{"id":41040,"date":"2014-05-27T16:57:47","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T21:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=41040"},"modified":"2014-05-27T16:57:47","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T21:57:47","slug":"dio-live-in-london-hammersmith-apollo-1993-music-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/dio-live-in-london-hammersmith-apollo-1993-music-review\/","title":{"rendered":"DIO | Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"DIOIn the case of posthumous albums, there\u2019s always an uneasy feeling of the possible motivation behind their release \u2013 all this being about the financial profit rather than a continuation of the particular artist\u2019s musical legacy. If the legions of mourning fans are certain to sacrifice their hard-earned money at the altar of their late hero and buy the post-mortem release no matter what, this financial motivation seems to be quite legit. Anyway, it\u2019s not that obvious if you think of posthumous live albums; many of the archival concert recordings which are being released nowadays are the flagship of the past anyway. And these are not back-of-the-closet compilations of obscure and often botched tracks \u2013 but a real testament to the particular artist\u2019s talent and spirit instead. <\/p>\n

One of these is another vault of DIO\u2019s catalog recently released by Eagle Rock Entertainment, which is Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993<\/em>. Released both on CD and on DVD\/Blu-ray, it\u2019s comprised of live recordings from a London gig at Hammersmith Odeon on Dec. 12, 1993 during the Strange Highways European tour. <\/p>\n

Then-present line-up of Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass), Vinny Appice (drums), Tracy G (guitar) and Scott Warren (keyboards) might have been less popular than the previous incarnations of the band \u2013 and most certainly, the albums of this era were nothing equal to Holy Diver or The Last In Line. The 1993 release wasn\u2019t as warmly welcomed as were its predecessors, too. However, there was a good few \u2018current\u2019 recordings in the concert setlist (\u201cEvilution\u201d, \u201cJesus, Mary & The Holy Ghost\u201d, \u201cPain\u201d, \u201cHollywood Black\u201d, \u201cHere\u2019s To You\u201d and the title track of then-promoted Strange Highways album). And as for the rest, it\u2019s a set of pure classics \u2013 the \u2018greatest hits\u2019 of DIO and Dio-era Black Sabbath and a little of Rainbow, too. It\u2019s an incredible souvenir for every fan who saw the band live on that tour and a fascinating journey back in time for these who weren\u2019t so lucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cStand Up And Shout\u201d is perhaps one of the best possible concert openers in DIO\u2019s entire catalog. No wonder that a very solid performance of this particular song was the first track the attendees of the Hammersmith Odeon gig were to hear that night. The other classics of the \u201880s era DIO are \u201cDon\u2019t Talk To Strangers\u201d (with a blistering guitar solo), \u201cRainbow In The Dark\u201d with a breathtaking showcase of Ronnie\u2019s vocal range and unmistakable manner, \u201cWe Rock,\u201d the epic \u201cThe Last In Line\u201d and the obligatory anthem \u201cHoly Diver.\u201d For these who preferred Dio alongside Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler in early \u201880s Black Sabbath, there\u2019s a couple of tracks of this era. That is, a dramatic ballad \u201cChildren Of The Sea,\u201d fast-paced \u201cThe Mob Rules\u201d and the legendary \u201cHeaven And Hell\u201d (the latter enriched with Ronnie\u2019s rich vocal improvisation). <\/p>\n

Indecently overlooked is, on the other hand, the Rainbow era \u2013 represented only with \u201cMan On The Silver Mountain\u201d noticeably heavier than its original version. Instead of filling the blanks in the set with such classics as \u201cCatch The Rainbow\u201d or \u201cThe Temple Of The King,\u201d you can enjoy your little bit of concert listening experience with the extended drum solo of Vinny Appice smoothly transformed into the reprise of \u201cHeaven And Hell\u201d. On the other hand, the newer, early \u201890s songs included here in their live versions, such as bass-driven, lumbering \u201cStrange Highways\u201d or guitar-laden \u201cPain\u201d are noticeably different from the rest of the material. This difference\u2019s definitely marking the significant change within the band\u2019s sound, as they\u2019ve apparently abandoned the \u201880s conventions in favor of the new at the time. And yet \u2013 as for the classic tunes performed that night, you can\u2019t mistake any of them for anything else in the world. That\u2019s a fact Live In London album clearly proves. <\/p>\n

Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993<\/em> captures the moment in time that is no return to \u2013 the great Ronnie James Dio then entering the \u201890s after almost two decades of recording and releasing milestone albums for hard rock and heavy metal, and after more than thirty years of overall stage tenure. The album\u2019s the showcase of the incredible vocal shape and power Ronnie presented those days, with a solid band in the background. Apart from Vinnie Appice\u2019s tremendous performance behind the drum kit, the rich and dynamic guitar work throughout the entire record is yet another highlight. It proves that although Tracy G had some big shoes to fill, he definitely rose up to the challenge \u2013 just listen to him chopping the riffs in \u201cWe Rock\u201d! But most of all, this live album \u2013 as any other in Ronnie James Dio\u2019s vast discography \u2013 proves how big was the loss that the whole music industry sustained four years ago. Live In London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993<\/em> is not only an excavated gem for the die-hard DIO fans; it\u2019s a textbook of what heavy metal is all about. Give it a try and reminisce about \u201cthe little man with the big voice.\u201d Horns up!<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRonnie James Dio \u2013 vocals
\nTracy G \u2013 guitars
\nVinny Appice \u2013 drums
\nScott Warren \u2013 keyboards
\nJeff Pilson – bass<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. Stand Up And Shout
\n2. Strange Highways
\n3. Don’t Talk To Strangers
\n4. Evilution
\n5. Pain (with guitar solo)
\n6. The Mob Rules
\n7. Children Of The Sea
\n8. Holy Diver
\n9. Heaven And Hell
\n10. Man On The Silver Mountain
\n11. Drum Solo
\n12. Heaven And Hell (reprise)
\n13. Jesus Mary & The Holy Ghost
\n14. Hollywood Black
\n15. The Last In Line
\n16. Rainbow In The Dark
\n17. We Rock
\n18. Here’s To You<\/p>\n

Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.ronniejamesdio.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — In the case of posthumous albums, there\u2019s always an uneasy feeling of the possible motivation behind their release \u2013 all this being about the financial profit rather than a […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":41042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,1187,2906,2491,9379],"class_list":{"0":"post-41040","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-dio","10":"tag-eagle-rock-entertainment","11":"tag-heavy-metal","12":"tag-live-in-london-hammersmith-apollo-1993"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41040","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=41040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}