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This is a bit of an odd release. It’s a recording of a concert from
back in 2002; the DVD of the show was released shortly afterwards.
No idea why it took so long to release in on CD, but I can’t really
see many people who were really waiting for this. Still, it’s a
great show, so I can’t see anyone complaining either. Dio’s band at
the time consisted of Simon Wright (drums), Scott Warren (keys),
Jimmy Bain (bass) and Doug Aldrich (guitars). The latter two have
since left the band, Aldrich to join a revamped Whitesnake.
As for the setlist, Dio has the same problem as most of those
classic bands: they have so many classics they are expected to play,
that it is hard to put in some new or different stuff. There are so
many songs they could play, yet usually the setlists look very
similar every time they perform. It is kind of frustrating to hear
the Rainbow singalongs “Man On The Silver Mountain” and “Long
Live Rock And Roll” again. I’m dying to hear songs like “Stargazer”,
“Kill The King”, “Gates Of Babylon” or “Tarot Woman”. Yet, Dio
chooses to always go back to those two worn-out tracks. Of
course, it is nice to hear “Holy Diver”, “The Last In Line”, “Don’t
Talk To Strangers” and “Heaven And Hell”; they still sound great.
But I would really love to hear some different stuff as well. Of the
newer songs played, only “Killing The Dragon” and “Fever Dreams”
measure up to the old work, so Dio may be right in not
playing too much new stuff. Still, a more imaginative setlist might
make me a bit more enthusiastic – recently, Dio has been
playing some great stuff live, so this might still end up on a live
album one of these days.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the execution of the songs,
though. Ronnie James Dio is still one of THE best vocalists around
and his musicians are –as always- excellent, with Aldrich in
particular making quite an impression.
This album is exactly what you can expect from Dio: it’s good
and solid, if a bit too predictable. |
