Ronnie James Dio

[88keys]

You know there was a time that I used to think that he was just a second rate Ozzy Osbourne but I've been reading more about him and listening to his music and I feel now that I have much more respect for Dio than I do for Ozzy as an artist.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to take anything away from Ozzy, but now I see what Dio and Black Sabbath were trying to do in the post Ozzy era and while the material is overall not as good as what was produced with Ozzy and that's because they were experimenting. They wanted to have a more progressive sound and I don't think they quite figured it out with Dio but they still produced some really good songs that don't get the attention that they deserve. (Country Girl, Children of the Sea, Mob Rules).

In any case I'd say that Dio was at his best when he was in his solo career. All you ever hear on the radio is "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow in the Dark" but there so many great songs that go completely unnoticed like "The Last in Line" "We Rock" "I Could Have Been a Dreamer".

Dio was more of a visionary and an overall better performer and singer than Ozzy. Almost like the Michael Jackson of Heavy Metal.

 

[Paladin]

I'm even going to go before Sabbath. Dio on Rainbow was incredible.
Kill the King live

Stargazer

One of the best rock singers, ever.

 

[MongGrel]

Dio was doing things before then yeah.

I think I still have an original Rainbow Rising vinyl disk laying around here somewhere.

:thumbsup:

http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Risin...-29&keywords=ronnie+james+dio#customerReviews

Oughta put that up for sale, list for $100 and don;t even use a turntable these days

 

[bradley]

 

[88keys]

Haven't got into too much of the Rainbow stuff yet. Probably will one day.
Things like this always make me wonder how much music I'm still missing out on. 70's/80's were golden years Hard Rock and Heavy Metal and that's where my heart is but as a millennial I never had a chance to grow up with that music.

 

[futurefields]

heaven and hell

 

[DigDog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV1LzXf1TKQ

 

[darrontrask]

My absolute favorite live album of all time is "Live Evil". I am a huge Ozzy fan and have been to at least 8 of his shows, but there is something about the way RJD belted out those old Sabbath tunes, along with the stuff they wrote that, speaks to me.

 

[88keys]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV1LzXf1TKQ

http://loudwire.com/ronnie-james-dio-wins-loudwire-greatest-metal-frontman-tournament/

 

[A.t]

IMO Dio had a proper rock voice unlike Ozz, who has a sad voice that sounds like he's crying when he sings, if he properly can still that is. Also with Ozz if you look at the solo career it was first his guitarists (Randy, Jake, Zakk) that did the music then were the songwriters while Ozzy just sit there drugging himself near death, so on a technical scale I'd say Dio was a better man. However, if I have to pick one's music, I'd probably go with Ozz... I mean, Zakk's music as I've only listened to some Dio on the radio back in time. That's subjective though and I do know that Dio had some good classic metal songs.

 

[Wingznut]

Imho, it just doesn't get any better than Ronnie. My favorite of all time, and hardly a day goes by that I don't listen to him. Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio... It's all fantastic.

 

[88keys]

IMO Dio had a proper rock voice unlike Ozz, who has a sad voice that sounds like he's crying when he sings, if he properly can still that is. Also with Ozz if you look at the solo career it was first his guitarists (Randy, Jake, Zakk) that did the music then were the songwriters while Ozzy just sit there drugging himself near death, so on a technical scale I'd say Dio was a better man. However, if I have to pick one's music, I'd probably go with Ozz... I mean, Zakk's music as I've only listened to some Dio on the radio back in time. That's subjective though and I do know that Dio had some good classic metal songs.

I kinda agree overall only because the line up from Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman is among the besthe heavy metal line ups in history.

But I do fantasize about Ronnie James Dio singing Mr Crowley. The lyrics fit his style incredibly well.

 

[twinrider1]

...Things like this always make me wonder how much music I'm still missing out on. 70's/80's were golden years Hard Rock and Heavy Metal and that's where my heart is but as a millennial I never had a chance to grow up with that music.

It happens to everyone, even with stuff from from "your" era. I never really listened to Pink Floyd until a new kid moved into the area and showed me a bunch of it. One of my favorite bands now.
I look at it like, on a certain level, parallel universes do exist. If I had gone my whole life and never heard Pink Floyd, did they exist? Not in my universe.

Have you heard of Racer X? Enjoy

 

[Paladin3]

Not to mention he gave brave young Jables some good advice about getting out of Kickapoo.

 

[Triumph]

i love the part in the holy diver video, ronnie walks past some sort of ferocious bird sitting on a pedestal, and its clear that someone kicks the pedestal to make the bird ominously spread its wings at just the right time.

 

[Ronstang]

I don't like heavy metal but I have always liked Dio. He was a good guy and a great voice. He is superior to Ozzy in every category.

 

[MetalMat]

Dio was awesome, I saw him live quite a few times. While I do agree that he is technically a better singer than Ozzy I preferred Ozzy in Sabbath for whatever reason.

 

[leper84]

I don't see how anyone could listen to this and think Ozzy was better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Gkh_CQJP0

 

[88keys]

Dio was awesome, I saw him live quite a few times. While I do agree that he is technically a better singer than Ozzy I preferred Ozzy in Sabbath for whatever reason.

Ozzy Is just a better overall fit. Kinda like David Lee Roth and Van Halen. Ozzy and Dave were both succeed by better singers but with that also came other changes that not everyone liked. The best way to think of Dio's Black Sabbath is to think of it as abother band all together.

 

[railer]

I don't see how anyone could listen to this and think Ozzy was better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Gkh_CQJP0

You cannot compare the weak-ass paper thin vocals of Ozzy to Dio. Ozzy is just terrible.

Dio before he was metal! :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAnyqhUQcS0

 

[DigDog]

it's not like i haven't read your answers, so i know the shitstorm this is going to cause. but RJD is shit.
(careful explanation following)

ozzy i never claimed was a good singer. he was however, charismatic, and his voice had a very unusual tone.

dio is a very, very average singer, whose only luck was to be working in an era when metal was in its infancy; but praising dio is just a meme of the metal world of the 80s, and his talent is fiction and not fact.

(not completely relevant, but his lyrics were atrocious)

first off, dio's vocal range is in reality quite limited. he likes to keep it within a fifth of the tonic and basically talks very loud. the melodic line of his greatest works, such as last in line, is 3 notes. he's got a high pitched voice that sounds like he's signing, but he's really just squeeky.

or maybe not. but i wouldn't even begin to compare him to people i think are actually good singers from his era. not even obscure singers, but mainstream ones, such as ian gillian, bruce dickinson, david roth, robert plant, rob hartford, daltrey, mercury..

when i think of dio, i think he's about the same level of talent as the guy from twisted sister.
just a lot squeekier.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I'm even going to go before Sabbath. Dio on Rainbow was incredible.
Kill the King live

Stargazer

One of the best rock singers, ever.

We need more Rainbow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBz_56nG5Qg
Temple of the King

 

[Skel]

it's not like i haven't read your answers, so i know the shitstorm this is going to cause. but RJD is shit.
(careful explanation following)

ozzy i never claimed was a good singer. he was however, charismatic, and his voice had a very unusual tone.

dio is a very, very average singer, whose only luck was to be working in an era when metal was in its infancy; but praising dio is just a meme of the metal world of the 80s, and his talent is fiction and not fact.

(not completely relevant, but his lyrics were atrocious)

first off, dio's vocal range is in reality quite limited. he likes to keep it within a fifth of the tonic and basically talks very loud. the melodic line of his greatest works, such as last in line, is 3 notes. he's got a high pitched voice that sounds like he's signing, but he's really just squeeky.

or maybe not. but i wouldn't even begin to compare him to people i think are actually good singers from his era. not even obscure singers, but mainstream ones, such as ian gillian, bruce dickinson, david roth, robert plant, rob hartford, daltrey, mercury..

when i think of dio, i think he's about the same level of talent as the guy from twisted sister.
just a lot squeekier.

The man was a legend for a lot of right reasons, and just because he's not hitting notes like geoff tate in his prime doesn't take away from his ability to not only sing but sing well. One thing I've learned over the years. There's more to being a front man than just a vocal range. If you can't see what Dio did for metal, and the talent he had for making music then you should stick to American Idol.

 

[Wingznut]

it's not like i haven't read your answers, so i know the shitstorm this is going to cause. but RJD is shit.

I would totally understand if you simply said that Ronnie just wasn't your thing... But to say he "is shit", is absolutely ridiculous. Do you realize that practically nobody else would say that? Again, take a look at the Loudwire link that 88keys posted above.

but i wouldn't even begin to compare him to people i think are actually good singers from his era. not even obscure singers, but mainstream ones, such as ian gillian, bruce dickinson, david roth, robert plant, rob hartford, daltrey, mercury..

This David Roth?

 

[Anubis]

Dio is a legend, one of the best that has ever played the game