Customer Reviews

We Rock

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

The previous reviewer of this disc is correct with his song listing,and so,the two programs being reissued on this disc("A Special From The Spectrum" recorded in Philadelphia and "Live '83",recorded in Utrecht,Holland) are NOT being reissued complete,with "Stand up and Shout" omitted from the Philadelphia concert,and a 20 minute version of "Heaven & Hell" being omitted from the Utrecht show.When I buy a DVD reissue of a program that I've already owned on VHS or Laserdisc,then,ideally,I'd like to get extra songs and supplemental material,but,at the very least,I want to get the original program complete.Although it's true that the song contents of the two concerts overlapped,that's no excuse for dropping songs.I wonder if it was Ronnie James Dio's decision,or merely a stingy record company trying to save money by reducing the payout of mechanical royalties.This DVD is a deplorable rip-off,and useless as an upgrade to fans who already own the complete,uncut programs via previous VHS or Laserdisc releases.This release is an import from Universal Music(who has the non-U.S. rights on the 1980's DIO recordings). Let's hope that Rhino & Warner Brothers(who have the U.S. rights) never release these edited versions of the programs.Oh well,I guess I'll transfer my vintage VHS of the Spectrum concert and my Japanese Laserdisc of the Utrecht concert onto DVD-R.Because this is a virtuoso heavy metal group with substantial amounts of improvisation from the guitarist & drummer,no two performances of a song are identical.A slight overlap in song contents between the Philadelphia & Utrecht shows is NOT a justification to omit the "redundant" songs.Though "Stand Up & Shout" & "Heaven and Hell" were included in both shows,they were hardly identical renditions.This DVD should be taken off the market.Please Rhino & Time-Warner:Spare U.S. fans from this travesty,and NEVER release these edited programs in America.DIO fans:You've been warned about this worthless product.

Ronnie James Dio has remained at the forefront of hard rock for over twenty years and his position as the powerful voice, driving force and front man to rock gods 'Dio' is the stuff of legends. This is the new 2005 DVD release of "We Rock" - a live-in-concert Dio extravaganza boasting two knock-out concerts filmed during Dio's 1983 / 1984 Holy Diver world tour.

The finest hard rock album to come out of 1983 and a second serving of rock genius in 1984's 'The Last In Line', Dio found themselves in embarking on a sell-out world tour. Delivering concert performances of the highest calibre and putting on the kind of value-for-money show that had become something of a lost art, the Holy Diver world tour won the band adulation from fans, critics and fellow musicians alike.

Tracks:

MAIN CONCERT: DIO at The Spectrum, Philadelphia

1. Don't Talk To Strangers

2. Mystery

3. Egypt / Drum Solo / Heaven & Hell / Guitar solo / Heaven & Hell

4. Last In Line

5. Rainbow In the Dark

6. Mob Rules

7. We Rock

DIO in Utrecht, Holland

1. Stand Up & Shout

2. Straight Through The Heart

3. Shame On The Night

4. Children Of The Sea

5. Holy Diver

6. Rainbow In The Dark

7. Don't Talk To Strangers

DIO:

Ronnie James Dio - Vocals

Vinny Appice - Drums

Jimmy Bain - Bass

Vivian Campbell - Guitar

Running Time 100 minutes approx

Extras Exclusive interview with Ronnie James Dio, recorded in Belgium 2005 (approx running time 25 minutes)

This is the Ultimate Dio DVD release. But Evil and Devine Live in new York and Sacred Heart are excellent as well. 3 for 3 on Live DVD release, not lets get a live DVD from the Lock up the Wolves Tour (His best solo album and best guitarist Rowan Robertson).

I have had this video ( A Special From the Spectrum) for the last 20 years, and I can honestly say that is is one of the awesomest concerts I have ever seen. Vivian Campbell blows away all other Dio guitarist completely.

Now I gave it 5 stars based on the video, but for the guy who was complainig about the DVD release being cut because stand up and shout wasn't on it, Well your going to be even more upset when you find out that the copy you have was in fact also cut up. I know this because I was at the Spectrum for both the filming of this and the Sacred heart show with Craig Goldy.

Song that were played that night that never made it to the video such as Man on the Silver Mountain, Long Live Rock and Roll, and Holy Diver, should have been included in this video. I was totally upset when I first got it and saw my Favorite song, Man on the Silver Mountain wasn't on it.

By comparison, the Sacred Heart show wasn't as good to me, It had a bigger production, but without Vivan it just wasn't the same. Now I have heard that the Sacred Heart show from the Spectrum with Vivan from the first round was originally filmed and supposed to be released, but after he left, Dio didn't do it. I was at this show also, and I want that copy not the crappy one with Craig Goldy!

From the little of the DVD I was able to view these were GREAT Dio performances.

The DVD itself is a major fail, I am on my second copy from amazon and both do not work as intended.

The DVD play side has all sorts of cloudy spots through out the entire DVD.

The menus do not work and will not take you to selected songs.

When the DVD does decide to play at all there are long pauses and digital noise and break ups to be seen .

I will continue to shop for a different manufacturer of this performance.

What a shame to sell such a bad product of such a GREAT band.

Dio Rocks

The one song that I was able to play, was great, but I bought it from movie mars and amazon and both played the same so I sent it back and got a refund with no problem. I would recommend not buying, but then I'm not sure if it is a problem on my player. Might just be a bad set of discs in a production.

This product should be avoided at all costs. I should have heeded the advice of some of the other reviews that stated various problems but I tried anyway and found out the hard way. I have to agree that the menu is lousy but if you play with it you can get it to work. When I played the Philly concert, the footage is very grainy but I didn't care because I still wanted the shows in my archive. About three songs into the show it jammed up. Not good. I ejected the dvd and then played the Holland show and this time it jammed up in the first song. I had to recycle power on my dvd player just to eject it. When I got the disc out and looked at the back, it had a filmy and cloudy appearance so maybe the dvd's used were damaged by heat or liquid, not sure? At any rate, do yourself a big favor and take into consideration all of the negative reviews and please believe that there are many defective dvd's, not just one and it is not operator error. If Dio knew about this, he'd yank it off the market because this is a defective product.

Evidently I'm not the only one, but i too had to purchase this DVD twice, and both times return them cause the dvd did not work properly . The dvd skips and freezes and i was only able to view a few songs in their entirety. What little of the shows that i did see looked awesome, and if it werent for alot of them being obviously defective this dvd would be a big seller i would think. I wouldnt waste my time though until the flaws are fixed.

Buyer beware, the menus DO NOT WORK, the interview WILL NOT PLAY and the disc skips alot...in other words typical Universal Qualiy. Concert film is o.k. bit dark and hard to see what is going on at times. Ronnie voice sounds gruff, like he will hupp and puff and blow your house down. But the non-functioning menus ruin this.

I purchased this DVD about three years ago at a going out of business sale for Virgin Records. I wasn't looking for this but when I saw it I felt I had stumbled onto a gem. What I was most excited about, is being a guitar player myself getting to see Vivian play live on the Last In Line tour. I didn't quite know what to expect as far as video quality, and I'll tell you now it's not the best, a little grainy. The sound is pretty decent but any imperfections in video quality and sound quality are completely forgiven in light of how amazing the performances are and the fact it was recorded in 1984.

Speaking of performances, this sends shivers down the spine. Dio has always rightfully been considered one of the best metal singers ever, and he doesn't disappoint here. His voice is powerful and not one flat note. The man sings the material better live than on the albums even! That is a feat unto itself considering how much help singers get in the studio. Nope, this short little man let's rip with a voice 10 stories tall. God given talent of the highest order.

The another performance that blows my mind is Vivian's. This guy absolutely smoked in the day. He was and remains one of my favorite guitarists in the genre. What a treat it is to see him here where he can stretch his legs so to speak with his own solo spot as well as extended solo's on the Black Sabbath stuff. Vivian's playing is flawless, with not a mistake to be heard. He pulls off the solo's from the albums note for note, perfectly. Of course the treat is watching him spontaneously improvise solo's for the Black Sabbath tunes. Vivian had amazing vibrato, amazing speed picking, fantastic legato, and just the tastiest note choices you'll hear in metal guitar work. I read somewhere a long time ago Vivian became very depressed when he heard Yngwie play, knowing he would never be that fast. So he left his speed playing behind and joined Def Leppard, where he would play second fiddle to Phil Collen. Such a waste of talent. I wish instead of getting caught up in the whole LA guitar competition thing he realized what a unique voice he had on the guitar.

The rest of the band is tight, and the song selection is sure to please any Dio fan. This is a rare treat to see this original lineup. You realize that for all the mudslinging between Dio and Vivian today they had a unique chemistry that made it work. I don't think Dio ever made an album as powerful and ground breaking as Holy Diver or Last in Line in any of the band incarnations he would work with in later years. Sacred Heart was Vivian's last album with Dio and by then he had already checked out, both mentally and physically, as his solo work on that album is forgettable. These concerts however are not forgettable, and would be an indispensable addition to the DVD collection of any Dio fan, or just fan of the genre in general. As far as 80's metal goes, it doesn't get better than this.

ok first off this video is for the fans...its clips of 2 early shows on from europe and one from the us(the beginning of the last in line tour) THE US SHOW USED TO BE AVAILABLE IN THE 80'S AS A SPECIAL FROM THE SPECTRUM. but has long since been out of print..i know i've owned several copies of it over the years but it seems people like it more than i and it comes up missing..anyway i love this dvd compilation its the best of the old days..if you are a dio fan and want to realive some 1983 magic buy this..well buy 2 cuz you may have the same problem as i had in keeping it around