metal. Essential listening as far as I’m concerned because the Dio era of Rainbow can really do no wrong.
Highlights: ALL!
Like this:
Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer [Deluxe Edition]
Black Sabbath – Dehumanizer [Deluxe Edition] (2011, EMI Records – UK Import)
Original Release: 1992, Reprise Records
Disc One
1. “Computer God” … 6:10
2. “After All (The Dead)” … 5:37
3. “TV Crimes” … 3:58
4. “Letters from Earth” … 4:12
5. “Master of Insanity” … 5:54
6. “Time Machine” … 4:10
7. “Sins of the Father” … 4:43
8. “Too Late” … 6:54
9. “I” … 5:10
10. “Buried Alive” … 4:47
Disc Two
1. “Master Of Insanity” (Radio Edit) … 4:08
2. “Letters From Earth” (B-Side Version) … 4:42
3. “Time Machine” (Wayne’s World Version) … 4:18
4. “Children Of The Sea” (live) … 6:23
5. “Die Young” (live) … 2:16
6. “TV Crimes” (live) … 4:23
7. “Master Of Insanity” (live) … 7:39
8. “Neon Knights” (live) … 5:34
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
Produced by: Reinhold Mack
Yet another Black Sabbath deluxe edition release and yet again, it was a must have when I learned of its upcoming release. Dehumanizer is one of Sabbath’s best albums (for my original album review, click here) so it’s great to see it getting remastered and an extra disc of goodies.
Compared to the extras on the deluxe editions of Seventh Star and The Eternal Idol though this collection falls a bit short. The first three tracks on Disc Two are merely alternate versions of the songs from the album. While I don’t think the radio edit of “Master Of Insanity” or the B-side version of “Letters From Earth” have appeared on disc before (I may be wrong), the Wayne’s World take of “Time Machine” was on the original release of Dehumanizer. Here, it’s now considered a bonus track.
Nonetheless, what really interested me with this reissue were the five live tracks. All were taken from a show on July 25, 1992 at the Sundome in Tampa, Florida. I mean, it’s Sabbath live. You really can’t go wrong, especially with Ronnie on the vocals. I don’t think this would be an essential pick up for most Sabbath fans, but for the hardcore fans of Dio/Dehumanizer, it’s a good purchase. You get the typical nice packaging that comes with these deluxe editions, a booklet featuring some backstory to the reunion with Dio, plus the extra disc of bonus tracks.
David Rock Feinstein – Bitten By The Beast
David Rock Feinstein – Bitten By The Beast (2010, Niji Entertainment Group)
1. “Smoke On The Horizon” … 4:49
2. “Evil In Me” … 6:44
3. “Break Down The Walls” … 4:27
4. “Metal Will Never Die” … 5:20
5. “Kill The Demon” … 5:42
6. “Rock’s Boogie” … 4:04
7. “Give Me Mercy” … 4:04
8. “Run For Your Life” … 4:13
9. “Gambler Gambler” … 4:05
Musicians:
David “Rock” Feinstein – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Nate Horton – Drums
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Garry Bordonaro – Bass (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Carl Canedy – Drums (“Metal Will Never Die”)
Producer: David “Rock” Feinstein
A significant album if for only one reason, it features one of the final vocal performances of David’s cousin — Ronnie James Dio. So I admit that was the major selling point for me because I had picked up Feinstein’s Third Wish CD when that first came out I was disappointed by it. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this album but it’s a solid slab old school hard rock and heavy metal. Though I’m not familiar too much with the band (other than a few songs), I’ve read some reviews saying the sound is similar to The Rods, which Feinstein is a member of. Though this is a solo album, when it comes to the Dio track “Metal Will Never Die”, it’s the complete Rods line-up of Feinstein, Bordonaro and Canedy backing him up. Pretty cool!
There’s a heavy blues influence to this album with Feinstein showing his roots in Elf. “Rock’s Boogie” and “Gambler Gambler” are like Elf on steroids while “Smoke On The Horizon”, “Evil In Me”, “Run For Your Life” and “Kill The Demon” are just pure heavy metal with some blistering guitar work from David. Of course, “Metal Will Never Die” is the real highlight of the album — it’s Ronnie & The Rods! A typically great vocal performance from Dio. It’s a mid-tempo number sounding like something he may have recorded on a later Dio album, maybe Killing the Dragon or Master of the Moon. I had read there was talk between Ronnie & David about doing a full album together, it’s a shame we’ll never get to hear that.
My one complaint about this album is the mix. The vocals are pushed way too much in the back. At first, when listening to “Smoke On The Horizon”, I thought maybe that was the effect Feinstein was going for with that particular but it’s the same case throughout the CD. This is especially apparent on “Metal Will Never Die”, the mix just doesn’t do Ronnie justice. It’s almost like there is some weird vocal effect going on throughout the whole album. The guitars sound great though, nice dirty sound to them and Feinstein is definitely a gifted guitarist and knows how to write riffs. It’s puzzling he never found more success during heavy metal’s ’80s heyday.
Overall, DRF has turned in one fine old school metal album!
Highlights: “Smoke On The Horizon”, “Evil In Me”, “Metal Will Never Die”, “Run For Your Life”
http://www.myspace.com/davidrockfeinstein
http://www.bittenbythebeast.com/
Dio – Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987
Dio – Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 (2010, Niji Entertainment Group)
Disc 1: 1983
1. “Stand Up And Shout” … 3:50
2. “Straight Through The Heart” … 4:49
3. “Children Of The Sea” … 6:16
4. “Rainbow in the Dark” … 4:38
5. “Holy Diver” … 5:09
6. Drum Solo
7. “Stargazer” … 1:43
8. Guitar Solo
9. “Heaven And Hell” … 11:06
10. “Man On The Silver Mountain” … 3:33
11. “Starstruck” … 0:47
12. “Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise)” … 2:30
Disc 2: 1987
1. “Dream Evil” … 4:56
2. “Neon Knights” … 4:44
3. “Naked In The Rain” … 7:29
4.” Rock and Roll Children” … 2:47
5. “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” … 4:39
6. “The Last In Line” … 4:12
7. “Children Of The Sea” … 1:22
8. “Holy Diver” … 1:28
9. “Heaven and Hell” … 3:18
10. “Man On The Silver Mountain” … 4:29
11. “All the Fools Sailed Away” … 4:23
12. “The Last in Line (Reprise)” … 1:12
13. “Rainbow In The Dark” … 5:12
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Vivian Campbell – Guitar (Disc 1)
Craig Goldy – Guitar (Disc 2)
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Another great document and testament to the power of Dio live! This collection of two live Donington shows is the first album to be released under Ronnie & Wendy’s Niji Entertainment Group label. The album was in the works before Ronnie’s death (he gets executive producer credit) but sadly he did not get to see the release of this album. Disc One was recorded August 20, 1983 while Disc Two was recorded on August 22, 1987. These shows are available to us today thanks to the BBC archiving them (along with a couple of the other bands) for the purpose of a few radio broadcasts. Now they’ve passed the savings onto us!
And what a release it is! Very nice digipak foldout featuring some cool pics from the shows (the album cover is the best shot), promo art, a bit of history on the band leading up the shows, plus two mock-laminate passes for these ’83 and ’87 Monsters of Rock shows. Also, if you pre-ordered from Ronnie’s official site, included is an exclusive Dio VIP backstage pass. I’m not sure if the passes were from random tours but my pass is from the 1990 Throw ‘Em to the Wolves tour which of course had the band supporting the Lock Up the Wolves album. If the pre-order pass isn’t authentic and something they found in a warehouse somewhere, they really did a heck of a job with making it look so.
Disc One features a hungry band on fire and with something to prove. Ronnie was coming out of Sabbath and had just released Holy Diver the month before and the group was placed early on the bill. Ronnie and his gang had no choice but to throw down the gauntlet and show the world they could make it just fine, thank you. Half of the set list features songs from the then-new Holy Diver album while Ronnie also makes use of his Rainbow and Sabbath days to further win over the crowd. The worst part about this set? We are only teased with way-too-short versions “Stargazer” and “Starstruck”! But there is another lengthy and epic version of “Heaven and Hell” to make up for it while the band shows all kinds of flash, power and pizazz on their shiny new songs. A lively crowd throughout (even cheering on the new and soon-to-be classics) helps makes this an even better show.
Disc Two finds Craig Goldy stepping in for Vivian Campbell. An extended set list is here as well now that the band had graduated to “Special Guest” for their second Donington appearance playing second to last on the bill (Bon Jovi headlined this year). Dream Evil was the new album to promote that year (also coming out in the previous month) and it’s a good album so I have no problems with some of those songs making appearances but I would’ve loved to have heard “Sunset Superman” (in place of “Naked In The Rain”) and even “Sacred Heart” from the 1985 album of the same name. At least Sacred Heart‘s Rock and Roll Children made it! One of my favorite Dio songs. I’m also surprised “Holy Diver” got the short end of the stick but oh well. Still, with Dio now being able to call up on four albums of his own and adding a few more Rainbow and Sabbath nuggets to distinguish this set from the 1983 show, this is yet another great concert. Funny how “Rainbow In The Dark” had worked its way up to becoming the band’s closing number.
I won’t even get into the highlights this time. The first disc is full of fire and energy and the second disc thankfully does not repeat too much of disc one and is a fine total performance in its own right. Dio fans must own this album!
www.ronniejamesdio.com
www.facebook.com/officialronniejamesdio
www.myspace.com/dioofficial
Heaven & Hell – Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell – Live In Europe
Heaven & Hell – Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell – Live In Europe (2010, Eagle Rock Entertainment/Armoury Records)
1. “The Mob Rules” … 3:47
2. “Children of the Sea” … 6:31
3. “I” … 6:17
4. “Bible Black” … 6:30
5. “Time Machine” … 4:40
6. “Fear” … 4:36
7. “Falling Off the Edge of the World” … 5:40
8. “Follow the Tears” … 6:12
9. “Die Young” … 6:42
10. “Heaven and Hell” … 17:49
11. “Neon Knights” … 5:45
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Scott Warren – Keyboards
Recorded on July 30, 2009 at the Wacken Open Air festival.
This is one of those albums that has so many titles, it makes you wonder what the real name of the album is. Neon Nights for sure, but anything after that appears to be up for grabs. It becomes even more confusing when you consider the sub-subtitle (“sub-subtitle”?) of Live In Europe is replaced with Live At Wacken for the European release.
If Dio was alive today, I suppose you’d be hearing a number of groans about yet another live album from these guys. This is the third live album they’ve released either as Black Sabbath or Heaven & Hell since 2007 (and fourth total), but given that the great Ronnie James is no longer with us and this album stands to document what came to be the band’s final tour, I think most Dio fans will give this album a warm embrace. It holds a lot of sentimental value for fans I think and Neon Nights does well to hold up the legacy this group started in 1980.
Right up to (and during!) the discovery of cancer, Ronnie was a phenomenal vocalist. For the most part on this album, he sounds just like he always has though with age his voice has gotten a bit gruffer. He’s was still sounding great, still hitting the notes and singing better than almost anyone else around though. Tony is playing great as well. For a guy that never seems to move around much on stage, it’s amazing to hear how fast he can fire off the notes. Even Geezer gets to stretch his fingers during “Heaven and Hell”. That almost makes me wish I did have the DVD, I’ve always enjoyed watching him play bass.
If you’re a big Dio fan, you’re probably going to get this disc no matter what. We all know what to expect from these guys in the studio and on stage and this is good album to close out the chapter of Heaven & Hell. They don’t put on bad shows and they get to show off just how good they can be on the epic 17 minute plus version of “Heaven and Hell”. You just can’t go wrong with these guys in concert.
A DVD version of this show was released simultaneously and features “E5150″ and also “Country Girl”. Would’ve been nice to have those two extra tracks and the DVD was only $1 more than the CD but I just don’t have much use for live DVDs compared to CDs.
Highlights: “The Mob Rules”, “I”, “Die Young”, “Heaven and Hell”, “Neon Knights”
www.heavenandhelllive.com
www.myspace.com/heavenandhellmusic
Black Sabbath – Live Evil
Black Sabbath – Live Evil [Remastered] (2004, Sanctuary Records)
Original Release: 1982, Warner Bros. Records
1. “E5150″ … 2:21
2. “Neon Knights” … 4:36
3. “N.I.B.” … 5:09
4. “Children of the Sea” … 6:05
5. “Voodoo” … 6:07
6. ”Black Sabbath” … 8:39
7. “War Pigs” … 9:19
8. “Iron Man” … 7:29
9. ”The Mob Rules” … 4:10
10. “Heaven and Hell” … 12:04
11. “The Sign of the Southern Cross”/”Heaven and Hell” (continued) … 7:15
12. “Paranoid” … 3:46
13. “Children of the Grave” … 5:25
14. “Fluff” … 0:59
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Additional Musicians:
Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards
Producer: Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler
The album that broke the band. The Iommi & Butler/Dio & Appice Mix Wars that went on with this album are well documented so I won’t even comment further. If this was to be the final album of the Dio Sabbath regime, it’s a great note to go out on. After the excellent Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Live Evil was a great way to document this newly energized version of Sabbath and it’s interesting to hear Ronnie James Dio’s take on some of the Ozzy songs.
As I’ve said elsewhere though, only Ozzy can really do Ozzy. I’m not saying Ozzy is a better singer than Dio, Gillan, Hughes or Martin — what I’m saying is Dio, Gillan, Hughes and Martin are too good of singers to pull off the poor whiny vocals required to make the Ozzy material work but I do quite enjoy the Dio version of “N.I.B.”.
Anyway, it’s Sabbath live with Dio. It’s going to be a great show. They run through a great collection of Dio and Ozzy tunes with gusto and this is rightfully an essential Sabbath release and it’s the very first official live album in their discography as well. What else can I say? It’s a metal classic!
Highlights: “Neon Knights”, “N.I.B.”, “Children of the Sea”, “The Mob Rules”, “Heaven and Hell”, “The Sign of the Southern Cross”/”Heaven and Hell” (continued)
www.blacksabbath.com
www.heavenandhelllive.com
www.myspace.com/heavenandhelllive
RAINBOW – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
Rainbow – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow (1987, PolyGram Records/Polydor Records)
Original Release: 1975, PolyGram Records
1.”Man on the Silver Mountain” … 4:37
2.”Self Portrait” … 3:12
3.”Black Sheep of the Family” … 3:19
4.”Catch the Rainbow” … 6:29
5.”Snake Charmer” … 4:30
6.”The Temple of the King” … 4:43
7.”If You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll” … 2:35
8.”Sixteenth Century Greensleeves” … 3:29
9.”Still I’m Sad” … 3:52
Band:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar
Craig Gruber – Bass
Gary Driscoll – Drums
Mickey Lee Soule – Piano, Mellotron, Clavinet, Organ
Producer: Martin Birch
I’m so sorry I ever took so long to get into Rainbow. I really like all eras of the band but obviously the Dio years were the best and the debut is also the best of the band’s catalog. I can’t stop listening to this CD, there is NO filler here at all. The only song that comes close to being filler is the cover of Quatermass’ “Black Sheep of the Family”, which is funny because that song is the one reason Rainbow existed — Deep Purple refused to cover it at Ritchie Blackmore’s request so he went out on his own to do it and the recording session morphed into a full album and a new group (Blackmore + Elf = Purple Elf?).
Yes, there are a number of epic songs from the next two studio albums but this whole album just really pulls me in. The album has such a classic rock ‘n’ roll sound coupled with some really cool melancholy tunes (“Catch the Rainbow”, “The Temple of the King”) and a bit of a loose, bluesy feel at times (“Snake Charmer”, “If You Don’t Like Rock ‘n’ Roll”) all while playing into Blackmore & Dio’s sword & sorcery obsessions and setting the blueprint for the next generation of rock bands.
“Man on the Silver Mountain” and the cover of The Yardbirds’ “Still I’m Sad” are the hardest rocking songs of the bunch but the previously mentioned melancholy laid back tunes really get to me and have gotten the most play from me thus far. The album really is almost perfect, such a great balance between ballads, “heavy rock” and good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll swagger.
Really what else can be said that hasn’t been said since 1975? Easily one of the best rock albums of all-time! Everyone should own this!
Highlights: “Man on the Silver Mountain”, “Catch The Rainbow”, “Snake Charmer”, “The Temple of the King”, “Still I’m Sad”
