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Ronnie James Dio - Stand Up And Shout-The Anthology (2 CDs)
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 Let me tell you a tale about demons and wizards, black magic, heaven and hell, worlds with no light, and shadows lurking around ever corner that are deceptions waiting to haunt you and steal your soul away. These are the images transformed into the reality of music found on the strange highways inside the mind of heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio.
Stand Up and Shout-The Anthology is an incisive two disc set documenting one of the most successful careers in the history of metal and hard rock music. One of the things that always intrigued me was the image Dio projected. He was all theatrics. He effectively used wailing hard rock guitars that pounded away with no mercy while belting out grim and dark lyrics with a devilish grin that said all the while he was doing it…I am having the time of my life. If you turn the name Dio upside down and look at it from left to right, it spells Devil in an inconspicuous way using the curves and elegance of lettering from days long past. How many of you that would consider yourself fans knew this? The disturbing cover art has images writhing in painful ecstasy under the watchful eye of the king of darkness, who seems to be in his splendor. It all gives ample evidence that the music will take you to a land of macabre creatures. The subject matter of the songs does not lend itself to thoughts of romantic interludes by any means, but Dio was able to make all of his intrepid darkness and images desirable in some weird way. There have been few like him since he broke out in the ‘70s.
As he started coming into his own while working with Blackmore, he was beginning to find himself and the true authority of his voice, and by the time he stepped in as lead singer for Black Sabbath he was a legitimate heavy metal idol. As his experience grew so did his confidence and then a solo career was ready to take flight. His career blossomed as a solo act and now we can look back from the beginning to where he is in present day by listening to this wide-ranging collection. You will find that this music is some of the most thunderous heavy metal crunch you will ever have the gratification of feasting your ears upon. Oh yes Ronnie James rocked, and he is still at it to this very day. He must have found the fountain of youth somewhere along the long road he has traveled, or maybe he sold his soul for rock ‘n’ roll! The imagination can run wild while absorbing every word and musical note found on these two discs of metallic mania.
When you listen to the tracks from Elf (“Hoochie Koochie Lady” & “Carolina County Ball”), which were blues honky-tonk rock, it pales in comparison to the power and strength of the molten metal that Dio’s voice would embrace in the future. Rainbow (“Man on the Silver Mountain” & “Lady Starstruck”) and Black Sabbath (“Heaven and Hell” & “Neon Knights”) were stopovers before his solo career (“Rainbow in the Dark”, “Holy Diver,” “Lock up the Wolves” and “The Last in Line”) began. Paying his dues with established rock bands would prove to be time well spent, as his solo career was successful right from the beginning.
Dio was indeed our “Rainbow in the Dark” for many years and rock music now has a richer and more interesting history because of his work. Do not be the “Last in Line” to pick this up, and keep in mind…one persons hell is another’s heaven, and of course it is just the opposite on the other side of the mirror. Just listen to this music and you will see reflections from both sides.
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck |
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