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When former Black Sabbath and Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio exploded out of the gate with a formidable new band and a simply awesome new album, he was an artist reborn. The year was 1983 and the band – simply christened Dio – were on fire, as the album – the immaculate, immortal Holy Diver – so ably attested. Rather than become jaded by acrimonious splits with both his former bands, Dio turned his trials into triumphs and when Dio the band arrived on UK shores for the first time, the setting simply couldn’t have been more magnificent.
Until its sad demise in 1996, the annual Monsters of Rock festival held at Donington Park in Leicestershire was the domain of the cream of the international hard rock and heavy metal crop. The 80s were the festival’s glory years and in 1983 Dio had their first taste of success. With just one ‘solo’ album to call upon, Dio delved into his illustrious past to assemble a set as replete with metal standards as it was with future classics. Today, Dio tunes such as Stand Up and Shout, Rainbow in the Dark and Holy Diver can hold their own alongside Sabbath’s epic Heaven and Hell or Rainbow’s jaw-dropping set piece Stargazer; in 83 Dio were really throwing down the gauntlet by daring to perform new, untested material back-to-back with songs that’d sold millions. As a result, the band’s Donington 83 set is simply electric.
Even if it hadn’t been a decidedly damp and miserable afternoon, their return to the Donington stage in 1987 was never likely to eclipse the sheer energy of their debut appearance. New numbers such as Dream Evil and Naked in the Rain show Dio holding steady rather than racing ahead. That said, the band – complete with new guitarist Craig Goldy on his maiden show – are as razor-sharp and rampant as four years previously, riding high on the huge successes of the intervening period.
That belief that the late Ronnie Dio possessed the greatest heavy metal voice of all time is bolstered by the fact that on stage his singing was every bit as mind-blowing as in the studio. This double-disc trip down memory lane bears this out in spades. There’s a fair bit of track duplication between both recordings but, with current Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell strutting his stuff in 83 and the aforementioned Goldy taking over in 87, there’s also plenty of contrast. A great souvenir of Dio’s halcyon days and a fitting tribute to a true legend.
--Greg Moffitt
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Back in the day,i taped both of these sets off Radio 1,unbelievably managed to tape over the 1983 set,thankfully its now officially available,a moment in time captured forever.
Disc 1 : the 1983 performance from a band(and a man) determined to to prove themselves once again,having already been on two classic discs, namely Rainbow Rising & Heaven and Hell',Dio was already a legend,still it doesnt do any harm to have that fire in the belly.
The 1983 set contains several classics from all era's,new tracks such as 'Holy Diver/Stand Up and Shout & 'Rainbow In The Dark' standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of 'Children of the Sea/Man On The Silver Mountain',a snippet of 'Stargazer' certainly the drum/guitar solo you could live without but its a superb performance which cemented his reputation.
Disc 2:the 1987 performance not quite as good,although nothing would really stand up to his debut at Donington.With a band comprising lesser musicians and the music becoming formulaic/Tired(Dream Evil never really did it for me),alongside the tendency to start performing the old standards in medley form certainly dilutes the performance some what,still magic moments include 'Neon Knights/All The Fools Sailed Away & the 'Last in Line' with its 'Temple of the King' excerpt .
Sound Quality/Performance: Disc 1 has the superior performance,higher energy level with decent sound quality,Disc 2 not quite a good performance but superior sound, so 5 stars for disc 1 ,3 stars disc 2.
Packaging : decent digi pak with a couple of tour laminates,although Dante Bonutto's liner notes are very poor,dull and bland would be a perfect description,could have done them in his sleep.
All in all,for a Dio fan this is a must have,a timely reminder(as if we needed one)_ that the rock world lost a legend when he sadly passed .
Ronnie James Dio,the VOICE of Rock ,Rest In Peace.
Disc 1 : the 1983 performance from a band(and a man) determined to to prove themselves once again,having already been on two classic discs, namely Rainbow Rising & Heaven and Hell',Dio was already a legend,still it doesnt do any harm to have that fire in the belly.
The 1983 set contains several classics from all era's,new tracks such as 'Holy Diver/Stand Up and Shout & 'Rainbow In The Dark' standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of 'Children of the Sea/Man On The Silver Mountain',a snippet of 'Stargazer' certainly the drum/guitar solo you could live without but its a superb performance which cemented his reputation.
Disc 2:the 1987 performance not quite as good,although nothing would really stand up to his debut at Donington.With a band comprising lesser musicians and the music becoming formulaic/Tired(Dream Evil never really did it for me),alongside the tendency to start performing the old standards in medley form certainly dilutes the performance some what,still magic moments include 'Neon Knights/All The Fools Sailed Away & the 'Last in Line' with its 'Temple of the King' excerpt .
Sound Quality/Performance: Disc 1 has the superior performance,higher energy level with decent sound quality,Disc 2 not quite a good performance but superior sound, so 5 stars for disc 1 ,3 stars disc 2.
Packaging : decent digi pak with a couple of tour laminates,although Dante Bonutto's liner notes are very poor,dull and bland would be a perfect description,could have done them in his sleep.
All in all,for a Dio fan this is a must have,a timely reminder(as if we needed one)_ that the rock world lost a legend when he sadly passed .
Ronnie James Dio,the VOICE of Rock ,Rest In Peace.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's hard to believe that six months have passed since the legendary Ronnie James Dio passed away. The one time Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath singer had been working on this release prior to his death, and now it's finally appeared in all its double disc glory.
Now I'm so old that I was actually at both of these festival dates, back in the heady eighties when the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival was the only place for a young headbanger to strut his stuff. I've also (and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this bit quiet) had copies of both shows since not long after the respective events took place. Both on cassette and, latterly, CD. So I can vouch for the fact that these cleaned up, official versions sound an awful lot better than their bootleg counterparts, even if the 1983 set still has a muddy drum sound.
The first show was their debut on British soil, and it was strange to see Dio opening the show. But ably supported by former Rainbow sparring partner Jimmy Bain and Black Sabbath colleague Vinny Appice, he took things in his stride. Something that was no surprise, considering his pedigree. The real surprise was former Sweet Savage / future Def Leppard man Vivian Campbell, a relatively unknown guitarist then, but one who was obviously destined for the top flight.
Dio was up for the fight, opening with two tunes from the then new Holy Diver album in the shape of "Stand Up and Shout" and "Straight Through The Heart" before churning out some old classics in the shape of "Children Of The Sea" and "Stargazer" amongst others. This was when he felt he had to prove a point - that he was his own man, and could take on the best and win. Well he could, and it really did bring memories of my youth flooding back, and caused a bit of a back spasm as I tried in vain to replicate the shapes I threw back in the day.
Fast forward four years and Dio had moved up the bill to the special guest slot (and how we laughed at headliners Bon Jovi and their banner which misspelled Donnington). By this time, the guitar slot had passed to Craig Goldy, and with the Dream Evil album to support the title track, "Naked In The Rain" and "All The Fools Sailed Away" get an airing, with the latter tucked away in the middle of a medley, the likes of which I never really enjoy, so don't go thinking you're getting full versions of "Children Of The Sea" and "Heaven And Hell". The more radio friendly fare like "Rock and Roll Children" hasn't aged very well, but there is still room for plenty Black Sabbath and Rainbow tunes to keep the faithful happy.
It's not as enjoyable as the first set, but as it's out as a mid priced digipak, complete with replicas of the all access laminates from both shows, and some dull liner notes from Dante Bonutto, it's certainly worth the price of admission, even if most of the faithful will have had copies of the shows for a couple of decades now.
Now I'm so old that I was actually at both of these festival dates, back in the heady eighties when the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival was the only place for a young headbanger to strut his stuff. I've also (and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this bit quiet) had copies of both shows since not long after the respective events took place. Both on cassette and, latterly, CD. So I can vouch for the fact that these cleaned up, official versions sound an awful lot better than their bootleg counterparts, even if the 1983 set still has a muddy drum sound.
The first show was their debut on British soil, and it was strange to see Dio opening the show. But ably supported by former Rainbow sparring partner Jimmy Bain and Black Sabbath colleague Vinny Appice, he took things in his stride. Something that was no surprise, considering his pedigree. The real surprise was former Sweet Savage / future Def Leppard man Vivian Campbell, a relatively unknown guitarist then, but one who was obviously destined for the top flight.
Dio was up for the fight, opening with two tunes from the then new Holy Diver album in the shape of "Stand Up and Shout" and "Straight Through The Heart" before churning out some old classics in the shape of "Children Of The Sea" and "Stargazer" amongst others. This was when he felt he had to prove a point - that he was his own man, and could take on the best and win. Well he could, and it really did bring memories of my youth flooding back, and caused a bit of a back spasm as I tried in vain to replicate the shapes I threw back in the day.
Fast forward four years and Dio had moved up the bill to the special guest slot (and how we laughed at headliners Bon Jovi and their banner which misspelled Donnington). By this time, the guitar slot had passed to Craig Goldy, and with the Dream Evil album to support the title track, "Naked In The Rain" and "All The Fools Sailed Away" get an airing, with the latter tucked away in the middle of a medley, the likes of which I never really enjoy, so don't go thinking you're getting full versions of "Children Of The Sea" and "Heaven And Hell". The more radio friendly fare like "Rock and Roll Children" hasn't aged very well, but there is still room for plenty Black Sabbath and Rainbow tunes to keep the faithful happy.
It's not as enjoyable as the first set, but as it's out as a mid priced digipak, complete with replicas of the all access laminates from both shows, and some dull liner notes from Dante Bonutto, it's certainly worth the price of admission, even if most of the faithful will have had copies of the shows for a couple of decades now.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This really is RJD at his Best...If you are a fan of classic RJD (Rainbow,Sabbath,the first 4 or 5 Dio albums) then this is a must have, must listen!!
The Voice is top notch and you even get a snippet of Stargazer (1983 disc) and Temple of the King (1987 disc)....I really can't believe these live performances have not been officially released until now.
A GREAT tribute to a GREAT singer...PS check RJD out on "The Butterfly Ball" album (by Roger Glover),I never knew this existed until recently but if you have never heard it its worth a listen.
Man on The Silver Mountain R.I.P.
The Voice is top notch and you even get a snippet of Stargazer (1983 disc) and Temple of the King (1987 disc)....I really can't believe these live performances have not been officially released until now.
A GREAT tribute to a GREAT singer...PS check RJD out on "The Butterfly Ball" album (by Roger Glover),I never knew this existed until recently but if you have never heard it its worth a listen.
Man on The Silver Mountain R.I.P.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
bought for another, feedback was its class!
Purchased on behalf of the my brother. He is more a fan of the late great R.J.D or DIO than I , I value more his Rainbow career. Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Farren
one album of dio live is wow but two yeah ha wow
what can i say other than go buy it now,what a voice,performer,and great great tracks,covering two fantastic donnington shows 83 and 87,was lucky enough to see the late great man 3... Read more
Published 15 months ago by gary
dio live at donnington
ovrall not a bad cd should realy been marketed as two sererarte ones mainly for the reason that althogh the performances are four years apart they are to similar (the set list 4... Read more
Published 15 months ago by mcc
Dio at Donnington
I was at both of these concerts so they will always be treasured in my memory. This CD is a great tribute to Ronnie James Dio, may he forever rest in peace. Read more
Published 16 months ago by C.D.T BAILEY
one of the best 80`s live concerts
When I spotted this live recording I just had to buy it. Finally the BBC has released these great recordings. Read more
Published 16 months ago by asp
dio at donington
went to both monsters of rock gigs dont remember them sounding as bad as this but it was a while ago
took me back too my twentys though which cant be a bad thing at my age... Read more
took me back too my twentys though which cant be a bad thing at my age... Read more
Published 16 months ago by tony
1983 v 1987?
I was also at the 87 concert, so before listening to this I was naturally and nostagically biased to the 1987 show. Read more
Published 16 months ago by I. A. McFarlane
Dio Live @ Donnington
I cant really add more to what has already been said about the item. It just holds lots of memories for me and like a few others I did only have the radio recordings on a tape that... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Nicholas S. Kelly
dio in the uk
it was great 2 hear ronnie in his prime on this 2 cd set
the first cd is amazin the sound is brill just like u r there and the band sound well rehearsed. Read more
the first cd is amazin the sound is brill just like u r there and the band sound well rehearsed. Read more
Published 17 months ago by will dio
a must-have for Dio fans
Two great concerts at a very good price. A true homage to the voice of heavy rock. The 83 concert is better, but I love listening to forgotten songs like "naked in the rain" or my... Read more
Published 17 months ago by enrique
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