The next album in the series of Dio Deluxe Editions is about to be released – on March 4, 2013. Last year we got the first three Dio studio albums (plus the first live one, Intermission). I got a lot of emails asking when the next one was coming out, and today I got a press release for the next album, “Dream Evil”. Originally released in 1987, this was the first Dio studio album with longtime guitarist Craig Goldie.
I rather liked this album when it was new, and it’s got a lot of underrated songs in the overall Dio catalogue. “Side 2” is for me one of the strongest “Side 2’s” on any Dio album from the 80’s. However, most Dio fans tend to skip it, despite getting a lot of play on MTV back in the day. It is the latest to get the two disc Deluxe Edition treatment. Below is a track listing:
Disc 1
- Night People
- Dream Evil
- Sunset Superman
- All the Fools Sailed Away
- Naked in the Rain
- Overlove
- I Could Have Been a Dreamer
- Faces in the Window
- When a Woman Cries
Disc 2
- Hide in the Rainbow (Dio EP)
- I Could Have Been a Dreamer (Single Edit)
- Dream Evil (Live, Donnington – 8/22/87)
- Neon Nights
- Naked in the Rain
- Rock & Roll Children
- Long Live Rock & Roll
- The Last In Line
- Holy Diver
- Heaven & Hell
- Man on the Silver Mountain
- All the Fools Sailed Away
- The Last in Line (Reprise)
- Rainbow in the Dark
Tracks 3-13 on Disc 2 are all live, and are a mirror of Disc 2 of the Live at Donington 83/87 release from 2010. Officially that album was only released in the US, and this will be a European release, so the material is not a double dip. But I was hoping for a little more extras wise there.
Still, I’ve always loved Dream Evil, and a proper remaster of the album will be most welcome. I’ve liked the remastering work they’ve done in this series so far as well as the Black Sabbath deluxe editions, so this will probably be enjoyed upon arrival. If you never tried this album, I suggest looking into it. It’s an underrated Dio classic, and a remaster will only make it better. Looking forward to hearing the new remaster for sure!
You can pre-order it now at the following links. Also, as with Black Sabbath, Warner Bros handles Dio releases in the US/North America, Universal elsewhere, and this “elsewhere” is where this release is. If you want to buy it in the US, you’re gonna have to pay import prices. With that in mind, here’s the ordering links:
Below is the full press release from Universal about this package..
Dio
Deluxe Edition Album: Dream Evil
Universal are pleased to announce the release of a deluxe edition of Dio’s ‘Dream Evil’ album on March 4th 2013.
When Ronnie James Dio finally succumbed to stomach cancer in May 2010, the world of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal lost one of its most talented and fervent ambassadors. As lead vocalist to such Rock giants as Rainbow and Black Sabbath, as well as fronting his own eponymous band for nearly three decades, Dio created some of the genres most defining and respected works. Albums such as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Rising and Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll for Ritchie’s post Deep Purple band Rainbow; then Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules and Dehumanizer for the mighty Black Sabbath and with his own band Dio, albums such as Holy Diver, The Last In Line and Sacred Heart, all stand as towering monuments of sheer class and brilliance in the Rock pantheon. As a live performer, Dio knew few equals. With his lions roar and incredible vocal range, the front-man presided over countless memorable rock shows, delighting millions of fans all over the world.
Born Ronald James Padavona in 1942 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire into close Italian-American stock, the young Ronnie began his recording career whilst still at school. Initially learning trumpet and French Horn (the breathing technique for which would later assist him with his powerful vocal style), Ronnie moved onto bass guitar and vocals for bands such as The Vegas Kings who later became Ronnie And The Rumblers (later the Red Caps) and Ronnie Dio And The Prophets (Dio being a reference to the mafia member Johnny Dio). Winning a scholarship to New York’s famous Juliard School for the performing arts, Ronnie by this time had discovered Rock And Roll, the pursuit of which led him to support Deep Purple with his new band Elf. Ronnie’s powerful vocal would catch the attention of Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who later enlisted Dio, along with his fellow Elf band members, when Blackmore was looking to recruit his new project, Rainbow.
Staying with Ritchie from ’75 to ’79 and recording the aforementioned studio albums, as well as the live album On Stage, Dio eventually departed citing musical differences. A chance meeting with guitarist Tony Iommi in, of all places, the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, found Dio filling the lead vocal position in Black Sabbath replacing the previously jettisoned Ozzy Osbourne. This combination produced two explosive studio albums and lifted Black Sabbath once again to the pinnacle of the Metal vanguard. However, differing personalities between the British and U.S. factions of the band would come to a head during the mixing of the live album, Live Evil and his refusal to support Ozzy Osbourne for some U.S. shows lead Ronnie and drummer Vinnie Appice to lay the foundation for a new band, the neatly named, Dio.
Dream Evil is Dio‘s fourth album, released on July 21, 1987. It features former Rough Cutt members Craig Goldy and Claude Schnell, and includes the singles “All The Fools Sailed Away” and “I Could Have Been a Dreamer”. Dream Evil was Dio’s last album to feature drummer Vinny Appice
This new 2-cd deluxe edition comes with a bonus disc containing amounts other tracks the bands triumphant gig at Monsters of Rock. An expanded booklet with notes by Malcolm Dome endorsed by Ronnie’s widow Wendy makes this the next in line of ultimate Dio reissues.
DISC ONE
Night People
Dream Evil
Sunset Superman
All The Fools Sailed Away
Naked In The Rain
Overlove
I Could Have Been A Dreamer
Faces In The Window
When A Woman Cries
DISC TWO
Hide In The Rainbow (Dio EP)
I Could Have Been A Dreamer (Single Edit)
Dream Evil (Donnington – 22/08/87
Neon Nights
Naked In The Rain
Rock N Roll Children
Long Live Rock N Roll
The Last In Line
Holy Diver
Heaven And Hell
Man On The Silver Mountain
All The Fools Sailed Away
The Last In Line (Reprise)
Rainbow In The Dark
I’m a little disappointed in the bonus disc, since I already have the Donnington album. I understand about the territorial thing, though. The Donnington ’87 set is flawed by the fact that it was a short festival appearance, meaning that much of it is a giant medley. They don’t play the entirety of all those songs listed.
Dream Evil is a very underrated album, though. It’s the most Rainbow-like of Dio’s solo albums, and it really makes me think of what a Rainbow reunion might have been like had it happened in the late ’80s.
I don’t find the original CD to be a bad master, unlike Last In Line. Dream Evil wasn’t a particularly great sounding album to begin with, even on LP.
I also like this Dio album a lot. It’s probably second to Holy Diver in my mind and a close second at that.
While I know it was a part of Intermission, it would have been nice to include Time To Burn on this release. Do the fans who are likely to buy this really care about a Single Edit of …Dreamer? TTB could have gone in that spot even if it is a duplicate of another release.
Overall, though, nice to see this album getting the Deluxe treatment. Definitely grabbing this one. (And from the U.K. as the U.S. version is more expensive.)
I believe the Intermission tracks were already included on the Sacred Heart Deluxe Edition. I would have liked to see “Stars” from the Hear ‘n Aid project appear as a bonus on this one. That’s a pretty conspicuous omission.
Stars wasn’t a Dio song, so it’s not a “conspicuous omission” at all. Besides, I’ve been hearing the full Stars album is supposed to get re-released on CD anyway.
I actually liked this album a lot, lots of great tunes and a heavier feel like the first album. This and Sacred Heart were my favorites after Holy Diver.
Dream Evil…I’ve never been sure to be honest. Upside, ‘All The Fools Sailed Away’ and Sunset Superman’..and probably ‘When A Woman Cries’ too. Downside, I find a lot of ‘Dream Evil’ to be essentially weak; ‘Faces…’, ‘Overlove’, and ‘Naked In The Rain’ leave me quite cold. As does ‘Night People’. And ‘I Could Have Been A Dreamer’ is too…I don’t know. Bloated. Nice, especially the chorus, and pretty, but bloated nonetheless. I guess I just don’t think much of Craig Goldie. Not personally, from what I understand he’s a really, really nice bloke, but I’ve never gotten on with his guitar sound. I find him unimaginative and quite pedestrian. Compare the two Donnington gigs on ‘Dio At…’. Vivian Campbell’s playing is electric, especially the solos. Craig seems to be using high speed fretting to compensate for not feeling the songs.
Not that he’s entirely to blame. I’m a huge Dio fan, more than Sabbath to be honest (although it’s close!) but I feel that the band never created a strong enough identity. After ‘The Last In Line’ there was no consistency. I LOVE Sacred Heart (including the second side, thank you Joe! ;o) ) and the feel of the record, but then ‘Dream Evil’ shifts back a gear. Whilst I’ll never be one to criticize a band for experimenting (Major U2 fan, especially the nineties albums) or changing their identity, Dio felt somewhat diluted by ‘Dream Evil’.
‘Lock Up The Wolves’, to me, was a breath of fresh air. Rowan Robertson was fantastic, and Dio himself seemed almost re-energised alongside such a vital guitar player – his voice sounded a decade younger at least. I’ve always wondered what would have happened had Dio discovered Zakk Wylde instead of Ozzy. Or stayed with Rowan et al to record the follow-up to ‘Wolves’ (I’ve heard there are some demos floating around on that score – never made public, of course). I read an interview with Dio where he said he didn’t like spending too long in the studio, and recorded albums as quickly as possible. I feel sometimes that rushing some of the albums may have been detrimental. Imagine ‘Dream Evil’ with nine or ten songs of the caliber of, All The Fools…’.
Given the choice, I’d rather see a remastered ‘…Wolves’, or ‘Strange Highways’. Especially, ‘Strange Highways’. Again, Dio’s voice shifts to compliment the sound. I guess at times, ‘Dream Evil’ seems almost Dio-by-numbers to me.
That said, it’s not the worst record out there, and superior to many. I’d give it maybe a five out of ten. But a ‘Dio five’ is still better than most of the current bands’ eleven!
to bad craig goldie my favorite dio guitarist
I realy liked this album alot.Although I didnt discover it till years after it was first released I thought it was one of Dios best Albums.Time to burn should have been on this album as well.I wish that there would have been a follow up to album as good as this one.The next studio album release Lock up the Wolves was a terrible album although I admire the talent of the young 16 year old guitar player.
Hide In The Rainbow was also track 1 one disc 2 of the Sacret Heart reissue. What’s the point of including it again?
I was really looking forward to this remastered release (as I mentioned last year when the first batch of deluxe editions were announced) as I TOTALLY agreed with Joe about the underrated nature fo this album, but… having already purchased the “Dio at Donnington UK” CD, the second disc on this deluxe edition becomes completely irrelevant for me…
I was actually pretty p#ssed off about that until Joe’s comment about the “outside of the US” reminded me of the ugly truth… avoiding this kinda thing it’s becoming increasingly difficult in my case since I live outside of the US, but the majority of the releases available here (Central America) actually come from the US… and now with the availability of iTunes it gets even more confusing, since in the case of Dio, both the “at Donnington UK” and the “Deluxe Editions” are available for me…
I know, I know, It’s all about international distribution rights, labels and boring legal and accounting matters, and nobody’s to blame, nobody put a gun to my head and blah, blah, but still, kinda disappointing… Anyway, I guess I have at least a couple of weeks to make up my mind about purchasing (and by that I mean downloading) this…
And again, setting myself apart from most Dio fans, I would also greatly enjoy a “Lock up the Wolves” Deluxe Edition, I’ve always had a soft spot for that album as well. Sure, it’s not a master piece, but I honestly feel that both the songs and the production have aged much better than “Sacred Heart”, or even “The Last in Line”.
Peace
Erick
lock up the wolves one of my favorites to
Is it Andy Pearce doing the remstering again, do we know? Nice to finallyy get the Dio albums with decent sound! Dream Evil album was very melodic Dio, like LLR&R & Mob Rules.
like i said before magica should done in its entirity ,live with guest musicians of course, like roger waters the wall, dio’s disciples still there magica has so much to explore sorry about getting off topic dream evil #1
Last year we got the first three in a row, now only DREAM EVIL, couldn’t understand this at all. What about LOCK UP THE WOLVES and STRANGE HIGHWAYS ? That would have completed Dio’s “Vertigo Years”. The Bonus-Disc must be a joke: The same Liveset as on 2010 DONINGTON DCD wich every real DIO Fan since then already owns. Shame on you Warner/Universal or whoever is responsible for this poor choice of “Bonus”.
And by the way:
At the beginning of 2012 (!) there were lots of announcements on the DIO Homepage for upcoming releases: Vinyl-Boxset, stand alone Vinyl Albums, Live-CDs and whatever more. Until today only those underdone THE BEAST OF DIO Vol.2 has happened. Come on mates – please no more Shirts, Shorts or Statues, get going and give us music. At least a proper european DVD of the SACRED HEART concert.
Universal really screwed up this rerelease…
Hide in the Rainbow is already on Sacred Heart, and the Donington show on the Niji release Dio at Donington, which included both 1973 and 1987 shows, so nothing interesting on this Deluxe Edition…