Strange highways
| Strange highways | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Dio | ||||
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Publication |
1993 |
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| Label (s) | Reprise Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, cassette |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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|
running time |
53 min 42 s |
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| occupation | ||||
|
Mike Fraser |
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|
Studio (s) |
Rumbo Records, Los Angeles |
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|
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Strange Highways is the sixth studio album by Ronnie James Dios solo band Dio and was released in 1993.
Creation of the album
After Ronnie James Dios resigned from Black Sabbath , he reactivated his solo band in 1993. At first, Dio's first bassist Jimmy Bain was supposed to play his instrument again, but he was released shortly after he returned. So Dio recruited ex- Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson, a good friend of Dios. For the drums, Dio had his drummer Vinny Appice . As a guitarist, he took ex- WWIII (for World War III) guitarist Tracy Grijalva after the band placed an advertisement in the newspapers.
Together with producer Mike Fraser, the album was recorded in the summer of 1993 at Rumbo Studios in Los Angeles. According to Martin Popoff's Dio biography, most of Strange Highways was created by chance and through jam sessions, a part also came from Tracy Grijalva when he was still in WWIII. Mike Fraser also had to change little of the sound of the instruments. Strange Highways is dedicated to Terry Price , a rugby player who died in 1993 while trying to save someone from a car accident. The album was released at different times, as Ronnie James Dio made the release date dependent on the respective tour. However, an earthquake in Los Angeles prevented the Japan tour, so the album had to be released there without a subsequent tour.
Jeff Pilson only played the bass on the album and the subsequent US tour, since he was again involved with Dokken. On all subsequent tours for the album, he was replaced by Larry Dennison. In 1996 he returned to Dio for Angry Machines . Strange Highways is Dio's final album for Warner Music Group . No keyboard player was involved in the album itself, although Pilson received the credits for this. Scott Warren ( Warrant ) was hired for the upcoming tour .
Track list
- Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost - 4:14
- Firehead - 4:07
- Strange Highways - 6:54
- Hollywood Black - 5:09
- Evilution - 5:37
- Pain - 4:13
- One Foot In The Grave - 4:02
- Give her the gun - 6:00 am
- Blood from a Stone - 4:14
- Here's to You - 3:24
- Bring down the Rain - 5:45 am
Single releases
The original plan was to release the song Evilution as a single . The plan was dropped, however, and only one promo CD was released for US radio. A related video, recorded in the Hammersmith Apollo on December 12, 1993, was never realized either. The song Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost should also be released as a single, but this song was also only released as a promo CD for US radio.
Music style and reception
Strange Highways is rated quite differently in the trade press. Musically it marks a transition to a slightly more aggressive style. Metal.de calls the album "underrated" and speaks of one of the hardest albums that Dio has ever released. The album shows Dio "from a different, definitely juicier and harder side". Allmusic describes the album as solid and one of the better albums in Dio's later career. While Dio sings powerfully as usual and the new guitarist Tracy Grijalva adds some good riffs, Vinny Appice's drumming style in particular would have suffered.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Biography of Dio. Dio.net (Fanpage), accessed on May 15, 2011 .
- ^ John Downes: Bull Masters - Terry Price. (No longer available online.) Bradford Bulls, archived from the original on December 21, 2008 ; Retrieved May 15, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Biography of Dio. Laut.de , accessed on May 15, 2011 .
- ↑ a b c Strange Highways at Allmusic (English). Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ↑ http://dio.net/biography/discography/Dio_Summer1993-Nov1993_CDs.html
- ^ Review. Metal.de, January 1, 2010, accessed May 15, 2011 .
