I have to admit I’m not usually a Dio collector, but when I saw this new release by Iron Eagle Records pop up, I decided I might have to change that. It won’t be a surprise to people who regularly read this site, but I prefer my Black Sabbath with Ozzy. For the most part, I even generally enjoy the Tony Martin era albums a bit more than the Dio era ones. That’s not to say that I don’t like songs from the Dio era, but it just feels like an entirely different band to me. Much like Ozzy, I think Dio was better as a solo artist. With this new Iron Eagle release, we get to hear some of the best stuff he ever did with Sabbath, some great covers from his time with Rainbow, and of course the big hits from his best solo record!
What originally caught my eye was the great artwork and the color of the vinyl itself. I’m not used to seeing Iron Eagle releases on red wax, and I think it looks great. It’s a good break from the black, white and purple they typically use, although I also have a few others that have some sort of green marble coloring as well. The whole package looks nice and is the same great quality I have come to expect from these guys. Although the option was there, I decided not to spend the extra 20 dollars this time on the tin metal plate I talked about on their last Ozzy release. I said that I probably would never get another one, but we’ll see if I stick to that the next time an Ozzy release comes around.
The pressing itself is great. Both of my records were totally flat and defect free. The labels are the usual Iron Eagle ones, and they are clearly marked so you can tell which side is which. The jacket comes inside a plastic sleeve with a numbered hype sticker that indicates the color of the wax. In addition to the red, I believe there are also white copies, black copies, and some test pressings that are also black. I’m not really a “test pressing” person myself and usually avoid getting these even when I’m trying to accumulate a full set of something. They are often far more boring visually, at least as far as the labels go, and are almost always more expensive. If it’s your thing though, you should be able to find a few floating around for this release.
The back of the jacket states that this is a soundboard recording, and it sure sounds like one to me. The audio quality is great, but the mix isn’t perfect. This is almost always the case with unofficial soundboard releases, but some are better than others and I think it’s important to point it out. To me, it sounds like the vocals are a bit hot, but it’s not extreme. I think one issue that almost everyone will notice is that there is a distinct lack of low end. The bass just isn’t really there with this mix. There is also what seems like a bit of sibilance in a few small parts, but I’m not sure if this is even something most people will notice. I think it’s a problem with the original source tape and has nothing to do with the vinyl pressing itself. I know this sounds like a lot of problems, but it really isn’t. These issues are present, but none of them are close at all to being a deal breaker, so to speak.
Soundboard Recording – The Zenith, Paris, France – 23rd November 1987
1-1 Stand Up And Shout
1-2 Dream Evil
1-3 Neon Knights (Black Sabbath Cover)
1-4 Naked In The Rain (Including Guitar Solo)
2-1 Sunset Superman
2-2 The Last In Line / Holy Diver
2-3 Drum Solo / Heaven And Hell (Black Sabbath Cover)
3-1 Man On Silver Mountain (Rainbow Cover)
3-2 All The Fools Sail Away (Including Keyboard Solo)
3-3 Rock’n’Roll Children
4-1 Night People
4-2 Overlove
4-3 Long Live Rock’n’Roll
4-4 Rock’n’Roll Children (Reprise)
4-5 We Rock
4-6 Mob Rules (Black Sabbath Cover)
As you can see, the set list is absolutely killer. It’s a bit of the best of everything Dio ever did. In addition to the little quirks that I mentioned above, there is one particular issue with the source tape that is beyond debate. During “Dream Evil”, there is a tape slow down. The tape could have gotten caught somehow or could possibly have been defective. It’s kind of difficult to describe something like this, but it almost sounds like when a DJ manually slows down a record before scratching it or something. Everything just kind of slows down and grinds to a halt for a few seconds before speeding back up again. As you can imagine, this is kind of distracting and is a real shame to happen during a recording like this that is otherwise pretty excellent.
When I see that “Neon Knights” is on a setlist, I always look forward to hearing it. This is a fantastic version, but of course it’s not quite the same without Tony Iommi playing the guitar. There is nothing wrong with the way Craig Goldy is playing it, but no one can really duplicate that Iommi feel. It could be because Craig still has all of his fingers, but who knows. After sitting through the obligatory, always too long drum solo by Vinny Appice (nothing against Vinny… it’s an excellent solo, but nearly all drum solos are too long and boring), we finally get to “Heaven And Hell” which is another highlight of the performance. For this particular track, the vocals being high in the mix kind of works. I would still like to hear more bass (and have Geezer playing it), but this is a great version of the song.
As you can imagine, “Man On Silver Mountain” and “Rainbow In The Dark” are both absolute showstoppers that clearly demonstrate why Ronnie James Dio is one of the best Rock/Metal singers of all time. Just very powerful, masterful performances. I have to admit I didn’t exactly care for the way they combined “The Last In Line” with “Holy Diver”, but it does work. I just feel that such an incredibly epic and legendary metal anthem sort of deserves its own space and could have had a bit more added to it for this set.
Usually, I’m not really a fan of extended keyboard solos either (Richard Wright being the only exception), but the one we have with “All The Fools Sail Away” is great. It almost sounds Phantom of the Opera-esque, and I think it really helps create the exact atmosphere that I’ve always imagined a Dio show to conjure up. You know, with all the “circles and rings, dragons and kings… wearing a charm and a spell!” Give it a listen and see if you agree. Even without being able to see anything, I think this section paints a very clear picture of that it must have been like to actually be there for the show.
Overall, I think Live at The Zenith is a great set. If you already have some other Iron Eagle stuff, you know exactly what you are getting into with this one. It’s the same type of high-quality wax, same oversized carton-style gatefold… the whole nine yards. As a collector, I think it’s a good investment for any Dio fan. I can certainly see myself listening to this show more than once. For pressing and packaging, this is an easy 10/10. Audio wise, I would give the source tape a strong 7/10, with most of the deduction of points attributed to the tape damage in “Dream Evil”. The rest of the show is good enough that you’ll pretty quickly forget about this error and just enjoy the performance. This is a fairly new release, and if you start looking around, you should still be able to find copies. Good luck!