Ronnie James Dio . . . Underrated?

[Panamark]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Sorry Panamark, but I can`t agree.

Yes the original line up`s albums were highly influential but in terms of songs, production, performance and energy, it`s (in my opinion) their best LP.

I don`t think it`s fair to compare to 5150 as it was shit compared to Dave-era VH.

"Heaven and hell" was a total reinvention as Sabbath hadn`t made a decent LP since "Sabotage" where as VH had made one of their best in "1984".

Without Dio, I don`t think Sabbath would have made it past 1980.

One of the reasons why people have so much respect for Sabbath is that they`ve been around so long, longer without Ozzy than with and they made more consistantly good albums with Dio.

"Heaven and hell", "Mob rules" and "Dehumanizer" were all great.

"Technical ecstacy" and "Never say die" showed that Ozzy era Sabbath had nothing more to offer after their original cement mixer styled HM well ran dry.

Dio was the man who proved that there was life after Ozzy, the right guy at the right time.

Maybe the only guy that could have done it.

Dio era Sabbath should get more respect than it does.

I agree with most of what you say, except personally I feel original Sabbath were a better band. It does draws some Hagar-esque parallels as DIO Sabbath and Ozzy Sabbath were different. As was Van Hagar and Van Halen.

My deciding factor is the "chill factor". Songs that have that extra something special about them that give you the chills. I listen to Ozzy songs like Spiral City Architect, Back Street Kids, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and War Pigs and that chil factor is there bigtime.
Much like Ozzy's albums with Randy. There was something special going on. Much like Dave and Van Halen. DIO sabbath was fookin great ! But I didnt gets the chills, like I do with original Sabbath with Ozzy. But Im not denying the greatness of DIO. Hell, personal musical interpretation is a very unique thing.

[Mr Badguy]

I thought "Mob rules" was more of an attempt to get back to the "horror" style of early Sabbath, while "Heaven and hell" was more mainstream.

There are some real dark songs on there like "Voodoo", "Sign of the southern cross" and "Falling off the edge of the world".

And "E5150" is real wierd.

If Dio had stayed with Sabbath, I think they would have continued to make excellent albums instead of the much of the dross they released in the mid 80`s.

He fused Iommi`s brutal riffs into memorable songs, I think, better than anyone else.

[ashstralia]

sorry, mark, i just got back to this thread.
um, no, i didn't see rjd in '86, and i don't know why.
cause i was livin in sydney, and all my mates an' me were little
metal grom's; same like you.
i saw a vid of him + viv once.... pretty cool.

[Panamark]

The Sydney show was meant to be really good from what I was told. Ya missed out !!

[tobinentinc]

Do you guys Remember Hear 'N Aid?? He wrote Stars?? What do you think??

[cwsmith17]

No.

[BigBadBrian]

Originally posted by Panamark
NO!

Im a big DIO fan and yes, Heaven and Hell was fantastic, but nothing beats the original Black Sabbath. Thats like saying 5150 was better than the original Van Halen albums...
Original Sabbath was the best !!!

Yup.

[Panamark]

Originally posted by tobinentinc
Do you guys Remember Hear 'N Aid?? He wrote Stars?? What do you think??

No shit, Ive got the original VHS release of this. Actually its kinda cool as they assembled all these metal guitarists and vocalists at the time. The extended version of the song featured the extended lead solo where all the guitarists did their own little solo. I reckon its pretty interesting and a good record of that time in metal. As for the song ? It sounds a lot like Rainbow in the Dark. But its cool.

The metal equivalent at the time to Bob Geldofs Feed Africa effort.

[ALMOSTsaved]

Except for "Rainbow In The Dark" and "Holy Diver" I was never a big Dio fan.

[weesfreewheelin]

Anybody ever check out Dio's Strange Highway? Hard rockin album

[ALinChainz]

Like his Sabbath work a lot. Like his first 2 solo albums, but what followed never measured up in my opinion. Like Ozzy, seemed to go through guitarists a lot and the could never recapture the sound.

Overall, though, liked him. Good show live.

[Mezro]

Ozzy, Dio, Ozzy, Dio, Ozzy, Dio....we all know that "Born Again" with Ian Gillian was the best Sabbath ever.

Mezro...yeah, that and fucking "headless cross"

[FORD]

Just like Van Hagar, Sabbath w/Dio should be thought of as a completely separate band from the real Black Sabbath.

Unlike Van Hagar though, they weren't a complete fucking embarrassment to the legacy of the original group. Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer were kickass albums.

[FORD]

Originally posted by Mezro
Ozzy, Dio, Ozzy, Dio, Ozzy, Dio....we all know that "Born Again" with Ian Gillian was the best Sabbath ever.

Mezro...yeah, that and fucking "headless cross"

Purple Sabbath didn't stay around long enough to get the recognition they deserved, but let's face it, the only Black Sabbath albums after that were "Dehumanizer" and "Reunion".

Those Tony Iommi solo albums were not even remotely Black Sabbath.

[tobinentinc]

Originally posted by FORD
Just like Van Hagar, Sabbath w/Dio should be thought of as a completely separate band from the real Black Sabbath.

Unlike Van Hagar though, they weren't a complete fucking embarrassment to the legacy of the original group. Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer were kickass albums.

Couldn't agree with you more.