DIO fans should be happy that DIO put out a new live cd. No ordinary live concert either. In fact

 it is a live concert of his entire HOLY DIVER cd. Now if you are a pure DIO fan this is a good

thing.

However, to anyone else, this is not really worth too much. First of all, DIO recently put out a

brilliant live cd called INFERNO which really captures DIO in all his power and glory. Secondly,

 the band that he did Holy Diver with is no longer with him, so the sound is not there. Thirdly DIO,

 himself is having a bad night. His voice seems rough, like perhaps he is sick or something along

 those lines. If you listen to the title track "Holy Diver", you would just shiver at how horse his voice

 sounds. And finally, why do a live cd of some random cd of yours?? Could this be a new trend?

I hope not, next thing you know every band in creation will be picking a random cd to record live

in its entirety. What a thrill that would be.

On the up note, if you are a true diehard DIO fan this is something that is good. How often do

you get to hear songs like "Shame on the Night" and "Caught in the Middle" done live?? Not to

mention that this two cd set on Eagle Records has a second side of some of DIO's former bands

greatest hits. You can hear DIO and the boys doing versions of "Heaven and Hell", "Long Live Rock

 and Roll" and "Sign of the Southern Cross." Now those are all good tunes added to this cd, where

they fit into the Holy Diver live concept is beyond me. This kind of reminds me of a fast food

restaurant pumping out burgers just for the sake of doing it. Not for the taste.

If you really want to buy a live DIO cd, check out INFERNO. It will certainly be a true image of

how a Ronnie James Dio concert should be and is. If you are an essentialist and collect everything

by DIO, knock yourself out. This may look good in your cd tower, but I bet the dust bunnies will

get more use of it than your cd player does.

Horns up kids!!! The man who taught us how to "throw a goat" (that's making that little devil horn sign for those not of the metal mindset) has returned with a double live CD. Yes, Ronnie James Dio is back with a two disc set that captures a live performance at the London Astoria where he performed his 1983 classic "Holy Diver" in it's entirety as well as some classic pre-solo career material.

I anxiously awaited the day that this CD would drop in my mail slot. When I did, I tore the envelope open with glee. I was psyched to relive my formative years of metal with one my "gateway drugs", so to speak. Seeing the chain whipping devil on the front, I tore out the liner notes and absorbed every glorious word about the set. After reading them, I was convinced that Dio's voice had only lost a step and he had been rejuvenated back to mid-1980's form. After listening to this set, I'm not so sure about my initial assessment.

Disc one is "Holy Diver" from start to finish. If not for the liner notes, I would have figured that Dio started the show with this set because it clearly takes his voice half the record to get going. While the musicianship is strong, with Doug Aldrich on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Simon Wright on drums, Dio's voice doesn't begin to hit a notable range until "Straight Through The Heart" six songs in. After that, the record gets noticeably better. "Invisible" is a rarely played classic that is absolutely blistering. "Rainbow in the Dark" clearly got the Astoria crowd into a frenzy and the closer, "Shame On The Night", built the buzz with a lengthy guitar solo from Aldrich.

Disc two is what makes this set worth acquiring. Dio gives us a musical history lesson on this disc, with classics from his Sabbath and Rainbow days. As good as Aldrich is as a guitar player, his talents were actually better suited for this set than the "Holy Diver" set. "Tarot Woman" and "Man on the Silver Mountain" from the Rainbow days and "Sign of the Southern Cross" and "Heaven and Hell" from the Sabbath years are worth the price of admission. Dio's voice is on target. The guitars are spot on and appropriately ominous. Dio doesn't dig too extensively into his catalog beyond "One Night In The City" and "We Rock" from "The Last In Line" and that's okay, because I was enjoying the real classics anyway.

This is ultimately a record for Dio fans only. If you are newbie to the world of Dio, go run out and get the starter kit consisting of "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart". Play them loud and constantly. After listening to them for hours on end, you will find that "throwing a goat" becomes a much more natural movement.