Ah, Donington. If only we could all travel to England and see this festival. Well, and also travel back in time. One day I'll build that DeLorian...
This is a brilliant bootleg of Dio's set from the 1987 festival, taken from the Dream Evil tour, and is the first time I have heard anything from this tour. It is soundboard recording, meaning A+ sound.
It's great to hear the songs chosen from the album live - "Dream Evil", "Naked in the Rain" and "All the Fools Sailed Away". They all sound superb. In fact, the entire set list is awesome. Great versions of "Neon Knights", an absolutely blistering performance of "The Last in Line", which moves seamlessly through "Holy Diver" and "Heaven and Hell", a sensational rendition of "Rock 'n' Roll Children", the great Rainbow songs "Long Live Rock and Roll" and "Man on the Silver Mountain", and not forgetting "Rainbow in the Dark". Every song is at its peak.
Ronnie himself is is awesome form. I'm not sure he has ever sounded better on a live album that he does here. His voice is just so powerful and awe-inspiring, it sends chills down the spine. Backed by Craig Goldy, Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice and Claude Schnell, this is a scintillating hour of some of the best music Dio has given us up until 1987. I don't have enough superlatives to praise this effort enough. If only I had been there in person. 23 years later, I can at least be happy with this recording, and to finally hear it in all its glory.
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