Strange Highways

Artist: Dio
Label: Reprise / Wea
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 093624552727
EAN: 0093624552727
ASIN: B000002MOZ

Release Date: 1994-02-01

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Listmania:

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Dio (solo)
The albums dio has been in.The lineup and best track(s)
DIO IS KING!!!
"MOFO'S" (Mostly) Compleat Masterlist XXXII
Long Live Ronnie James Dio!
BRUTAL DIO: The Top 5 CDs.
The Very Best Of Ronnie James Dio

Tracks:

Jesus, Mary, and The Holy Ghost
Firehead
Strange Highways
Hollywood Black
Evilution
Pain
One Foot In The Grave
Give Her The Gun
Blood From A Stone
Here's To You
Bring Down The Rain

Similar Items:

Lock up the Wolves
Dream Evil
Magica
Sacred Heart
Angry Machines

Customer Reviews:

Sam.......2006-12-28

Strange Highways and Holy Diver are the best Dio albums by far. There will always be a certain contingent of Dio fans who hate Strange Highways for reasons unkown to me, though most site Tracy G. However, Mr. G is one of those guitarist - like a young Tony Iommi - who obvously sold his soul for Rock and Roll! His riffs are satanic - in the good way. Thank God RJD didn't try to put another sackless "virtuoso" like the crapmaster from Lock up the Woves on this album. Tracy G has the most in your face solos since Vivian. Sure he doesn't play at high velocity but who cares? It is the spirit that matters. Not buying in? Then ask yourself: who is cooler Hendrix or yngwie? I rest my case. It always pains me to think that a small vocal minority - the D and D variety of Dio fans - bitched so much about Strange Highways that he totally changed his direction. This Orson-Scott-Cardesque stuff of the last several years is anything but magic no matter how many references he makes to conjuring wizards. I am a grown man. I do not want a Dio album with topics best suited for anime or T-shirts with dragons. I want Firehead blaring from my speakers and that freak monster on the cover of the album on a a black shirt - hell maybe even tatooed on my nuts. Yes the album is that good. The only songs that perhaps belong on Lock up the Wolves or perhaps Dream Evil are the last two. Buy this album if you like RJD and you will see that if you tear yourself away from nostalgia, this is his greatest recording. Just stop listenin before Hears to You and Blood from a Stone.

Not that bad.......2006-12-22

Saw Dio live in Austin on this albun until F**cin APD ran him off for being too loud (Dio too loud LOL). It is my favorite album next to the first and Lock up the Wolves. Yes Tracy G is no Craig Goldie or Vivian Campbell (why Def Leppard) but this album rocks!!!! Pain is my favorite next to Give her the Gun (Dio always has an abuse song of some kind). Yes uneven but it has some of his heaviest rockers ever espcially since Jeff Pilson (ex-Dokken) played bass. Ignore the lyrics and rock out!!!

Dio's best album of the 1990's.......2006-11-08

THE BAND: Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tracy Grijalva (guitars), Jeff Pilson (bass, keyboards), Vinny Appice (drums & percussion).

THE DISC: (1994) 11 tracks clocking in at approximately 54 minutes. Included with the disc is a minimal 2-page foldout containing song titles/credits/times, one band picture, and thank you's. All songs written by Dio and Grijalva, with Pilson and Appice contributing on select tracks. Recorded at Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles, CA. Label - Reprise Records.

THE DISC: Dio was a household name in the early to mid 80's. Two classic albums with Black Sabbath ("Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules"), a handful of solo releases - two of which are still considered all-time metal masterpieces ("Holy Diver" and "Last In Line"). In my opinion, nothing Dio has done, past or present can match the strength of any of the 4 albums mentioned above. The 1990's found Dio on the down-turn. He released only one studio album with Black Sabbath - "Dehumanizer" (1992) - which garnered mixed reviews at best. He released 3 solo studio albums... "Lock Up The Wolves" (1990), "Strange Highways" (1994) and "Angry Machines" (1996)... all again to mixed reviews ("Angry Machines" was actually trashed by several music magazines). With that being said, I believe that "Strange Highways" is the best of his 90's material. It won't stand up to his classic 80's albums, but it's still very good mainstream metal. "Strange Highways" contains some great tunes - a concert favorite "Jesus, Mary & The Holy Ghost", the heavy "Hollywood Black", the title track (which made it to Dio's "Anthology" and the "Beast Of Dio" compilations), and one of my all-time favorites of his, "Evilution". A very good disc that you can probably pick up used or on the bargain rack - and it's worth it. If you're a Dio fan, this album is essential to your collection (4 stars).

Overlooked & Unappreciated.......2006-05-01

Like most people who will read this review, I have always collected everything by RJD from Sabbath forward. While all of my friends moved on to the "next big thing" in the nineties, I stood by RJD and all of my other favorite rockers from back in the day (AC/DC, Crue, Ozzy, Dokken, Quiet Riot, TS, Ratt, Y&T and many more). I was not a big fan of Lock Up The Wolves (Strange Highways predecessor) or Angry Machines which followed Strange Highways. However, Strange Highways is freaking amazing and it is sad that so many Dio fans dismiss anything from this period in Dio's career. It doesn't make sense because this cd is right in line with Dehumanizer by RJD and Sabbath and these two cd's are as good as anything he has ever done. I love Holy Diver and The Last In Line as much as the next Dio fan (maybe more) and I still listen to them frequently. But, RJD's career is so much more than those two solo albums and two Sabbath albums from '80 and '81. I admit that Angry Machines had me thinking that RJD was done because it's not impressive. But, don't lump Strange Highways in with Angry Machines. Furthermore, I don't get why people who didn't like Strange Highways always say things like "it is too experimental". That's BS. It's a very heavy, straight ahead hard rock Dio cd with some very fresh riffs. People try to make this thing out to be some kind of new age Dio. That's not what I hear when I listen to this cd. Luckily, in the past five years, RJD has had a real uptick in his popularity and Killing the Dragon and Master of the Moon have been praised by all. If Strange Highways were released today, Dio fans would be going nuts over it. If you want to tag something RJD has done as experimental, then take a look at Magica.

This is great.......2006-02-12

This album is great. It's very hard, agressive and loud, and i like that. Dio sings different on this album too, he screams more. On other albums he sings a lot better, but the way Dio sings fits with the style of this album. This is not the Dio album to begin with if you don't know Dio. Then You must pick up Holy Diver or Dream Evil. This album is different from other Dio albums, but it is a very good one. You need to take the time to get used to this style. If you do that, then you will enjoy this album!

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