{"id":16760,"date":"2012-01-23T13:47:19","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T18:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=16760"},"modified":"2013-01-19T08:03:06","modified_gmt":"2013-01-19T13:03:06","slug":"the-elves-and-before-elfthere-were-elves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/the-elves-and-before-elfthere-were-elves\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elves | And Before Elf\u2026There Were Elves<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"One of the more interesting chapters in the early history of the late Ronnie James Dio\u2019s storied career, and the one that is perhaps least in line with the epic heavy metal Dio was so well known for, was the band Elf. Elf \u2013 previously known as The Elves and The Electric Elves \u2013 played a strange but oddly compelling mix of blues, honky-tonk and boogieing rock n\u2019 roll. Think of a Led Zeppelin\/Creedence Clearwater Revival hybrid. Elf released a handful of albums in the \u201870s before Dio joined Rainbow, but there were several early recordings that have never seen the light of day\u2026until now.<\/p>\n

The collection And Before Elf\u2026There Were Elves<\/em> features a dozen previously unreleased recordings, both live and studio material, including some covers. It doesn\u2019t include the official Elves singles, which is a bit disappointing, but there\u2019s still plenty to enjoy here. The material is a bit rough, but given the source material that\u2019s understandable. The songs have been remastered, but you can still hear some hissing and similar defects.<\/p>\n

And Before Elf\u2026There Were Elves<\/em> kicks off with \u201cYou Shook Me,\u201d a cover of the Willie Dixon blues song that Led Zeppelin had also taken on at about the same time. It\u2019s a fun version, and one that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The collection rambles back and forth between upbeat honky-tonk rockers and pure blues worship. There\u2019s not much here that would hint at the kind of heavy metal Dio would go on to create, but there are moments on \u201cSmile For Me Lady\u201d and \u201cDriftin\u2019\u201d that are Rainbow-esque musically. The studio tracks are the more interesting songs on this release, but it\u2019s the live material, particularly the closing cover of Chuck Berry\u2019s \u201cLittle Queenie\u201d (with a bit of \u201cJohnny B. Goode\u201d thrown in) that are the most fun.<\/p>\n

Obviously a collection like And Before Elf\u2026There Were Elves<\/em>, and indeed any Elf material, is not for casual Dio fans or those only interested in the man\u2019s heavy metal career. For serious Dio disciples though, this is a must-have release, and one that showcases the early work and creative output of a lost icon.<\/p>\n

Genre: Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRonnie James Dio (v) (b)
\nGary Driscoll (d)
\nDoug Thaler (k)
\nDavid \u201dRock\u201d Feinstein (g)
\nNick Pantas (g)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tYou Shook Me
\n2.\tStay With Me
\n3.\tFour Day Creep
\n4.\tBuckingham Blues
\n5.\tWakeup Sunshine
\n6.\tDriftin\u2019
\n7.\tSmile For Me Lady
\n8.\tYou Felt the Same Way
\n9.\tSimple Man
\n10.\tDrown Me in the River
\n11.\tCold Ramona
\n12.\tLittle Queenie<\/p>\n

Label: Niji<\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines Staff Writer — One of the more interesting chapters in the early history of the late Ronnie James Dio\u2019s storied career, and the one that is perhaps least in line with the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,334,2387,1177],"class_list":{"0":"post-16760","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-review","9":"tag-rock","10":"tag-ronnie-james-dio"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16760\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}