After three brilliant albums, guitarist Vivian Campbell moved on from the band, and Craig Goldy took his position on board for this album.
What came out was a slightly different sound and mood, but still a brilliant album.
Goldy's guitar sound made itself very evident from the start of the album with Night People and Dream Evil, and it was instantly likable. Ronnie as always sounded fantastic, and the album suited his usual themes.
Ronnie even brought in a boys choir to back him in All The Fools Sailed Away, which added to the whole mood of the album.
The first four tracks – those three mentioned as well as Sunset Superman – are top shelf Dio tracks. The second half of the album doesn't quite match that. In fact, the first single from the album, I Could Have Been A Dreamer, was an extremely strange choice. To say that these five tracks are weak would be far too harsh and unfair, but I have always had that nagging feeling that, unlike their first three albums, this one just doesn't quite hold the quality through to the final minutes.
Memories : Coffs Harbour, October 8, 1987. My 18th birthday. I wake up, and immediately put this album on, and basically play it all day with stopping. Then getting a 48 hour virus that wipes me out totally. Also a couple of weeks later, on Year 12 muck-up night in the school hall, playing the first side of this album, singing it at the top of my voice along with Kearo, Dale and Lewis.
Rating : Only a slight drop in brilliance in the second half of the album grates me. 4.5/5.
No comments:
Post a Comment