2021

DIO Donington '87 AUDIO CD BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED BMG Rights Management 4050538753073 UPC | 4050538688092 2021 TRACK LISTING 01. Dream Evil 02. Neon Knights 03. Naked in the Rain 04. Rock 'N' Roll Children 05. Long Live Rock 'N' Roll 06. The Last in Line 07. Children of the Sea 08. Holy Diver 09. Heaven and Hell 10. Man on the Silver Mountain 11. All the Fools Sailed Away 12. The Last in Line (Reprise) 13. Rainbow in the Dark He Was Already A Legend When Ronnie James Dio stepped onto the Donington stage in the summer of '83, unveiling a new band and preparing to showcase songs from a brand new album, he was an artist to whom the words legendary' & ‘loved’ could be evenly applied. After all, here was a front-man whose name had been chipped into the marble base beneath two of rock’s most consistently acclaimed recordings: Rainbow’s ‘Rising’ album (1976) and Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven And Hell’ (1980), cornerstone titles in any self-respecting rock fan’s cherished collection. Not only did these milestone releases give birth to the term ‘Dio-esque’ (a tag that can be applied to anything suitably grandiose in nature, be it the pyramids, the Great Sphinx of Giza or every spine-tingling second of ‘...Rising’ centerpiece ‘Stargazer’), but they instantly pushed RJD into the premier league of international hard rock singers - a league he ended up topping on a career-long basis. But by 1983, only the first few chapters of the Dio saga had been writ; heady an’ exciting chapters certainly, each one recorded in illuminated script by a team of monks, silent and cowled, and great leather-bound tomes they were, flamboyantly inked with tales of myth & magic... However... when Ronnie took to the Donington stage for the first time - young-blood guitarist Vivian Campbell on one side, Rainbow pal, bassist Jimmy Bain on the other, and Sabs colleague Vinny Appice guarding the kit - his Rainbow & Sabbath days were behind him. Now he was fronting a band under his own name, and the rock‘n’roll world had its telescope trained. Looking back, it requires confidence, courage and a backbone forged from Excalibur-strength steel to introduce your new project to die-hard UK fans in such a high-profile manner... but then this was Ronnie James Dio, golden-throated occupier of the silver mountain, and the music he’d come to unveil was just what the doctor ordered (if you were deeply deficient in drama and ailing for the epic). Of course, it’s easy with hindsight to recognize ‘Holy Diver’ (the Dio debut) as an all-time classic, but even at the time it sounded pretty bloody amazing, a clear contender for album of ’83, and the Donington stage was just the launch-pad required. Indeed, by the autumn of that year, Dio the band were back with a vengeance on a full UK tour; and by 1987, they were gracing the bill at Donington for the second time, now in the coveted ‘Special Guest’ spot, with a new album (‘Dream Evil’) on release and a reputation that had already gone global. Over the rainbow and then some. Indeed, the band was now on such a roll that the aforementioned monks were having to work around the sun-dial to even come close to recording all of the action; and by the ‘Sacred Heart’ tour in ’85, the road crew found their duties had been expanded from traditional fare such as repairing cracked cymbals, changing broken strings, etc. to transporting a 20 foot dragon, sometimes ill of temper, always answering to the name of ‘Dean’. A Golden Age, indeed. Will we see an artist like Ronnie James Dio again - someone whose career high-points were so consistently the high-points of the hard rock genre itself, a genre for which he was ever the ambassador? Hard to imagine, really, which makes the recordings here even more timely and special. I’ve polished the memories of these performances on more occasions than I’ve had hot dinners (or warm festival beer), and now they are proudly a part of one of rock’s finest legacies. Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Long Live Ronnie James Dio ~Dante Bonutto SHIPPING TO USA ONLY Buyer Pays Shipping $3.99 1st CD $3.99... each additional $1.50 CDs will only be combined with other CDs or DVDs To qualify for the combined discount, all items must be purchased together, paid for with 1 payment, and shipped all together in 1 shipment. Please use the add to cart feature, once you have ordered all your desired items, proceed to checkout to complete your order with the combined total.