MXR's Randy Rhoads Distortion+ pedal

[Sirion]

I did like it when it came out, like Sacred Heart. Neither hold up. Knowing how talented Dio has been in his career, why he settled on writing mid-tempo 80s metal ballads, I'll never know.

I'd have to disagree. To me, it is the solo album that stands up the second best from a songwriting perspective: it is more diverse and interesting than Last in Line, more consistent than Sacred Heart. I will concede that it does not have the monster tracks of the first record, even though it is arguably more consistent.

There are some signs of the plodding Dio that would haunt much of his later material. Sunset Superman has one of his most hard-hitting intros and verses, but halving the pulse in the chorus does not really work for me.

 

[Mincer]

I'd have to disagree. To me, it is the solo album that stands up the second best from a songwriting perspective: it is more diverse and interesting than Last in Line, more consistent than Sacred Heart. I will concede that it does not have the monster tracks of the first record, even though it is arguably more consistent.

There are some signs of the plodding Dio that would haunt much of his later material. Sunset Superman has one of his most hard-hitting intros and verses, but halving the pulse in the chorus does not really work for me.

For me, it was clear he was writing to an audience- specifically 13 year old metal fans (or the 13 year old metal fan in all of us). To be fair, I loved Sacred Heart and Dream Evil when it came out, but I also loved Bark at the Moon, and listening back to it, it sounds the same to me...music written to appeal to 80s teens. Great if you are a teen in the 80s, but doesn't work for me outside of that. Dio's previous work with Elf, Rainbow, & Sabbath all sounded like a band trying to prove themselves and put their unique artistic statement out there.

 

[JMP/HBE]

I was/am a huge RR fan. It was the Distortion/Jazz combo in his Jackson's that led me to Seymour Duncan when I wanted humbuckers in my Bullet S3.

Back on topic, the D+ is one of the reasons I am not that big on pedals. I bought one but it never sounded that great to me. Although I may have been stuck comparing it to the TS the other guitarist in the band was using. I also do not recall the D+ getting much love in the 80's. It could have been the part of the country I lived in, but everyone around me was using a TS.

I anticipate always being a RR fan, but likely will never get another D+.

If anything I need to get my crap out of storage and unbox that Diamondhead I bought week 2 as I liked the tone I was hearing in the demos.

MXR Distortion + came out 47 yrs ago. Was a different planet.
When Hendrix played there were only about 5 guitar pedals on the planet.
Some folks have no idea what was NOT available then.

 

[Sirion]

For me, it was clear he was writing to an audience- specifically 13 year old metal fans (or the 13 year old metal fan in all of us). To be fair, I loved Sacred Heart and Dream Evil when it came out, but I also loved Bark at the Moon, and listening back to it, it sounds the same to me...music written to appeal to 80s teens. Great if you are a teen in the 80s, but doesn't work for me outside of that. Dio's previous work with Elf, Rainbow, & Sabbath all sounded like a band trying to prove themselves and put their unique artistic statement out there.

Sure... but we are still comparing Dream Evil to Holy Diver/Last in Line, right? To "one night in the city, one night looking pretty"? Isn't this a teeny tiny bit hyperbolical?

 

[Mincer]

Sure... but we are still comparing Dream Evil to Holy Diver/Last in Line, right? To "one night in the city, one night looking pretty"? Isn't this a teeny tiny bit hyperbolical?

Yeah, lyrically, none of it is all that great. What the hell is a Holy Diver? But the music rocked.

 

[Sirion]

Yeah, lyrically, none of it is all that great. What the hell is a Holy Diver? But the music rocked.

Agreed. And I will also agree that Ronnie streamlined his approach through his career, gradually opting for shorter, more standardized song templates. To be fair, though, a lot of his contemporaries, from Rainbow to Judas Priest, did the same thing.

 

[Mincer]

Elf, Sabbath, and Rainbow get the most listens from me over anything in the Dio catalog, though. It seemed he wasn't writing for as narrow of an audience. And he had other writers in those bands, too.

 

[JMP/HBE]

I met RJD on a Boeing 727 from Evansville IN to O'Hare in 1980. Had been to the BS show the night before. He was just a regular guy. With his wife & kid. His kid had an original SONY walkman from Japan. The WM had not been released in thr US yet.
The devil schtick was just that a schtick.
Ronnie had his moments. He seemed to have terrible relationships with his bandmates for whatever reasons.

 

[Sirion]

Elf, Sabbath, and Rainbow get the most listens from me over anything in the Dio catalog, though. It seemed he wasn't writing for as narrow of an audience. And he had other writers in those bands, too.

Given what I know of your preferences, I am not surprised at all – and Rainbow is probably still my favourite band if you put a gun to my head. But the early Dio albums outsold anything he did in those other bands by a wide margin, so I'm not sure that "narrow audience" is the correct term.

(I hope I am not being too much of a pain here. Even when we disagree or even when I am bemused, I engage with your opinions because I want to know why when you are in the wrong. ;-) )

 

[Sirion]

Ronnie had his moments. He seemed to have terrible relationships with his bandmates for whatever reasons.

This seems to vary more than you'd think. Craig Goldy has never said a bad word about him, and he seems to have got along well enough with Ritchie Blackmore: I've never heard the two snipe at each other over the Rainbow era.

 

[JMP/HBE]

This seems to vary more than you'd think. Craig Goldy has never said a bad word about him, and he seems to have got along well enough with Ritchie Blackmore: I've never heard the two snipe at each other over the Rainbow era.

Im sure some were amicable but Viv Campbell & D. Aldrich talk about the Dio hate. Just kinda weird.
Its just music man.

 

[JMP/HBE]