Strange Highways

Dio | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 1994)
• Original Release Date: February 1, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MOZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,636 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dio's best album of the 1990's, November 8, 2006

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Strange Highways (Audio CD)

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).

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked & Unappreciated, May 1, 2006

By 

HELLDORADO69 "helldorado69" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Highways (Audio CD)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dehumanizer Part II, February 11, 2005

By 

Tony Howard (Fort Walton Beach, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Highways (Audio CD)

This came out two years after Ronnie James Dio's reunion CD with Black Sabbath, Dehumanizer, and to these ears, Strange Highways follows in the same vein. Very heavy, very aggressive music. I loved Dehumanizer and I feel the same way about this disc. Unlike the production of most Dio albums (whcih are pretty dry compared to most metal albums), producer Mike Fraser buffs this album until it shines. Rhienhardt Mack gave that same quality to Dehumanizer. Standout tracks for me include the title track, Evilution, Give Her the Gun, and Bring Down the Rain. This CD is Dio at his skull-crushing best. He would later return to more melodic metal with Killing The Dragon and Magica (both excellent discs), but for me this disc has a little something extra and is a high point in the Dio canon. Others may disagree, so I'll chalk that up to "personal taste." Enjoy!