The Very Beast of Dio [Best of]

Ronnie James Dio. That name has been in music for over 40 years, When Dio got his start in a local band called the Electric Elves, later changed to Elf. After doing to albums with Elf, R. J. Dio left Elf to concentrate on harder rock, instead of the folky stuff he was doing, so joining up with Ritchie Blackmore, guitarist of Deep Purple, Dio and Blackmore formed Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, better known as Rainbow. Dio's popularity rose enormously as a vocalist while in Rainbow, and after only four albums with Rainbow, Dio joined the legendary Black Sabbath. There he recorded Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules, often praised as some of Black Sabbath's best records. After a dispute over the live album Live Evil, R. J. Dio left the band to begin a solo band. With Dio on vocals, ex-Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and ex-Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, in addition to ex-Sweet Savage guitar shredder Vivian Campbell, Dio was set to rock the world! As the 80's went by, Dio released such critically acclaimed albums such as Holy Diver, The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, and Dream Evil, and as the new millennium came, Dio is still making music to this day! So how does The Beast of Dio, a compilation of the Mercury/Reprise label years, hold up? Read on to find out!

PROS-
-IN CHRONILOGICAL ORDER- Unlike most compilations, The Beast of Dio is in order so you can see the growth and changes of Dio.
-YOU GET ALL THE BIG HITS IF YOU'RE A CASUAL FAN- When you get the Beast of Dio, you can be expecting such radio hits as "Holy Diver", "Rainbow in the Dark", and "The Last In Line".
-MANY UNDERRATED MASTERPIECES ARE HERE!- Arguably some of Dio's best songs are the non-hits, and underrated songs such as "Stand Up And Shout", "Straight Through the Heart", "We Rock", "Dream Evil", and many others prove that theory right.
-THE BEAST OF DIO CONTAINS TWO AWESOME 90'S SONGS!- Although most compilations tend to overlook a bands less popular era, The Beast of Dio contains "Lock Up The Wolves" and "Strange Highways", some of Dio's best and darkest songs.
-CHEAP- Unlike other Dio compilations, The Beast of Dio is cheap and easy to find in any CD Store, including Best Buy and Circuit City.
-THE BEAST OF DIO HAS TWO AWESOME LIVE TRACKS- Although the label says there is only one live track, "King Of Rock N Roll" is also a live track along with Dio's cover of Rainbow's "Man On the Silver Mountain". Both these tracks rock and show Dio live and in their prime.
-GREAT LINER NOTES-Inside the CD Booklet, you'll find page after page of a Dio Bio, which documents their history and every album. Very informative and interesting read!

Cons-
-ALMOST NO MATERIAL FROM THE 90'S!- Although tracks like "Lock Up The Wolves" and "Strange Highways" are from the 90's, that is minimal at best. Albums such as Angry Machines, Magica, and Killing the Dragon get NO representation here, and that is disappointing!

Overall, this is one great compilation, and a great review of Dio's Glory Days. Although there is almost no material for the 90's, I won't deduct a star because there are at least TWO songs instead of none. I wish they would have done a Double-Set, but Oh Well, you don't always get what you want. Great for casual fans, but if you already own most of Dio's albums, there is really no reason to get this as there is nothing new here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! IF YOU ARE A CASUAL FAN OF DIO OR ARE INTERESTED IN HIM, PICK THE BEAST OF DIO OR STAND UP AND SHOUT: THE DIO ANTHOLOGY(MORE EXPENSIVE) TO START YOUR COLLECTION, AS THEY ARE EXCELLENT RETROSPECTIVES! WE ROCK!

Also Recommended:

Holy Diver-Dio
Diary of a Madman- Ozzy Osbourne
Powerslave- Iron Maiden

Thanks For Reading!