DIO:  Makin' Magic 'N' Music!

by Tom Lounges


    With his illustrious history as vocalist with two of the true monsters of
heavy metal - Rainbow and Black Sabbath - Ronnie James Dio needs not prove
anything to anyone. 

    Still, the shadow of those proud war horses of the past has never
intimidated the diminutive singer with the big voice.  He stepped out of
groups deemed "legendary" to truly become a legend in his own right an on his
own terms with a series of albums that bore his name - Dio!

    Call them not "solo" albums, for Ronnie James considers himself a team
player.   "I may be the captain of the team sometimes, but I am still part of
a team," he muses in a long-distance interview from his home in Los Angeles. 
 

     "I never set out to become Ronnie James Dio, this figure or icon or
whatever you choose to call me," confessed the singer.  "All I ever wanted to
be was just a guy in a band.  I didn't even really want to be a singer.  I
started out playing bass and was very happy doing my job of keeping the
rhythm. I guess it was my good fortune that no one in my first band (Elf)
could sing very well and they asked me to step up to the microphone.  But
just because I was in the forefront of the band didn't make me any more
important than anyone else in my mind.  I have always believed that if you
are in a band, each person has to give equal support and deserves equal
respect."

     Joining Dio on his latest recording and subsequent tour are some old
friends from the past - Craig Goldy on guitar, Simon Wright on drums and
Jimmy Bain on bass. 

   Goldy worked with Ronnie on the landmark "Dream Evil" album, while Wright
spent 8 years banging for AC/DC after working with Ronnie on his "Lock Up The
Wolves" album.  Jimmy had worked with Ronnie years earlier during his Rainbow
years.

    Dio was preparing to pack his bags at the time we spoke, making ready to
embark on his next world tour.  This time the rocker is hitting the road to
support, "Magica", his first new studio album in nearly five years and his
first for the fast-rising hard rock label, Spitfire.  Dio will rock Chicago's
House of Blues on April 21 with Riot and Dirty Deeds.
 
  "Magica" marks a strong return for Dio to the swords and sorcery imagery
that has earmarked so much of his career.  "This album is kind of special to
me," he explained.  "So we will be doing most of it in the current live show.
 Actually, I think we will only be leaving out one small piece of it." 

    The reason the album is special and the reason it needs to be presented
in virtually it's entirety, is because "Magica" is a conceptual adventure
that Dio conjured up in his down time.

    "I needed to do this kind of album," he said.  "For one, I had never done
a concept album and I had always wanted to do that.  More importantly, I
really had not written in this fashion for the last seven or eight years,
since the Sabbath album we did called "Dehumanizer".  After that album, my
writing style had strayed a bit more towards realistic topics with a little
social commentary here and there.   The way I wrote for this album and the
way I used to write was in a fantasy mode per se, I like to be a storyteller.
 I think DIO fans may have been a little confused these last few years and
maybe we disappointed a few along the way as well.  I wanted to make the kind
of album we used to make and the kind they have been wanting me to make.  I
think we have done that with 'Magica'."

    While he may have made his mark writing tales of netherworlds and
wizardry, when young Ronnie wrote his first song at age 10, it was lyrically
different than those he became famous for in later years.  "I wasn't writing
about medieval things back then," he laughed. "I was only ten and most likely
writing about Tootsie Rolls and things..."

   Dio's fascination with the darker side came shortly thereafter when he
became a fan of comic books, science fiction and stories of dark knights and
evil queens.

   Songs about chocolate and childhood soon were replaced with ones about
dragons, star gazers and men upon silver mountains.

    "What was actually the hardest thing about making this album was putting
it all together so that it flowed and told the tale we wanted to tell," said
Dio.  "The connectors as Craig and I called them, were the most difficult." 
Dio co-wrote "Magica" with his longtime friend and guitarist, Craig Goldy. 

    "We'd write the songs, which was the easy part, and then we'd sit there
and scratch our heads looking for our connectors to bring all these songs
together," he continued.  "I think that the most difficult part of all of
this for me, was creating the last track where I do that long 18-minute
narration at the end.  I had to write some synthesizer music behind it and
give it a little bit of texture.  But even though it was a little tough
putting it all together, I absolutely love the album and we had a lot of fun
doing it."
While pulling singles from a concept album has never been an easy task, Dio
does not think Spitfire will have a tough time pushing individual songs to
radio with this release.  In fact, the first single being pushed to hard rock
radio is "Fever Dreams".

   "The story and the plot does flow from song to song naturally," he said. 
"But each track can easily stand apart from the rest of the album I think. 
Ideally, the reason for doing an album like this is so that people will
listen to it in its entirety.  It is meant as a musical journey that should
be consumed from beginning to end, but I don't think you have to listen to it
that way to enjoy the songs."
 
  The "Magica" tale that begins when an futuristic alien race comes to a
explore a dead planet in a far off sector of the galaxy.  "The aliens come
exploring the area because they had picked up a signal beacon," says Dio, as
he picks up the story.  "They find this planet that has turned into a virtual
ice ball.  It once was a rich and vibrant planet that had two suns, but both
had burned out and the planet became encrusted with ice and became unable to
sustain life.  The signal is coming from the center of this ice ball, so the
aliens land to explore it and along the way they discover the book of
'Magica'."
 
   From there the tale is told ~ like so many medieval yarns, it concerns the
battle between good and evil. 

    As one of the elder statesmen of heavy metal, Dio looks back fondly on
his past.  With Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow and Tony Iommi  in Black
Sabbath, I had the very good fortune to have played with two of the finest
musicians of my generation. 

    He reflects on his time with both Rainbow and Sabbath as two of the most
wonderful and educational periods of his life.
 
 "All the experiences I have had in my life I treasure," he said.  "That is
especially true of my work in those two bands.  Rainbow was incredible
because there I was playing music with one of my heroes, Ritchie Blackmore. 
When he invited me to be a part of Rainbow, Ritchie gave me a great
springboard to show what I was worth and he taught me things that I don't
think he even knew he was teaching me.   It's really too bad others who have
played with him felt the need to keep going on and on about Ritchie being so
difficult.  Yes, he can be, difficult I suppose, but it's only because he
cares so much about what he is doing (musically).  I never really had that
kind of problem with him.  I have always respected him and I think he has
always respected me.

    "Sabbath was another great experience for me, especially when we did the
album, 'Heaven And Hell'," he continued.  When we made that record, I felt
that I was able to help them bring a great band back up to a level where it
belonged.  With Sabbath, I felt a great feeling of accomplishment.  Sometimes
things happen that cause hurtful feelings between people, but that does not
diminish what you did together. I'm very proud of what I did while I was with
Sabbath and of my affiliation with that band.  We have not spoken in quite
some time, but I still admire and respect those guys very much."

     So who does this guy, who is idolized by singers worldwide admire in the
vocal department?  "I love Paul Rogers of Bad Company," said Dio. "To me,
he's one of the best rock singers ever. I also think Deep Purple has had some
of the best singers ever - Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale and Ian Gillian.
Then there's Rob Halford and Bruce Dickenson, who are really great.  I have
to mention Pavarotti too, because that guy can knock down buildings with his
voice!"


(Appearing April 21 @ House of Blues)