I will beat this drum forever. Strange Highways (1993) and Angry Machines (1996) are criminally underrated. Like Black Sabbath's Dehumanizer (1992), the songs were BRUTALLY heavy and Dio was never as aggressive as he was on those 3 albums in the 1990's. People hate on them because he changed his style. So what! The lyrics were more relatable and Dio was PISSED OFF during that time. Mr. Appice did some amazing things on the drums (especially on Big Sister from Angry Machines) and overall, they are my 2 favourite Dio albums, outside of his first 2 of course, which are UNTOUCHABLE.
With you 100%. Strange Highways is my favorite Dio album. I could totally relate to the angry lyrics more than the fantasy stuff, as good as that was. Tracy G was a great change of pace too, and he has put out some terrific solo material as well!
spot on. I cant understand anyone who claims to be a Dio fan yet dislikes these masterpieces. These are heavy as hell and feature some of his best work. No arguing that fact, IMO.
Agree, I really love Strange Highways and LIKE Angry Machines...strange enough not a DEHUMANIZER fan and I LOVE DIO WITH SABBATH...still trying though but it’s just...I don’t get the fanfare the song I from Dehumanizer everyone loves and I’m like ...skip/next.
You guys are great! How much fun is this? So much fun. 10. Straight through the Heart 9. One Night in the City 8. Don't Talk to Strangers 7. Evil Eyes 6. Caught in the Middle 5. We Rock 4. Stand Up and Shout 3. I Speed at Night 2. King of Rock and Roll 1. Sacred Heart Sacred Heart might seem like a strange choice for number 1, but we were convinced the song contained the secret of the magic that Ronnie used to be so awesome. Yes. Rainbow in the Dark was a shot at Ritchie. Basically saying you're a man without a clue. You're controlled by your dysfunctional emotions. You can't see the way to new things and are always going to be stuck in the past, while my band and I will create beautiful new art from scratch. That's my philosophy, Marty.
Dio said in the past that Rainbow in the Dark was about someone unable to lock his potential; I figured that whoever the subject of the song was, you were supposed to empathize and identify with his struggle. I can see how what he said doesn't necessarily contradict what you are saying here though. I guess when he says that about the songs subject, you can either take it as a condemnation of whomever it is about or as a song sympathizing with that individual's struggle to unlock their potential.
1. Don't Talk to Strangers 2. Invisible 3. Holy Diver 4. Rainbow in the Dark 5. Eat Your Heart Out 6. Stand Up and Shout 7. Caught in the Middle 8. Straight Through the Heart 9. Gypsy 10. Speed at Night I adore Rainbow in the Dark, I don't care if anyone else thinks it's cheesy. It's an incredibly emotive song with gorgeous lyrics. Some of the absolute best he ever penned.
I think the main reason why a lot of people would go heavy on the first 2 or 3 Dio albums is not only because of the songs. The band on the first 3 of his albums was just phenomenal. Vivian Campbell was definitely Ronnie's Randy Rhoads.
Love it! That is the sort of song that only Dio could come up with. Really does a great job creating a tragic atmosphere, takes you right into the heart of the story. Great song!
Great Dio’s songs choices from both of you, mine are the following one: 10. Jesus, Mary and the holy ghost 9. Straight through the heart 8. We rock 7. Strange highways 6. Sacred heart 5. The last in line 4. Holy diver 3. All the fools sailed away 2. Egypt (the chains are on) 1. Don’t talk to strangers
Brilliant. My Dio memory; I saw them at Hammersmith Odeon on the first two tours. For the the Last in Line Tour my pal and I had seats in the last row of the stalls, a great view in the centre of the stalls. Behind us was a standing area (the corridor at the back if you know Hammersmith). Half way through the show my pal says to me look behind you. Standing behind us were: Gary Moore, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Neil Murray. I was totally star struck (no pun intended).
I own all 10 of Dios studio albums, and I love every single one. Dio is my favorite metal band and vocalist of all time, so my top 10 songs are more spread out than just the first 2 albums. I'm planning on doing my top 10 Dio songs on my next vid. Btw love Angry Machines, the songs Hunter of the heart and Golden Rules I always listen to those songs when I'm on a road trip just fucking amazing. You honestly can never go wrong with Dio, he can do heavy or mellow songs and it would be perfect.
I love everyrhing up until srange highways..first 5 albums are classic and very 80s driven hard rock/metal but in 93 with S.H the music fell apart with a few song exceptions on magica and killing the dragon...challis and push are pretty awesome more retro dio type of songs
I just discovered this channel a couple weeks ago and love it! Ronnie James Dio has the best metal voice ever and has been my favorite since first hearing him when Heaven and Hell came out. I quickly moved on to all his Rainbow albums and of course his band. Great video!
1: egypt 2: holy diver 3: last in line 4: sacred heart 5: night people 6: dream evil 7: born on the sun 8: we rock 9: another lie 10: all the fools sailed away pretty confident in the top 5....after that there could be a runner up most of everything else lol
1. Don't Talk to Strangers 2. Invisible 3. Caught in the Middle 4. I Speed at Night 5. Dream Evil 6. Why Are They Watching Me 7. One Night in the City 8. Fever Dreams 9. Shivers 10. Double Monday This list is always moving around over the years. But here's my Dio mood for 2020.
My favorite Dio song is Overlove cuz I lived through a situation that made me understand the song in a way that really brought it home. Oh, and I have Green Eyes... you know, jealousy behind the greenest eyes... yeah, I lived that. Invisible is another fave because it's how I felt at home when I was 13 when the song came out. From Sacred Heart, I think an underrated track is Another Lie. Like you said, it's not as strong as the first two but, still some good tunes. Thanks Pete for the Rock and Roll Children mention. Oh yeah, just a quick mention... I Could've Been a Dreamer. Oh to hell with it... just listen in awe and enjoy one of the greatest metal performers ever. R.I.P. RJD!
Nice including One Night in the City. That's on of my favorites as well. My other dark horse addition would be Born on the Sun from Lock Up the Wolves.
Thanks for sharing. 10) Push, 9) Walk on Water, 8) Rock and Roll, 7) Breathless, 6) Last in Line, 5) We Rock 4) Stand Up and Shout 3) Rainbow in the Dark, 2) Hungry for Heaven, 1) Holy Diver
GRRRREAT song! I wish it was on Sacred Heart. It should've been, it was basically released at the same time. Fit the overall concept of Sacred Heart, I thought.
Nobody can realistically expect the band Last in Line to be in the same league as the band who recorded the album of the same name. I mean, they’re missing the main ingredient! Ronnie was the driving creative force, the producer and the only member involved in writing every Dio song. How can it possibly come close without Ronnie? As a side note, the loss of Jimmy Bain is also a blow, as Jimmy was a great collaborator with Ronnie and they really fed off of each other when they were writing.
'Evil Eyes' was actually recorded for the Holy Diver album and released as the b-side for the Holy Diver-single. It was later recut for Last in Line. 'Breathless' is my favorite Dio song.
Nobody is mentioning anything from Master of the Moon, which is the sleeper of the Dio catalog. It’s my favorite record by the band Dio that isn’t called Holy Diver or Last In Line. Craig Goldy came a long way from Dream Evil, as good as he was on that first outing with Ronnie. The album starts with another smokin’ lead-off track in One More For The Road - a worthy successor to Kill The King, Neon Knights, Turn Up The Night, Stand Up and Shout and We Rock! What a barnburner!! The Eyes is just wicked! Classic doomy Dio. The title track, Shivers, The Man Who would Be King... all top notch! There isn’t a weak track to be found and the sound quality is incredible! Ronnie’s best in that category, IMO. Anybody out there got any love for MOTM?
@Crush Everything I absolutely love Master of the Moon. It's probably my favorite Dio album. It's so sad people only know the Dio band for the first two albums when they made so much great material afterwards. I'd say Master of the Moon is definitely the Dio band's most consistent album. Every song is just about as good as the last. My favorite has got to be "I Am".
1) Rainbow in the Dark 2) Holy Diver 3) Stand Up and Shout 4) Last in Line 5) Time To Burn 6) Rock 'n' Roll Children 7) Mystery 8) We Rock 9) Straight Through The Heart 10) Hey Angel
I love the album/CD Sacred Heart. It was my introduction to his music. Then I saw him on that tour and it was one of the best and loudest shows I’d ever seen. What a singer and great music...Go Ronnie. Maybe you didn’t like it cause it may have been more commercial. Vivian Campbell was one of my favourite guitar players of the 80’s.
YezZir! That one live version... not sure when or where it’s from, but I know it was an encore , there’s a great recording of the crowd chanting “DI-O! DI-O!” at the end of the track
1. Invisible 2. Gypsy 3. Holy Diver 4. Don't Talk To Strangers 5. Holy Diver 6. Rainbow In The Dark (even covered this one) 7. Stand up and Shout 8. The Last In Line 9. Heaven and Hell 10. Caught In The Middle It's so HARD to leave anything off this list. Jeeezus.
1- The Last In Line 2- Like A Beat Of A Heart 3- Egypt 4- Evil Eyes 5- We Rock 6- Rainbow In The Dark 7- Sunset Superman 8- All The Fools Sailed Away 9- Holy Diver 10- I Speed At Night
After revisiting all the Dio albums, my favorite is the criminally underrated Strange Highways. Unlike anything else in the catalog, avoids the sword and sorcery, and the vocal delivery is Dio at his angriest.
10. Another Lie 9. I Speed At Night 8. All The Fools Sailed Away 7. Straight Through The Heart 6. One Night In The City 5. Stand Up And Shout 4. Rock n Roll Children 3. Caught In the Middle 2. Rainbow in the Dark 1. The Last In Line
it makes me so happy to see people trying to hash out favorite dio songs. nobody i know ever wants to talk RJD with me! i saw Dio on tour with anthrax and fireball ministry in 2004 at the famous surf ballroom, reunited with craig goldy. absolutely amazing show.
So many great songs like king of rock n roll. Last in line.eat your heart out.dont talk to strangers of course holy diver . I could go on for hours love listening to all Ronnies work still to this day
1. Time to burn 2.I could have been a Dreamer 3.Egypt 4. Don't talk to strangers 5. Wild one 6.Holy Diver 7.Hey Angel 8. Sacred heart 9.All the fools sailed away 10. One night in the city
I was fortunate enough to have seen the Holy Diver tour. The icing on the cake was that it was a New Year’s Eve show with Dokken and Y&T as the opening bands. Guys like us , we had it made. Those were the days!🤘🏻
HD and LIL are great, but I really like Rock and Roll Children, One More For The Road, and Strange Highways. Recently I listened to SH as an album and I really dig One Foot in the Grave.
I will never understand Sacred Heart being considered weak or a misstep. Its a fucking killer album. Almost perfect. I feel like i am living in a parallel universe when people say that. Like are we talking about the same album?
I agree. I love all the Dio albums, but for me Sacred Heart is the best of them. It maybe takes a little more to get into, but there are some incredible songs on it
This is an excellent discussion. I see that both Pete and Chris cite Holy Diver and The Last in Line as the two greatest Dio discs. For me, Dream Evil is right up there with these two fantastic albums. Here is my list: 10. Stay Out of My Mind- I may be the only person to ever pick this song, but that's ok! I love the breakdown in the middle. It feels like a harsh Beatles song combined with a bit of Deep Purple and delivered by the best vocalist in history. 9. Egypt- Epic! 8. Invisible- What a moody song! some of Dio's best lyrics. I love the slow intro. Then it hits you. Bam! 7. All the Fools Sailed Away- Another epic! I love Claude's solo. 6. Sunset Superman- The pitch bend vocal at the end is awesome! This should have been an arena rock classic. It reminds me of Queen for some reason. I think it's the chorus. 5. Rock and Roll Children- This one really spoke to me as a twelve-year-old outcast. I remember feeling like Ronnie could appreciate the pain of being a 12-year-old with long hair in a town full of assholes. 4. Dream Evil- I was just blasting this song today while driving. It never gets old! 3. Holy Diver- This song is a journey. I really love the lyrics. 2. The Last in Line- The beginning of this song gave me a false sense of security the first time I heard it. I hear this song and feel adrenaline. 1. Don't Talk to Strangers- This is an easy one for me. I consider it to be the definitive Dio solo song. His voice is on fire here. Awesome lyrics too.
This one's surprisingly easy for me even though I love Dio's albums in general: 10. Mystery (always loved the keyboards and the melodic verses and chorus, an underrated song to me... Killer solo as well) 9. Killing the Dragon (awesome throwback to the 80s, heavy and fluid with some of Dio's most eery-sounding vocal melodies and amazing guitar from Doug Aldrich all throughout; I wouldn't have minded hearing more from this lineup) 8. As Long as it's Not About Love (I love Magica as a concept album, and I do think song is that good to be in a top 10, memorable melodies and solo from Craig Goldy) 7. Overlove (If this isn't an example of slick, tasteful shredding on guitar, I don't know what is... The intro is just a tasty wtf moment...) 6. Just Another Day (The best track from Sacred Heart and a hidden gem... The edgy, speedy riifs are delicious and intricate with an underrated solo from Vivian Campbell) 5. All the Fools Sailed Away (a well-paced musical journey that might even compare to Rainbow material, props to Craig Goldy for some of his guitar work) 4. Rainbow in the Dark (A classic for a reason, this is a song to sing along to every time... The solo is formidable, the keyboard melody sticks to your head like glue and I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE play the verse riff correctly... EVER) 3. I Speed at Night (I can never get past how exciting and intricate these riffs are, the song has lunatic pacing and Vinny Appice is one of my favorite drummers because of fills like these) 2. Don't Talk to Strangers (literally everything I love about metal in a single song, with parts that send chills down my spine) 1. The Last in Line (Viv's most melodic guitar-playing all around with just enough bite to make it majestic as well, it's an epic track that only needs five minutes to do so; a complete masterpiece, second for second)
If you play the voice at the end of Shame On The Night backwards, it says, “Only I’m free.” I got sick of spinning the record backwards by hand, so I recorded it onto a cassette and played it for my friends, who agreed it was clearly what Ronnie said.
1. Don’t Talk To Strangers 2.Rainbow In The Dark 3.Holy Diver 4.Night People 5.Sunset Superman 6.The Last in Line 7.Caught In The Middle 8.Wild One 9.Evil Eyes 10.Rock n Roll Children
Great video guys,I love those shirts too as well. Great fun fact about Don Coscareli,and it totally fits that style of the video. I'll throw in my Top 10 Dio songs now. 10. King Of Rock N Roll 9. Night People 8. Sacred Heart 7. Hey Angel 6. I speed At Night 5. Evil Eyes 6. Stand Up And Shout 5. Rainbow In The Dark 4. Straight Through The Heart 3. Wild One 2. Holy Diver 1. The Last In Line
I met Ronnie after a Dio show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on the ‘Last in Line’ tour. He was an absolute gentleman and seemed as thrilled to be meeting the fans as we were to be meeting him. It was a privilege to have talked with him, albeit briefly. Still have my tour programme signed by the whole band.
Nice one meeting Ronnie, I saw Dio on the same tour at Sheffiel. Four of us were on the balcony at the front going crazy. At the end of the show Ronnie said to the crowd "Thanks everyone and thanks to the crazy bunch on the balcony." Great gig, Queensrÿche were the support band If I remember correctly.
there is one DIO song that is extremely rare and hard to find nowadays. it only appeared on Iron Eagle Movie soundtrack and on one DIO compilation. the song is called Hide in the rainbow. it annoys that song it rarely available.
After Ronnie James Dio’s death, an article appeared on his life. He grew up in a tight knit, Roman Catholic, Italian family. He was described as a good person throughout his life by his family.
Hard To Choose But i Dont pick some of the biggest hits since i have Heard Them to much. 1 Dont Talk To Strangers 2 Invisible 3 Egypt The Chains Are On 4 Sacred Heart 5 Like The Beat Of A Heart (Am i the only One Who love this song) 6 Straight Through The Heart 7 Strange Highways 8 All The Fools Sailed Away 9 Born On The Sun 10 Rock & Roll
1: Stand up and Shout 2 : We Rock 3: The Last in Line 4 : One night in the City 5 : Straight through the Heart 6 : Rock'n Roll Children 7 : King of Rock'n Roll 8 : Sacred Heart 9 : Night People 10 : Don't talk to Strangers.
I’ve been watching old videos of Sir RJD for 3 hours now. He passed away 10 years ago on May 16th 2010. His prime might have been 1978-1985. My favorite DIO song? Probably Holy Diver. One more shot of Scotch whatever.. here’s the one for Ronnie, cheers!
I'm born in 1977 (41 going on 42 this October): 1. One Night In The City 2. Don't Talk To Strangers 3. The Last In Line 4. Shame On The Night 5. All The Fools Sailed Away 6. Give Her The Gun 7. Egypt (The Chains Are On) 8. Pain 9. Hey Angel 10. Between Two Hearts HM's: Big Sister Mystery Invisible Caught In The Middle This Is Your Life I Am Strange Highways Breathless Stay Out Of My Mind Holy Diver Evil Eyes I Speed At Night Institutional Man Lock Up The Wolves Rock And Roll Lord of the Last Day Shoot Shoot Sunset Superman Sacred Heart
Dan Maler - You really likeShoot Shoot that much? You’re the first person I’ve ever encountered who didn’t think it was a throwaway filler track, but to each his own.
Back when Holy Diver came out, once I had listened to the album and its last track,I would have to play ‘Evil Eyes’. I recall an earlier studio version which appeared on a 12 inch single. Seeing the show at the Birmingham Odeon in 1983 on the Holy Diver U.K tour,the one-two punch of Stand Up And Shout & Straight Through The Heart was unbeatable.
Too hard for me to rank his songs in order but ten favorites for me would be: Gypsy, Invisible, Don't Talk to Strangers, I Speed at Night, Last in Line, One Night in the City, Sunset Superman, When a Woman Cries, Bring Down the Rain, and Killing the Dragon.
My personal favourite tracks by Ronnie during his solo career. Not the usual suspects... 1. Between Two Hearts 2. My Eyes 3. Last In Line 4. Faces In The Window 5. Evil Eyes 6. Sacred Heart 7. Bring Down The Rain 8. All The Fools Sailed Away 9. Why Are They Watching Me 10. Hide In The Rainbow
Great video... Enjoyed the personal stories each song seemed to bring up. My top 10 only spans a handful of his albums as well: Wild One Holy Diver Rainbow in the Dark The Last In Line Stand Up and Shout Born On The Sun Walk On Water We Rock Sacred Heart Egypt (the chains are on)
1. Don't Talk to Strangers (1983) 2. Egypt (The Chains Are On)(1984) 3. Holy Diver (1983) 4. The Last In Line (1984) 5. Shame On The Night (1983) 6. We Rock (1984) 7. Stand Up and Shout (1983) 8. Hollywood Black (1993) 9. Straight Through The Heart (1983) 10. Lock Up The Wolves (1990)
My Favourite Top Ten Tracks (in no particular order) are- Stand Up and Shout Caught In The Middle Straight Through The Heart Don't Talk To Strangers We Rock I Speed At Night One Night In The City Fever Dreams Feed My Head Hollywood Black Honourable Mentions are-Holy Diver,Invisible,Shame On The Night,One Foot In The Grave,The Last In Line,Strange Highways,Lord Of the Last Day,Losing My Insanity
Wanted to also mention shame on the night straight through the heart one night in the city breathless I speed at night.. caught in the middle dream evil night people why are they watching me king of rock and roll just another Day between two hearts rock and roll children.. stay frosty head bangers long live rock and roll man on the silver mountain 🤘🤘
!0. Dream Evil 9. Sacred Heart 8. Evil Eyes 7. Overlove 6. Lock up the Wolves 5. Gypsy 4. The Last in Line 3. Holy Diver 2. Stand up and Shout 1. Invisible Honorable mentions : We Rock, Night People, Egypt, Shame on the Night, Strange Highways
I would definitely have The Mask of the Great Deceiver and To Live for the King from Kerry Livgren's first solo album Seeds of Change. But they sound even better on the re-recording, remaster called Decade I. Imagine Dio's amazing voice singing Kerry's incredible prog compositions. What a sonic treat.
I always like King If Rock and Roll...glad you mentioned it, as well as All The Fools Sailed Away. I would also throw in Hungry For Heaven...a nice little fast paced uplifting song I feel.
My list of Dio tlop 10 songs, hard to decide some of them, but this is my list. 10. All the fools sailed away 9. Egypt (the chains are on) 8. Stand up and shout 7. Shame on the Night 6. One night in the City 5. Rock n´roll children 4. Sacred heart 3. Dream evil 2. Straight through the Heart 1. The Last in Line
I just found your channel here Pete about a month ago and have been catching up on a bunch of your reviews, top 10's and rants...incredible stuff! Would love to have a long convo sometime with you as we share a lot of similar interests and perspectives...My all-time favorite vocalist and metal performer has always been RJD as I first saw him on the MOB RULES tour in 1982 and then subsequently about 10 other times through the years including the last time with Heaven and Hell in 2007. HEAVEN AND HELL will always be my favorite album and I love all of the Rainbow stuff he did too of course. Great job by you and Chris both not only on your individual track compilation for your lists but also on the song commentaries. You guys are both definitely DIO DUDES! With that in mind, I am not quite as heavy of a lean on the first 2 albums although I do agree that they are the two strongest albums overall from front to back. I would rate MAGICA as the 3rd best DIO album as I thought it was quite brilliant overall despite not really containing any DIO classics in most fans' minds.. I also rate Craig Goldy as the quintessential DIO guitarist as far as a true songwriting partner with Ronnie and that's not a knock on Vivian Campbell as he was brilliant on the first 3 albums obviously. I just love Craig's sense of melody and more Blackmore influence in his playing than Viv. At any rate, here is my Top 10 list of all-time DIO(the band) favorites: 1. "Don't Talk To Strangers" 2. "Holy Diver" 3. "Rock n Roll Children" 4. "The Last In Line" 5. "Sunset Superman" 6. "Sacred Heart" 7. "Losing My Insanity" 8. "As Long As It's Not About Love" 9. "One Night In The City" 10. "Egypt" High Honorable Mentions: A. "Discovery/Magica Theme/Lord of the Last Day" B. "Evil Eyes" C. "All The Fools Sailed Away" D. "Hungry For Heaven" E. "Dream Evil" F. "Night People" G. "Rainbow In The Dark" H. "Straight Thru The Heart"
Rainbow in the Dark has to be my favorite Dio song. I also love Push, off Killing the Dragon. But its really hard to order all the songs after Rainbow in the Dark. Caught in the Middle, Sacred Heart, Last in Line and Holy Diver are probably my favorites after that, in no particular order. But its hard to say because he has so many great, moving songs.
The best metal singer ever! 1.HOLY DIVAA - Epic title track, great solo and one of the best song ever! 2. Straight Through the Heart! 3. Dream Evil: Dio is great at title tracks and making great music 4. Good title tracks: Sacred Heart and Last in Line, to hard to pick one 5. Don't Talk to Strangers - Holy Diver 6. Evil on Queen Street: Lock Up The Wolves: underrated track 7. Naked in The Rain - Dream Evil 8. Shame on the Night - Holy Diver 9. Egypt(Chains are on) Great stuff 10. Rainbow in the dark - Holy Diver
Another great list, Pete. Dio is my single favorite vocalist of all-time amongst a slew of talent (Russell Allen, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Halford, Dickinson, Lennon and a couple others rounding out my top 10) so his solo albums are a big deal, for me. The way some others below seem to feel about Angry Machines and (less so, though I think it's a fantastic album-) Strange Highways, I feel about Master of the Moon. To me, this is Ronnie's best solo record after those first 5 amazing LPs. And, in truth, I might be tempted to choose it over Sacred Heart, as well. MotM is a tremendous effort-especially for a 62 year old man... A ton of those slow burners, a couple fast, rough cuts... it's an underrated effort and gets lost in the back end of his career.
1. Stand Up And Shout 2. Holy Diver 3. Don't Talk To Strangers 4. We Rock 5. Eat Your Heart Out 6. I Speed At Night 7. One Night In The City 8. Straight Through The Heart 9. Invisible 10. Egypt (The Chains Are On)
1: all the fools sailed away 2: don’t talk to strangers 3: the last in line 4: Rock and roll children 5: caught in the middle 6: one night in the city 7: breathless 8: straight through the heart 9: holy diver 10: dream evil HM: lords of the last day, Egypt, one more for the road, invisible
" All the fools sailed away " is one of Dio's best songs! I cannot believe that it didn't get to your top ten lists!?
I agree. It's such a classic. I love the keyboard solo.
Exactly it’s my favorite by far
Lock up the Wolves is probably my favorite Dio album.
Same here. My favourite song off it is My Eyes. What an incredible vocal performance by Ronnie on that track.
I came here to say the same thing about My Eyes!!!! Very overlooked to me.
I will beat this drum forever. Strange Highways (1993) and Angry Machines (1996) are criminally underrated. Like Black Sabbath's Dehumanizer (1992), the songs were BRUTALLY heavy and Dio was never as aggressive as he was on those 3 albums in the 1990's. People hate on them because he changed his style. So what! The lyrics were more relatable and Dio was PISSED OFF during that time. Mr. Appice did some amazing things on the drums (especially on Big Sister from Angry Machines) and overall, they are my 2 favourite Dio albums, outside of his first 2 of course, which are UNTOUCHABLE.
With you 100%. Strange Highways is my favorite Dio album. I could totally relate to the angry lyrics more than the fantasy stuff, as good as that was. Tracy G was a great change of pace too, and he has put out some terrific solo material as well!
Dan Maler I also like those two albums Strange Highways and Angry Machines.
Love Dehumanizer. Don't have the others, ill have to pick em up
spot on. I cant understand anyone who claims to be a Dio fan yet dislikes these masterpieces. These are heavy as hell and feature some of his best work. No arguing that fact, IMO.
Agree, I really love Strange Highways and LIKE Angry Machines...strange enough not a DEHUMANIZER fan and I LOVE DIO WITH SABBATH...still trying though but it’s just...I don’t get the fanfare the song I from Dehumanizer everyone loves and I’m like ...skip/next.
You guys are great! How much fun is this? So much fun.
10. Straight through the Heart
9. One Night in the City
8. Don't Talk to Strangers
7. Evil Eyes
6. Caught in the Middle
5. We Rock
4. Stand Up and Shout
3. I Speed at Night
2. King of Rock and Roll
1. Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart might seem like a strange choice for number 1, but we were convinced the song contained the secret of the magic that Ronnie used to be so awesome.
Yes. Rainbow in the Dark was a shot at Ritchie. Basically saying you're a man without a clue. You're controlled by your dysfunctional emotions. You can't see the way to new things and are always going to be stuck in the past, while my band and I will create beautiful new art from scratch.
That's my philosophy, Marty.
Dio said in the past that Rainbow in the Dark was about someone unable to lock his potential; I figured that whoever the subject of the song was, you were supposed to empathize and identify with his struggle. I can see how what he said doesn't necessarily contradict what you are saying here though. I guess when he says that about the songs subject, you can either take it as a condemnation of whomever it is about or as a song sympathizing with that individual's struggle to unlock their potential.
Am I the only one who would put "All the Fools Sailed Away" on a top 10 Dio list?
No, I also love that song and that's my personal #10. Even higher than that on some days.
No you're not! I was just thinking the same thing, when I noticed your post a few seconds later! ATFSA is a metal masterpiece!
Great tune
i've always rated dream evil really highly...that song especially.
definitely in my top 10
1. Don't Talk to Strangers
2. Invisible
3. Holy Diver
4. Rainbow in the Dark
5. Eat Your Heart Out
6. Stand Up and Shout
7. Caught in the Middle
8. Straight Through the Heart
9. Gypsy
10. Speed at Night
I adore Rainbow in the Dark, I don't care if anyone else thinks it's cheesy. It's an incredibly emotive song with gorgeous lyrics. Some of the absolute best he ever penned.
I loved it so much, I did a cover of it!!
I think the main reason why a lot of people would go heavy on the first 2 or 3 Dio albums is not only because of the songs. The band on the first 3 of his albums was just phenomenal. Vivian Campbell was definitely Ronnie's Randy Rhoads.
"Rock and Roll Children", anyone?
Love it! That is the sort of song that only Dio could come up with. Really does a great job creating a tragic atmosphere, takes you right into the heart of the story. Great song!
ROCK AND ROLL CHILDREN MY FAVORITE DIO SONG 🎵
I love rock and roll children theres a live version its 1986 live in philly and its the best verion ever ive listend to it hundreds of times
Great Dio’s songs choices from both of you, mine are the following one:
10. Jesus, Mary and the holy ghost
9. Straight through the heart
8. We rock
7. Strange highways
6. Sacred heart
5. The last in line
4. Holy diver
3. All the fools sailed away
2. Egypt (the chains are on)
1. Don’t talk to strangers
Brilliant. My Dio memory; I saw them at Hammersmith Odeon on the first two tours. For the the Last in Line Tour my pal and I had seats in the last row of the stalls, a great view in the centre of the stalls. Behind us was a standing area (the corridor at the back if you know Hammersmith). Half way through the show my pal says to me look behind you. Standing behind us were: Gary Moore, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Neil Murray. I was totally star struck (no pun intended).
I own all 10 of Dios studio albums, and I love every single one. Dio is my favorite metal band and vocalist of all time, so my top 10 songs are more spread out than just the first 2 albums. I'm planning on doing my top 10 Dio songs on my next vid. Btw love Angry Machines, the songs Hunter of the heart and Golden Rules I always listen to those songs when I'm on a road trip just fucking amazing. You honestly can never go wrong with Dio, he can do heavy or mellow songs and it would be perfect.
MetalMikey “Angry Machines” is fantastic and blows “ magica” and “wolves” out of the water, IMO.
I love everyrhing up until srange highways..first 5 albums are classic and very 80s driven hard rock/metal but in 93 with S.H the music fell apart with a few song exceptions on magica and killing the dragon...challis and push are pretty awesome more retro dio type of songs
"Rainbow in the Dark" was my intro to Dio! Will always love it. Special tune.
Same here! Basically tied for first place on my list of favorite song of all-time.
I just discovered this channel a couple weeks ago and love it! Ronnie James Dio has the best metal voice ever and has been my favorite since first hearing him when Heaven and Hell came out. I quickly moved on to all his Rainbow albums and of course his band. Great video!
1: egypt
2: holy diver
3: last in line
4: sacred heart
5: night people
6: dream evil
7: born on the sun
8: we rock
9: another lie
10: all the fools sailed away
pretty confident in the top 5....after that there could be a runner up most of everything else lol
I'm so surprised no one has said "Faces in the Window" what a banger that was and sick guitar playing
1. Don't Talk to Strangers
2. Invisible
3. Caught in the Middle
4. I Speed at Night
5. Dream Evil
6. Why Are They Watching Me
7. One Night in the City
8. Fever Dreams
9. Shivers
10. Double Monday
This list is always moving around over the years. But here's my Dio mood for 2020.
My favorite Dio song is Overlove cuz I lived through a situation that made me understand the song in a way that really brought it home. Oh, and I have Green Eyes... you know, jealousy behind the greenest eyes... yeah, I lived that. Invisible is another fave because it's how I felt at home when I was 13 when the song came out. From Sacred Heart, I think an underrated track is Another Lie. Like you said, it's not as strong as the first two but, still some good tunes. Thanks Pete for the Rock and Roll Children mention. Oh yeah, just a quick mention... I Could've Been a Dreamer. Oh to hell with it... just listen in awe and enjoy one of the greatest metal performers ever. R.I.P. RJD!
Sacred Heart was a great album.
Nice including One Night in the City. That's on of my favorites as well. My other dark horse addition would be Born on the Sun from Lock Up the Wolves.
TOTALLY AGREE!!
Thanks for sharing. 10) Push, 9) Walk on Water, 8) Rock and Roll, 7) Breathless, 6) Last in Line, 5) We Rock 4) Stand Up and Shout 3) Rainbow in the Dark, 2) Hungry for Heaven, 1) Holy Diver
"Hide In The Rainbow" from the "Iron Eagle" soundtrack was a great, long overlooked song. Thought it could of at least gotten an honorable mention.
GRRRREAT song! I wish it was on Sacred Heart. It should've been, it was basically released at the same time. Fit the overall concept of Sacred Heart, I thought.
I think it's a very symbolic song and I don't thiunk people caught ontu it's vibe as well as other Dio songs I could be wrong
Nobody can realistically expect the band Last in Line to be in the same league as the band who recorded the album of the same name. I mean, they’re missing the main ingredient! Ronnie was the driving creative force, the producer and the only member involved in writing every Dio song. How can it possibly come close without Ronnie? As a side note, the loss of Jimmy Bain is also a blow, as Jimmy was a great collaborator with Ronnie and they really fed off of each other when they were writing.
Dream Evil is a killer record!
Straight through the heart.
'Evil Eyes' was actually recorded for the Holy Diver album and released as the b-side for the Holy Diver-single. It was later recut for Last in Line. 'Breathless' is my favorite Dio song.
Nobody is mentioning anything from Master of the Moon, which is the sleeper of the Dio catalog. It’s my favorite record by the band Dio that isn’t called Holy Diver or Last In Line. Craig Goldy came a long way from Dream Evil, as good as he was on that first outing with Ronnie. The album starts with another smokin’ lead-off track in One More For The Road - a worthy successor to Kill The King, Neon Knights, Turn Up The Night, Stand Up and Shout and We Rock! What a barnburner!! The Eyes is just wicked! Classic doomy Dio. The title track, Shivers, The Man Who would Be King... all top notch! There isn’t a weak track to be found and the sound quality is incredible! Ronnie’s best in that category, IMO. Anybody out there got any love for MOTM?
@Crush Everything
I absolutely love Master of the Moon. It's probably my favorite Dio album. It's so sad people only know the Dio band for the first two albums when they made so much great material afterwards. I'd say Master of the Moon is definitely the Dio band's most consistent album. Every song is just about as good as the last. My favorite has got to be "I Am".
great record, to be sure. Upon purchasing it, I couldnt beleive how 'true' to his early 80s outout it was. Just shockingly awesome !
I actually have that album I only listened to it once I think I need to dig it out and give it more of a chance.
"Ronald James Padavona" (R.I.P)😢
1) Rainbow in the Dark
2) Holy Diver
3) Stand Up and Shout
4) Last in Line
5) Time To Burn
6) Rock 'n' Roll Children
7) Mystery
8) We Rock
9) Straight Through The Heart
10) Hey Angel
Big Dio fan . But for me his best work has always been when he was with Rainbow and sabbath ..
Next time I go to Burger King, when they ask what I want, I reckon I'm gonna tell'em I'm Hungry for Heaven.
LUTW is a badass album! and as u mentioned a kid on guitar writing great lead at that age. fits perfect to RJD lyrics
I love the album/CD Sacred Heart. It was my introduction to his music. Then I saw him on that tour and it was one of the best and loudest shows I’d ever seen. What a singer and great music...Go Ronnie. Maybe you didn’t like it cause it may have been more commercial. Vivian Campbell was one of my favourite guitar players of the 80’s.
'We Rock" is a goosebump classic... Always my fave of theirs.
Great show.
YezZir! That one live version... not sure when or where it’s from, but I know it was an encore , there’s a great recording of the crowd chanting “DI-O! DI-O!” at the end of the track
1. Invisible
2. Gypsy
3. Holy Diver
4. Don't Talk To Strangers
5. Holy Diver
6. Rainbow In The Dark (even covered this one)
7. Stand up and Shout
8. The Last In Line
9. Heaven and Hell
10. Caught In The Middle
It's so HARD to leave anything off this list. Jeeezus.
The cover of Rainbow in the Dark is awesome! You’re Top 10 is badass!!
Side note pulling a Catino with Heaven and Hell !! 🤘🏻💜🤘🏻
1- The Last In Line
2- Like A Beat Of A Heart
3- Egypt
4- Evil Eyes
5- We Rock
6- Rainbow In The Dark
7- Sunset Superman
8- All The Fools Sailed Away
9- Holy Diver
10- I Speed At Night
Sweet Tokyo Tapes T-shirt!!!
I need it!!
I love All the Fools Sailed Away.
After revisiting all the Dio albums, my favorite is the criminally underrated Strange Highways. Unlike anything else in the catalog, avoids the sword and sorcery, and the vocal delivery is Dio at his angriest.
it's at least as good as "last in line" and def stronger than any of Sacred Heart, Dream Evil, or Lock Up the Wolves.
One Foot in the Grave from that album should definitely make a top 10 list!
Give Her The Gun is one of my favorites of all time.
Reality Check - Pete says that he will be ranking the Dio albums tomorrow. Let’s see how Strange Highways stacks up! 😆
10. Another Lie
9. I Speed At Night
8. All The Fools Sailed Away
7. Straight Through The Heart
6. One Night In The City
5. Stand Up And Shout
4. Rock n Roll Children
3. Caught In the Middle
2. Rainbow in the Dark
1. The Last In Line
it makes me so happy to see people trying to hash out favorite dio songs. nobody i know ever wants to talk RJD with me! i saw Dio on tour with anthrax and fireball ministry in 2004 at the famous surf ballroom, reunited with craig goldy. absolutely amazing show.
So many great songs like king of rock n roll. Last in line.eat your heart out.dont talk to strangers of course holy diver . I could go on for hours love listening to all Ronnies work still to this day
1. Time to burn
2.I could have been a Dreamer
3.Egypt
4. Don't talk to strangers
5. Wild one
6.Holy Diver
7.Hey Angel
8. Sacred heart
9.All the fools sailed away
10. One night in the city
I was fortunate enough to have seen the Holy Diver tour. The icing on the cake was that it was a New Year’s Eve show with Dokken and Y&T as the opening bands. Guys like us , we had it made. Those were the days!🤘🏻
Please do a top 50 of all of DIO’s career. I’d be curious to hear your take.
They did an amazing cover of Aerosmith's Dream On that I remember, plus Sacred Heart was underrated.
I speed at night, eat your heart out, stand up & shout, holy diver, last in line, mystery, straight through the heart, we rock
HD and LIL are great, but I really like Rock and Roll Children, One More For The Road, and Strange Highways. Recently I listened to SH as an album and I really dig One Foot in the Grave.
‘Dream Evil’ is so underrated!!!
Not really. It was voted as a top 500 album of all time in martin popoffs book.
Integrity101 no the song
Chris's idea for "best concert openers" show is a great one. Here's a nominee: Scorpions' "Steamrock Fever."
I will never understand Sacred Heart being considered weak or a misstep. Its a fucking killer album. Almost perfect. I feel like i am living in a parallel universe when people say that. Like are we talking about the same album?
I agree. I love all the Dio albums, but for me Sacred Heart is the best of them. It maybe takes a little more to get into, but there are some incredible songs on it
I completely agree. It rounds out a perfect Dio trilogy.
This is an excellent discussion. I see that both Pete and Chris cite Holy Diver and The Last in Line as the two greatest Dio discs. For me, Dream Evil is right up there with these two fantastic albums. Here is my list:
10. Stay Out of My Mind- I may be the only person to ever pick this song, but that's ok! I love the breakdown in the middle. It feels like a harsh Beatles song combined with a bit of Deep Purple and delivered by the best vocalist in history.
9. Egypt- Epic!
8. Invisible- What a moody song! some of Dio's best lyrics. I love the slow intro. Then it hits you. Bam!
7. All the Fools Sailed Away- Another epic! I love Claude's solo.
6. Sunset Superman- The pitch bend vocal at the end is awesome! This should have been an arena rock classic. It reminds me of Queen for some reason. I think it's the chorus.
5. Rock and Roll Children- This one really spoke to me as a twelve-year-old outcast. I remember feeling like Ronnie could appreciate the pain of being a 12-year-old with long hair in a town full of assholes.
4. Dream Evil- I was just blasting this song today while driving. It never gets old!
3. Holy Diver- This song is a journey. I really love the lyrics.
2. The Last in Line- The beginning of this song gave me a false sense of security the first time I heard it. I hear this song and feel adrenaline.
1. Don't Talk to Strangers- This is an easy one for me. I consider it to be the definitive Dio solo song. His voice is on fire here. Awesome lyrics too.
Love the appearance of the special guest at 4.03!
The outro from “Like the Beat of a Heart” should have been a separate song. I could listen to that on a loop forever! 🤘😎
Dio introduced me to metal. Brings back so many memories. R.I.P. legend \m/
This one's surprisingly easy for me even though I love Dio's albums in general:
10. Mystery (always loved the keyboards and the melodic verses and chorus, an underrated song to me... Killer solo as well)
9. Killing the Dragon (awesome throwback to the 80s, heavy and fluid with some of Dio's most eery-sounding vocal melodies and amazing guitar from Doug Aldrich all throughout; I wouldn't have minded hearing more from this lineup)
8. As Long as it's Not About Love (I love Magica as a concept album, and I do think song is that good to be in a top 10, memorable melodies and solo from Craig Goldy)
7. Overlove (If this isn't an example of slick, tasteful shredding on guitar, I don't know what is... The intro is just a tasty wtf moment...)
6. Just Another Day (The best track from Sacred Heart and a hidden gem... The edgy, speedy riifs are delicious and intricate with an underrated solo from Vivian Campbell)
5. All the Fools Sailed Away (a well-paced musical journey that might even compare to Rainbow material, props to Craig Goldy for some of his guitar work)
4. Rainbow in the Dark (A classic for a reason, this is a song to sing along to every time... The solo is formidable, the keyboard melody sticks to your head like glue and I don't think I've ever seen ANYONE play the verse riff correctly... EVER)
3. I Speed at Night (I can never get past how exciting and intricate these riffs are, the song has lunatic pacing and Vinny Appice is one of my favorite drummers because of fills like these)
2. Don't Talk to Strangers (literally everything I love about metal in a single song, with parts that send chills down my spine)
1. The Last in Line (Viv's most melodic guitar-playing all around with just enough bite to make it majestic as well, it's an epic track that only needs five minutes to do so; a complete masterpiece, second for second)
Great seeing your explanations behind your choices. I really love last in Line too it is probably not my favourite but definitely a close one.
If you play the voice at the end of Shame On The Night backwards, it says, “Only I’m free.” I got sick of spinning the record backwards by hand, so I recorded it onto a cassette and played it for my friends, who agreed it was clearly what Ronnie said.
Magica is such a good album
1. Don’t Talk To Strangers
2.Rainbow In The Dark
3.Holy Diver
4.Night People
5.Sunset Superman
6.The Last in Line
7.Caught In The Middle
8.Wild One
9.Evil Eyes
10.Rock n Roll Children
Man, love u guys. Bring back alot of fckn memories! Keep up the videos
Dream Evil is my favorite Dio album.
How much would you pay for the half sleeve T-shirt.
Great show ! I love holy diver since it was played in South park ! Dio is super 🚀
Great video guys,I love those shirts too as well. Great fun fact about Don Coscareli,and it totally fits that style of the video. I'll throw in my Top 10 Dio songs now.
10. King Of Rock N Roll
9. Night People
8. Sacred Heart
7. Hey Angel
6. I speed At Night
5. Evil Eyes
6. Stand Up And Shout
5. Rainbow In The Dark
4. Straight Through The Heart
3. Wild One
2. Holy Diver
1. The Last In Line
I met Ronnie after a Dio show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on the ‘Last in Line’ tour. He was an absolute gentleman and seemed as thrilled to be meeting the fans as we were to be meeting him. It was a privilege to have talked with him, albeit briefly. Still have my tour programme signed by the whole band.
Nice one meeting Ronnie, I saw Dio on the same tour at Sheffiel. Four of us were on the balcony at the front going crazy. At the end of the show Ronnie said to the crowd "Thanks everyone and thanks to the crazy bunch on the balcony." Great gig, Queensrÿche were the support band If I remember correctly.
there is one DIO song that is extremely rare and hard to find nowadays. it only appeared on Iron Eagle Movie soundtrack and on one DIO compilation. the song is called Hide in the rainbow. it annoys that song it rarely available.
After Ronnie James Dio’s death, an article appeared on his life. He grew up in a tight knit, Roman Catholic, Italian family. He was described as a good person throughout his life by his family.
Hard To Choose But i Dont pick some of the biggest hits since i have Heard Them to much.
1 Dont Talk To Strangers
2 Invisible
3 Egypt The Chains Are On
4 Sacred Heart
5 Like The Beat Of A Heart (Am i the only One Who love this song)
6 Straight Through The Heart
7 Strange Highways
8 All The Fools Sailed Away
9 Born On The Sun
10 Rock & Roll
I LOVE that Sabbath shirt!!!
Great show!! And speaking of driving songs, sunset superman!! The baseline is pretty freaking cool!!
1: Stand up and Shout
2 : We Rock
3: The Last in Line
4 : One night in the City
5 : Straight through the Heart
6 : Rock'n Roll Children
7 : King of Rock'n Roll
8 : Sacred Heart
9 : Night People
10 : Don't talk to Strangers.
I’ve been watching old videos of Sir RJD for 3 hours now. He passed away 10 years ago on May 16th 2010.
His prime might have been 1978-1985. My favorite DIO song? Probably Holy Diver.
One more shot of Scotch whatever.. here’s the one for Ronnie, cheers!
I'm born in 1977 (41 going on 42 this October):
1. One Night In The City
2. Don't Talk To Strangers
3. The Last In Line
4. Shame On The Night
5. All The Fools Sailed Away
6. Give Her The Gun
7. Egypt (The Chains Are On)
8. Pain
9. Hey Angel
10. Between Two Hearts
HM's:
Big Sister
Mystery
Invisible
Caught In The Middle
This Is Your Life
I Am
Strange Highways
Breathless
Stay Out Of My Mind
Holy Diver
Evil Eyes
I Speed At Night
Institutional Man
Lock Up The Wolves
Rock And Roll
Lord of the Last Day
Shoot Shoot
Sunset Superman
Sacred Heart
just rediscovered 'hide in the rainbow" off the deluxe "dream evil " 2 cd edition...a gem!!!! \m/ \m/
Dan Maler - You really likeShoot Shoot that much? You’re the first person I’ve ever encountered who didn’t think it was a throwaway filler track, but to each his own.
Great upload guys. No.1 for me . Dont talk to strangers . The arrangement and change of tempo just push my buttons..
Love this duo’s shows
Back when Holy Diver came out, once I had listened to the album and its last track,I would have to play ‘Evil Eyes’. I recall an earlier studio version which appeared on a 12 inch single. Seeing the show at the Birmingham Odeon in 1983 on the Holy Diver U.K tour,the one-two punch of Stand Up And Shout & Straight Through The Heart was unbeatable.
Awesome List! Really special music and time.
Pete, waiting for Ozzy now!!
Hi, Pete, I would like to suggest you to make a video talking about ELF, interesting band of Dio.
Hide In the Rainbow!!!
Too hard for me to rank his songs in order but ten favorites for me would be: Gypsy, Invisible, Don't Talk to Strangers, I Speed at Night, Last in Line, One Night in the City, Sunset Superman, When a Woman Cries, Bring Down the Rain, and Killing the Dragon.
Evil Eyes ,no doubt,and probably Viv's greatest guitar solo,that solo is killer( sounds like J. Sykes),as is Don't talk to strangers as well
My personal favourite tracks by Ronnie during his solo career. Not the usual suspects...
1. Between Two Hearts
2. My Eyes
3. Last In Line
4. Faces In The Window
5. Evil Eyes
6. Sacred Heart
7. Bring Down The Rain
8. All The Fools Sailed Away
9. Why Are They Watching Me
10. Hide In The Rainbow
Great video... Enjoyed the personal stories each song seemed to bring up. My top 10 only spans a handful of his albums as well:
Wild One
Holy Diver
Rainbow in the Dark
The Last In Line
Stand Up and Shout
Born On The Sun
Walk On Water
We Rock
Sacred Heart
Egypt (the chains are on)
1. Don't Talk to Strangers (1983)
2. Egypt (The Chains Are On)(1984)
3. Holy Diver (1983)
4. The Last In Line (1984)
5. Shame On The Night (1983)
6. We Rock (1984)
7. Stand Up and Shout (1983)
8. Hollywood Black (1993)
9. Straight Through The Heart (1983)
10. Lock Up The Wolves (1990)
Naked In the Rain was always a top 3 Dio song for me.
My Favourite Top Ten Tracks (in no particular order) are-
Stand Up and Shout
Caught In The Middle
Straight Through The Heart
Don't Talk To Strangers
We Rock
I Speed At Night
One Night In The City
Fever Dreams
Feed My Head
Hollywood Black
Honourable Mentions are-Holy Diver,Invisible,Shame On The Night,One Foot In The Grave,The Last In Line,Strange Highways,Lord Of the Last Day,Losing My Insanity
Wanted to also mention shame on the night straight through the heart one night in the city breathless I speed at night.. caught in the middle dream evil night people why are they watching me king of rock and roll just another Day between two hearts rock and roll children.. stay frosty head bangers long live rock and roll man on the silver mountain 🤘🤘
!0. Dream Evil
9. Sacred Heart
8. Evil Eyes
7. Overlove
6. Lock up the Wolves
5. Gypsy
4. The Last in Line
3. Holy Diver
2. Stand up and Shout
1. Invisible
Honorable mentions :
We Rock, Night People, Egypt, Shame on the Night, Strange Highways
Cool t-shirts !!!! Long live rock'n'roll and Tokyo tapes !!!!
I would definitely have The Mask of the Great Deceiver and To Live for the King from Kerry Livgren's first solo album Seeds of Change. But they sound even better on the re-recording, remaster called Decade I. Imagine Dio's amazing voice singing Kerry's incredible prog compositions. What a sonic treat.
Angry Machines is KILLER!!
I always like King If Rock and Roll...glad you mentioned it, as well as All The Fools Sailed Away. I would also throw in Hungry For Heaven...a nice little fast paced uplifting song I feel.
My list of Dio tlop 10 songs, hard to decide some of them, but this is my list.
10. All the fools sailed away
9. Egypt (the chains are on)
8. Stand up and shout
7. Shame on the Night
6. One night in the City
5. Rock n´roll children
4. Sacred heart
3. Dream evil
2. Straight through the Heart
1. The Last in Line
I just found your channel here Pete about a month ago and have been catching up on a bunch of your reviews, top 10's and rants...incredible stuff! Would love to have a long convo sometime with you as we share a lot of similar interests and perspectives...My all-time favorite vocalist and metal performer has always been RJD as I first saw him on the MOB RULES tour in 1982 and then subsequently about 10 other times through the years including the last time with Heaven and Hell in 2007. HEAVEN AND HELL will always be my favorite album and I love all of the Rainbow stuff he did too of course. Great job by you and Chris both not only on your individual track compilation for your lists but also on the song commentaries. You guys are both definitely DIO DUDES!
With that in mind, I am not quite as heavy of a lean on the first 2 albums although I do agree that they are the two strongest albums overall from front to back. I would rate MAGICA as the 3rd best DIO album as I thought it was quite brilliant overall despite not really containing any DIO classics in most fans' minds.. I also rate Craig Goldy as the quintessential DIO guitarist as far as a true songwriting partner with Ronnie and that's not a knock on Vivian Campbell as he was brilliant on the first 3 albums obviously. I just love Craig's sense of melody and more Blackmore influence in his playing than Viv.
At any rate, here is my Top 10 list of all-time DIO(the band) favorites:
1. "Don't Talk To Strangers"
2. "Holy Diver"
3. "Rock n Roll Children"
4. "The Last In Line"
5. "Sunset Superman"
6. "Sacred Heart"
7. "Losing My Insanity"
8. "As Long As It's Not About Love"
9. "One Night In The City"
10. "Egypt"
High Honorable Mentions:
A. "Discovery/Magica Theme/Lord of the Last Day"
B. "Evil Eyes"
C. "All The Fools Sailed Away"
D. "Hungry For Heaven"
E. "Dream Evil"
F. "Night People"
G. "Rainbow In The Dark"
H. "Straight Thru The Heart"
Rainbow in the Dark has to be my favorite Dio song. I also love Push, off Killing the Dragon. But its really hard to order all the songs after Rainbow in the Dark. Caught in the Middle, Sacred Heart, Last in Line and Holy Diver are probably my favorites after that, in no particular order. But its hard to say because he has so many great, moving songs.
Sacred Heart rules
The best metal singer ever!
1.HOLY DIVAA - Epic title track, great solo and one of the best song ever!
2. Straight Through the Heart!
3. Dream Evil: Dio is great at title tracks and making great music
4. Good title tracks: Sacred Heart and Last in Line, to hard to pick one
5. Don't Talk to Strangers - Holy Diver
6. Evil on Queen Street: Lock Up The Wolves: underrated track
7. Naked in The Rain - Dream Evil
8. Shame on the Night - Holy Diver
9. Egypt(Chains are on) Great stuff
10. Rainbow in the dark - Holy Diver
One More For The Road is wildly underrated.
Another great list, Pete. Dio is my single favorite vocalist of all-time amongst a slew of talent (Russell Allen, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Halford, Dickinson, Lennon and a couple others rounding out my top 10) so his solo albums are a big deal, for me.
The way some others below seem to feel about Angry Machines and (less so, though I think it's a fantastic album-) Strange Highways, I feel about Master of the Moon. To me, this is Ronnie's best solo record after those first 5 amazing LPs. And, in truth, I might be tempted to choose it over Sacred Heart, as well. MotM is a tremendous effort-especially for a 62 year old man... A ton of those slow burners, a couple fast, rough cuts... it's an underrated effort and gets lost in the back end of his career.
1. Stand Up And Shout
2. Holy Diver
3. Don't Talk To Strangers
4. We Rock
5. Eat Your Heart Out
6. I Speed At Night
7. One Night In The City
8. Straight Through The Heart
9. Invisible
10. Egypt (The Chains Are On)
I'm not even a huge Dio fan, but love watch the excitement Chris and Pete share in discussing the songs. Will have to give Dio another listen.
1: all the fools sailed away
2: don’t talk to strangers
3: the last in line
4: Rock and roll children
5: caught in the middle
6: one night in the city
7: breathless
8: straight through the heart
9: holy diver
10: dream evil
HM: lords of the last day, Egypt, one more for the road, invisible