Ultimate Rhoads

Hey guys! I haven't posted for a while. I wanted to mention that if you guys get the chance, go see "Heaven and Hell". As you know Rhino Records just released "Black Sabbath, the Dio Years". a compilation of tracks from the 3 albums with RJ Dio as well as a few new ones.

I caught the show here in San Diego a few weeks ago, and in a word it was "AWESOME!" Every one was in fine form. They played all the classics from that era...Heaven and Hell, Voodoo, Children of the Sea, Neon Knights, Lady Evil, Sign of the Southern Cross, and many more.

What I noticed right from the 1st note was how well RJ Dio's voice has held up over the years. Many older singers tend to change the key of the songs, to compensate for a diminishing vocal range....Not so with Dio! All the songs were in the same key as the records. Tony played each solo almost exactly like on the recordings, only longer. many of the solos were extended versions of the recorded versions. Geezers bass was tight and spot on! and Vinnie's drums were relentless and powerful! Even the drum solo was a delight!

It really was a great show. The sound at the venue was flawless, audience participation was also great as people were on their feet thru the whole show chanting and singing along. It was truly magical seeing all 4 together again after all these years. I was a Senior in High School when Heaven and Hell was released and the show brought back many fond memories of rocking to those records as a teenager.

So I urge everyone to get tickets if you can. This show ROCKS!

Dean

i'm suprised they didnt drop the tunings to allow Dio to sing better. you'll notice that even zakk is dropping his guitar down into like D standard to allow ozzy to sing better. thats a fantastic review Dean, if they come to england ill try get some tickets

skezza wrote: thats a fantastic review Dean, if they come to england ill try get some tickets

There doing a full U.K. Tour in November, playing 11 dates all over the country.

Within a couple of weeks they play here!

Check out:

HEAVEN AND HELL phoenix arizona 4-22-2007 lady evil LIVE

Die Young - Heaven And Hell 04-24-2007

Heaven and Hell- Falling Off The Edge Of The World

heaven and hell ,sign of the southern cross

Sound is not very good here, but Iommi sounds excellent!

Good to see you back Dean!

The Flying Dutchman wrote:Within a couple of weeks they play here!

Check out:

HEAVEN AND HELL phoenix arizona 4-22-2007 lady evil LIVE

Die Young - Heaven And Hell 04-24-2007

Heaven and Hell- Falling Off The Edge Of The World

heaven and hell ,sign of the southern cross

Sound is not very good here, but Iommi sounds excellent!

Good to see you back Dean!

Thanks Dutch!...Been hella busy and haven't had much internet time.

Looks like I have a bit or reading to do to catch up!

deansolo wrote:Looks like I have a bit or reading to do to catch up!

Oh yeah, lots of great posts have been made here, check also the "Randy Stories" lots of great stories from Frank and others there!
Sometimes it's hard to keep up here!

I was at the L.A. show... that was an OUTSTANDING show. Best I've seen in years.

I was at chicago Ronnies mike went out for 1 verse of neon knights and you could still hear him in the 5th row singing it!! What a Voice!!

I saw the show in March......AWESOME!

skezza wrote:i'm suprised they didnt drop the tunings to allow Dio to sing better. you'll notice that even zakk is dropping his guitar down into like D standard to allow ozzy to sing better. thats a fantastic review Dean, if they come to england ill try get some tickets

Speaking of which, I saw a great interview with Adrian Smith concerning a few of their live oldies to "Drop D" now. Are there any Maiden-Heads around here? Im not really anymore, but I just wondered how long they have been doing this for, having such a classic sound. Songs I heard "dropped" were Wrathchild and Number of Beast, and shit, they sounded so much better for it!!

i had a thought the other day... since sabbath have pretty much always detuned to compensate for iommis lack of fingertips do you think that may have messed up ozzys voice? after years of singing detuned songs his vocal ranged could have been cut down a bit!... just a thought

rice_pudding wrote:i had a thought the other day... since sabbath have pretty much always detuned to compensate for iommis lack of fingertips do you think that may have messed up ozzys voice? after years of singing detuned songs his vocal ranged could have been cut down a bit!... just a thought

Thats an interesting idea and I will enjoy reading other peoples views on it.

rice_pudding wrote:i had a thought the other day... since sabbath have pretty much always detuned to compensate for iommis lack of fingertips do you think that may have messed up ozzys voice? after years of singing detuned songs his vocal ranged could have been cut down a bit!... just a thought

possibly, but i dont think so. I think 30 + years of fags probably did that right from the word go. In all honesty, i saw a video of ozzy at what was called his 'worst period'. The 1978 Never Say Die tour playing Snowblind. Not only is this a fairly high pitched song anyway in some respects, Iommi cleverly retuned his guitar to standard and didnt relearn the song and simply played the same frets meaning it was up 3 semitones. Yet, ozzy still sounded good, considering the difficult situation he'd been placed in. Whether he knew about it I don't know, but i was impressed