On July 19th, Niji Entertainment and BMG will release The Complete Donington Collection, a limited-edition five-LP box set housing Dio‘s classic Castle Donington ’83 and Castle Donington ’87 performances at the Monsters Of Rock festival in the U.K., both on two-LP 180-gram vinyl with an etching on Side D, as well as the limited picture disc double dose of Donington ’83 and ’87.
Ronnie James Dio‘s widow and longtime manager Wendy Dio says, “Fond memories of sitting on the grass and watching the bands play. This is an amazing collection. 1983 when Ronnie had just recently formed the Dio band and again in 1987. Ronnie always enjoyed playing in Britain. He loved the audiences and the beer.”
Dio At Donington ’83 captures the original Dio lineup on the Holy Diver tour and captures a young, hungry band three months after the release of their debut album. The set features classic tracks from Ronnie James Dio‘s already amazing career as vocalist for Rainbow and Black Sabbath, alongside future classics like Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark and Stand Up And Shout.
Following three hugely successful studio albums and silver, gold, and platinum certifications around the world, Dio At Donington ’87 captures the Dream Evil lineup and features such classics as The Last In Line, Rock ‘N’ Roll Children and All The Fools Sailed Away.
Additionally, both discs contain killer renditions of both Rainbow and Black Sabbath classics, including Man On The Silver Mountain, Neon Knights, Stargazer and Heaven And Hell, among others.
Dio At Donington ’83
Personnel:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Vivian Campbell – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Track listing:
Side A:
1. Stand Up And Shout
2. Straight Through The Heart
3. Children Of The Sea
Side B:
4. Rainbow In The Dark
5. Holy Diver
6. Drum Solo
7. Stargazer
8. Guitar Solo
Side C:
9. Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. Starstruck
12. Man On The Silver Mountain (Reprise)
Side D:
Dio Vinyl Art Etching
Dio At Donington ’87
Personnel:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals
Craig Goldy – Guitar
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Claude Schnell – Keyboards
Track listing:
Side A:
1. Dream Evil
2. Neon Knights
3. Naked In The Rain
Side B:
4. Rock And Roll Children
5. Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll
6. The Last In Line
7. Children Of The Sea
8. Holy Diver
Side C:
9. Heaven And Hell
10. Man On The Silver Mountain
11. All The Fools Sailed Away
12. The Last In Line (Reprise)
13. Rainbow In The Dark
Side D:
Dio Vinyl Art Etching
Double Dose Of Donington track listing (picture disc):
Side A:
1. Stand Up And Shout (Live From Donington 1983)
Side B:
1. Rock And Roll Children (Live From Donington 1987)
As the singer of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band, Ronnie James Dio is often considered to be one of rock’s all-time great vocalists, who sadly passed away in 2010, after battling stomach cancer. However, Dio‘s music continues to connect with the masses. The official Ronnie James Dio Facebook page has over 2.5 million followers, his music on Spotify receives over three million monthly listeners, and in the most recent season of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, the popular character Eddie Munson sports a large Dio patch on the back of his beloved denim jacket.
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One Response
Why re-release these AGAIN? Surely there is something in the archives we haven’t heard yet? These are great concerts, but they were just released not too long ago. Nothing new here but a picture disc and fancy box! Pass.