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Rating: 100 million dollar question: DID WE REALLY NEED IT!?
I must say that I adore Ronnie James Dio, who is a singer of great charisma as well as an extraordinary poet, and Antonino Iommi remains one of the greatest living guitarists, this pointless anthology is nothing more than yet another pathetic attempt to cash in on the name Black Sabbath, and Bill Ward was absolutely right to disassociate himself from this initiative. If only it had been done properly, I say! The value of songs like the epic Neon Knights, the super cool Lady Evil, the monstrous Heaven And Hell, the beautiful Die Young and the poetic Lonely Is The Word is unquestionable, they are the best, the creme de la creme of that absolute masterpiece called Heaven And Hell, released in 1980, which represents one of the most exciting chapters in the saga of the Sabs. The troubles begin immediately after: Mob Rules is a great album, surely underrated, but the 4 songs included in this best of certainly do not encourage you to get it: the opener Turn In The Night is super cool, embellished with a vaguely punk riff, Falling Off The Edge Of The World is also very beautiful, a musical rendition of one of the best lyrics by our Italian-American elf, but frankly Voodoo and The Mob Rules are really weak and dull, it's unforgivable that they were chosen over two masterpieces like Country Girl and Over And Over, not to mention The Sign Of The Southern Cross!! Our good collection also contains 3 songs from Dehumanizer from 1992, a very honest heavy metal record but nothing more, for which our dear Iommi made the unforgivable mistake of badly ditching Tony Martin, the Shaman of the Sabbath, the greatest singer ever to grace the court of the mustached guitar hero. The songs in question are the single TV Crimes, very catchy but quickly tiresome, the pleasant but banal I and the wonderful, intense and esoteric After All (The Dead) while Computer God, the only true masterpiece of the album, was not included, another colossal mistake that deters from buying the album. Instead, the perfect execution of Children Of The Sea from the much-maligned Live Evil of 1982 is beautiful, but in my opinion, if you want a truly amazing live performance by Black Sabbath, you should decidedly go for Cross Purposes Live. Really ugly, boring, and dull the 3 unreleased tracks Ear In The Wall, The Devil Cried, and Shadow Of The Wind, at levels even worse than Forbidden.
In conclusion, I strongly advise RJD to straighten out his solo career, since after the visionary and wonderful Angry Machines of '96, he has done nothing but produce increasingly banal and uninspired records, and as for Iommi, I'm still waiting for him to make a new album with Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and Tony Martin. In conclusion, do not buy The Dio Years, not even if you're die-hard fans.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Neon Knights (03:52)
Oh no, here it comes again
can't remember when we came so close to love before
Hold on, good things never last
nothing's in the past, it always seems to come again
again and again and again
Cry out to legions of the brave
time again to save us from the jackals of the street
Ride out, protectors of the realm
captain's at the helm, sail across the sea of lights
Circles and rings, dragons and kings
weaving a charm and a spell
Blessed by the night, holy and bright
called by the toll of the bell
Bloodied angels fast descending
moving on a never-bending light
phantom figures free forever
out of shadows, shining ever-bright
Neon Knights!
Neon Knights! all right!
Cry out to legions of the brave
time again to save us from the jackals of the street
Ride out, protectors of the realm
captain's at the helm, sail across the sea of lights
again and again, again and again and again
Neon Knights!
Neon Knights!
all right!
03 Heaven and Hell (06:58)
Sing me a song, you're a singer
Do me a wrong, you're a bringer of evil
The devil is never a maker
The less that you give, you're a taker
So it's on and on and on, it's heaven and hell
Oh well
The lover of life's not a sinner
The ending is just a beginner
The closer you get to the meaning
The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming
So it's on and on and on, oh it's on and on and on
It goes on and on and on, Heaven and Hell
I can tell
Fool, fool
Oh uh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Well if it seems to be real, it's illusion
For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life
Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer
And it's on and on, on and on and on and on and on and on and on
They say that life's a carousel
Spinning fast, you've got to ride it well
The world is full of kings and queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
It's heaven and hell, oh well
And they'll tell you black is really white
The moon is just the sun at night
And when you walk in golden halls
You get to keep the gold that falls
It's heaven and hell, oh no
Fool, fool
You've got to bleed for the dancer
Fool, fool
Look for the answer
Fool, fool, fool
05 Lonely Is the Word (05:51)
It's a long way to nowhere
And I'm leaving very soon
On the way we pass so close
To the back side of the moon
Hey join the traveler if you got nowhere to go
Hang your head and take my hand
It's the only road I know
Oh! Lonely is the word, yeah yeah yeah!
I've been higher than stardust
I've been seen upon the sun
I used to count in millions then
But now I only count in one
Come on, join the traveler
If you got nowhere to go
Hang your head and take my hand
It's the only road I know
Yeah, Lonely is the word
Got to be the saddest song I ever heard
Yeah, Lonely is the name
06 The Mob Rules (03:15)
Close the city and tell the people that something's coming to call
Death and darkness are rushing forward to take a bite from the wall, oh
You've nothing to say
They're breaking away
If you listen to fools...
The Mob Rules
The Mob Rules
Kill the spirit and you'll be blinded, the end is always the same
Play with fire, you burn your fingers and lose your hold of the flame, oh
It's over, it's done
The end is begun
If you listen to fools...
The Mob Rules
You've nothing to say
Oh, They're breaking away
If you listen to fools...
Break the circle and stop the movement, the wheel is thrown to the ground
Just remember it might start rolling and take you right back around
You're all fools!
The Mob Rules!
07 Turn Up the Night (03:42)
A rumble of thunder, I'm suddenly under your spell
No rhyme or reason, or time of the season, but oh well
The darkened deliver, I shake and I shiver down your soul
You know what to cover, I think for another it's a story told
So get a good hold, yeah
Regiment fooled you, you thought that you knew who you are
A simple equation, that's the relation, but that's gone too far
A time of suspicion, a special condition that we all know
So let it all go!
Turn up the night!
Turn up the night!
Turn up the night, it feels so right!
Nighttime sorrow, taken like a pain
Black will not become a white, it's all the same
Evil lurks in twilight, dances in the dark
Makes you need the movement, like a fire needs a spark to burn!
A rumble of thunder, I'm suddenly under your spell
No rhyme or reason, or time of the season, but oh well
The darkened deliver, I shake and I shiver down your soul
So get a good hold, yeah
Turn up the night!
Turn up the night!
Turn up the night, it feels so right!
Turn up the night!
Turn up the night!
If it feels right
Turn off the light!
Turn up the night!
08 Voodoo (04:34)
Say you don't know me, you'll burn
You can refuse, but you'll lose, it's by me
Say you don't want me, you'll learn
Nothin' you do will be new, 'cause I'm through
Call me a liar, you knew
You were a fool, but that's cool, it's all right
Call me the Devil, it's true
Some can't accept but I crept inside you
So if a stranger calls you
Don't let him whisper his name
'Cause it's Voodoo, oh!
Fade into shadow, you'll burn
Your fortune is free, I can see it's no good
Never look back, never turn
It's a question of time 'till your mine and you learn
So if a stranger sees you
Don't look in his eyes
'Cause he's Voodoo!
Say you don't know me, you'll burn
You can refuse, but you'll lose, it's by me
Say you don't want me, you'll learn
Nothin' you do will be new, 'cause I'm through
Voodoo!
Bring me your children, they'll burn!
Never look back, never turn!
Cry me a river, you'll learn Voodoo!!
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