The day after Ronnie James Dio would have turned 80 years old (on July 10th), BraveWords is honored to speak with Wendy Dio today on Streaming For Vengeance at 3:33 PM EST. The heartwarming conversation takes a deep look at his iconic career which spanned five decades, touched millions of fans and pioneered his signature “devil’s horns,” one of the most popular hand gestures in the world. We also talk about the new Super Deluxe Edition release of Dio’s iconic debut, Holy Diver. The collection comes with two versions; the first is a new mix of the album made by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot). He used the original analog tapes to remix all nine tracks on the album. The second is a newly remastered version of the original 1983 mix. The Super Deluxe Edition also features unreleased live performances and outtakes, along with a selection of rarities from the era.
When asked if Ronnie, guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Vinny Appice felt that they were creating something very special, Wendy Dio told us in a Streaming For Vengeance preview: “No. It didn't start like that. It was just, you know, Ronnie was finally in control of his own life, and just wanted to make some good music. We didn't have any clue that it was going to be such an iconic album, which we were really pleased about, obviously, but we had no idea it was going to be like that."
BraveWords: Now, whose idea was it that it needed a refresh? Because even Joe said, "I can't touch this thing, it's perfection.” Who had that initial idea to correct something?
Dio: "Rhino came to me and thought that it would be good to have someone refresh it, make it a little bit more modern, bring it up to date. So, I decided that I wanted to pick who I wanted to do it, and who I thought Ronnie would appreciate doing the remix, and I researched Joe and I thought, 'he's going to be the perfect person'. And, I'm over the moon about his production on it. It's amazing and I think he did it really great. Joe uncovered the outtakes, and he said, 'What about putting those on?'. First of all, I was a little hesitant about it, but now kids hear about how the songs came about so I think it was great to put the outtakes on there. We put a lot of stuff on there, different things. We put on an unreleased show from Fresno in 1983, which you know, we uncovered in the vault - I mean there's a lot of stuff in the vault - we uncovered that, and put that out. So Wyn Davis mixed that for us, and it was just amazing. We just found different jewels to put on this boxed set, and that was very exciting. It was fun to go into the vault and look through the stuff. I haven't been there in years. It's right in your face, I think Ronnie would have been very proud of it. "
BraveWords: Was Ronnie actually happy with how Holy Diver has aged over time?
Dio: "I don't know. I don't think so."
BraveWords: Did he want to fix anything? Did he complain years later?
Dio: "Ronnie was very … when he wrote something and did something, then it was on to the next thing. He was always on to the next thing, so he never went back really and listened to his work. He always was like, ready for the next thing, creating the next thing."
BraveWords: So, he was first in line for The Last In Line.
Dio: "That's right!" (Laughs)
BraveWords: What was a major pull-at-the-heartstrings moment when you were working on this box set? Something that really took you back, or moments?
Dio: "Just when I really realized that it will be 40 years next year that this album came out, and that fans are still wanting to hear the music, and keep his musical legend alive, and that the young kids are listening now to the music from the innovators. I just think that's amazing, and I know Ronnie would be so, so, so pleased about that."
BraveWords: It's an important point you make, because every day there's a new generation of music lover, and if you've never heard an album before, this is a new release to a little kid because he's never heard it before.
Dio: "Right, right right. And I think kids are watching things, like Stranger Things and he's wearing Dio on the back of his vest. Young kids are getting more and more exposed, you know, not only to Ronnie's music, but to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple. They're listening to things and they're like, 'Wow'. They're discovering these iconic things which are new to them, but which have, of course, been around for years. They're classics. I mean, I don't know many bands of today whose music will, in 40 years, still be listened to. I wish it was a different story, but I'm sure there will be one or two bands here and there, but it doesn't seem to be a lot."
BraveWords: It's almost like icons, like Ronnie James Dio, it's almost like the metal scene is like the classical music scene - it's music that's going to be heard for decades and centuries. It's truly timeless.
Dio: "Yes, it is timeless. Absolutely timeless."
BraveWords: What do you think of the vinyl craze?
Dio: "Well, I think it's great, and Ronnie always loved the vinyls because they had the artwork on them, whereas when it came as a compact disc, there's hardly any room for artwork. And he always said, you know, you go to a store and see the artwork, and you say, 'Oh, I wonder what's inside that package? That looks inviting'."
BraveWords: What did he think, then, when Holy Diver came out on LP, then you saw this shrunken little, like postage version, of this iconic artwork? Did that disappoint him?
Dio: "Yes, it did. Especially on cassette, because the cassette was even smaller."
BraveWords’ Streaming For Vengeance entire interview with Wendy Dio airs today at 3:33 PM EST on the BraveWords
Facebook page and the BraveWords YouTube channel. For more information about Streaming For Vengeance, visit this location.
Holy Diver was a platinum-certified smash and one of the late singer-songwriter’s most groundbreaking achievements. Rhino revisits this epic metal moment on Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition, available on July 8 as a 4-CD boxed set and digitally.
The collection comes with two versions of Holy Diver. The first is a new mix of the album made by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot). He used the original analog tapes to remix all nine tracks on the album. The second is a newly remastered version of the original 1983 mix. The Super Deluxe Edition also features unreleased live performances and outtakes, along with a selection of rarities from the era.
Barresi’s new mix of “Holy Diver” is available today digitally as a preview to the new album mix. In addition, Barresi’s new mix of Holy Diver will be released the same day as a 2-LP set on 180-gram vinyl ($34.98). It includes the original nine tracks, plus the 1983 B-side version of “Evil Eyes” as a bonus track. Side four is decorated with an etching of the legendary demon Murry that graces the album’s iconic cover. The vinyl is kept in a gatefold sleeve that shows off newly commissioned artwork by longtime Dio artist, Marc Sasso. The same artwork is also used for the 4-CD Super Deluxe Edition.
Critically acclaimed and a commercial success, Holy Diver contributed two timeless classics to the heavy metal canon – “Rainbow In The Dark” and its title track. The album also ranks #16 on Rolling Stone’s current list of “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.”
After departing Black Sabbath in early 1982, Dio began composing songs that would eventually appear on the album. After writing both “Holy Diver” and “Don’t Talk To Strangers,” Dio then assembled an amazing group of musicians, two familiar faces and one fresh recruit, with drummer Vinny Appice (Dio’s Black Sabbath bandmate), bassist/keyboardist Jimmy Bain (Dio’s Rainbow bandmate) and guitarist Vivian Campbell joining him to record the Holy Diver album.
In the illustrated liner notes that accompany the Super Deluxe Edition, music journalist Mick Wall shares the album’s creation story, including the making of its crown jewel, “Rainbow In The Dark.”
He writes: “Lyrically, it was Ronnie James Dio at his poetic best…Musically, ‘Rainbow In The Dark’ was also the band’s first truly collaborative endeavor. The inspiration for the monster guitar riff came from something Viv had written when he was 16. Vinny added his distinctive battle-cry beat, and Jimmy added the final touch with the infectiously simple keyboard motif.” The song was finished in 10 minutes, he adds.
Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition goes beyond the original album with a previously unreleased recording of the quartet performing live in 1983 at Selland Arena in Fresno, California during the Holy Diver Tour. Wyn Davis mixed the concert recording, which spotlights live versions of songs from Holy Diver (“Stand Up And Shout” and “Rainbow In The Dark”), Rainbow classics (“Man On The Silver Mountain” and “Starstruck”), and Sabbath staples, (“Children Of The Sea” and “Heaven And Hell.”)
The Super Deluxe Edition also revisits the Holy Diver recording sessions to uncover unreleased outtakes for several album cuts, including unheard takes for “Invisible,” “Straight Through The Heart,” and a version of “Rainbow In The Dark” that boasts an alternative guitar solo. There’s also an early version of “Evil Eyes,” a song that would resurface on Dio’s 1984 follow-up album, The Last in Line. A selection of rarities rounds out the new collection with mono and stereo 7” single edits for “Rainbow In The Dark” and a version of “Evil Eyes” that was released in 1983 as the B-side to “Holy Diver.”
Holy Diver: Super Deluxe Edition
CD Tracklisting
CD1: Holy Diver (2022 Joe Barresi Mix) *
CD2: Holy Diver (2022 Remaster)
“Stand Up And Shout”
“Holy Diver”
“Gypsy”
“Caught In The Middle”
“Don’t Talk To Strangers”
“Straight Through The Heart”
“Invisible”
“Rainbow In The Dark”
“Shame On The Night”
CD3: Live at Selland Arena, Fresno, CA, 1983
Intro *
“Stand Up And Shout” *
“Straight Through The Heart” *
“Shame On The Night” *
“Children Of The Sea” *
“Holy Diver” *
“Heaven And Hell” – including guitar solo *
“Rainbow In The Dark” *
“Man On The Silver Mountain” *
“Starstuck” *
“Man On The Silver Mountain” – reprise *
“Don’t Talk To Strangers” *
CD4: Outtakes, Singles & B-Sides
Tracks 1-7 unreleased
“Evil Eyes” – Wyn Davis remix *
“Don’t Talk To Strangers” – Take 1 (Joe Barresi mix) *
“Invisible” – Take 1 (Joe Barresi mix) *
“Invisible” – Take 3 (Joe Barresi mix) *
“Rainbow In The Dark” – Alternative Guitar Solo Version (Joe Barresi mix) *
“Straight Through The Heart” – Take 2 (Joe Barresi mix) *
“Straight Through The Heart” – Take 3 (Joe Barresi mix)*
“Rainbow In The Dark” – 7” Mono Edit
“Evil Eyes” – 1983 Version. B-Side of “Holy Diver”
“Rainbow In The Dark” – 7” Stereo Edit
* previously unreleased
Holy Diver: 2022 Joe Barresi Mix
2-LP Clear Vinyl Track Listing
LP1: Side One
“Stand Up And Shout”
“Holy Diver”
“Gypsy”
“Caught In The Middle”
LP1: Side Two
“Don’t Talk To Strangers”
“Straight Through The Heart”
“Invisible”
LP2: Side One
“Rainbow In The Dark”
“Shame On The Night”
Bonus Track
“Evil Eyes” – 1983 Version. B-Side of “Holy Diver”
LP2: Side Two
Etching
"Holy Diver" 2022 Joe Barresi Remix:
