The Dio Anthology

Product Description:

This is a career-spanning retrospective of Ronnie James Dio, from his beginnings with Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath, to his later solo work.

Producers include: Ronnie James, Dio, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Martin Birch.

Compilation producers: Ronnie James, Dio, Wendy Dio, Dean Schachtel, David McLees.

Includes liner notes by Lonn Friend.

With his sword-and-sorcery performances, demonic mascot, and bold vocal stylings, Ronnie James Dio is a classic-metal icon, best known for his own band, Dio, which became one of the genre's most popular acts in the mid-1980s. Whereas the earlier Rhino collection THE VERY BEAST OF DIO focuses only on the group's 1980s and early-'90s outings, the two-disc STAND UP AND SHOUT presents many of those tracks, and also includes the singer's finest recordings with Elf, Rainbow, and, most notably, the post-Ozzy Black Sabbath.

STAND UP AND SHOUT opens with three early-'70s tunes by Dio's first group, Elf, and fans may be surprised to find that this blues-rock band had more in common with the Faces (particularly on the piano-driven "Hoochie Koochie Lady") than proto-metal groups like Led Zeppelin. Dio's subsequent work with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow makes a sizeable leap towards a heavy sound (especially the mystical "Man on the Silver Mountain"), but it is his early-'80s stint with Sabbath that truly solidifies his allegiance to metal (see the blistering "Neon Knights"). The entire second disc of this well-selected anthology is dedicated to Dio's eponymous ensemble, and features riff-laden, fantasy-imbued anthems such as "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow in the Dark," rounding out a peerless overview of Ronnie James Dio's best moments.