Dio - The Last In Line
Following the extremely warm reception given his self-named band's well-deserving debut album, Holy Diver, Ronnie James Dio figured there was no point in messing with a winning formula, and decided to play it safe with 1984's sophomore effort, The Last in Line -- with distinctly mixed results. Although technically cut from the same cloth as those first album nuggets, fist-pumping new songs like "We Rock," and "I Speed at Night" curiously went from good to tiresome after just a few spins (a sign that the songwriting clichés were starting to pile up...read on); and the otherwise awesome, seven-minute epic, "Egypt (The Chains Are On)," inexplicably lost it's strikingly sinister main riff halfway through, in what sounds like a mastering snafu of some kind. On the upside, more dramatic, mid-paced numbers such as the title track, "One Night in the City," and "Eat Your Heart Out" -- as well as the driving "Evil Eyes" -- delivered enough compelling riffs and melodies to outweigh Ronnie's once endearing, but now increasingly troublesome repetition of words like "rainbow," "fire," and "stone" in seemingly every song. Finally, the distinctly more commercial pairing of heavy rocker "Breathless" and the power ballad/single "Mystery" gave undisguised notice (along with the slightly sleeker production throughout and more generous keyboards from new member Claude Schnell) of Dio's intention to broaden their audience by tapping into the rising tide of pop-metal. This would bring dire circumstances on their next album, Sacred Heart, but despite the telltale signs of decline cited above, anyone who loved Holy Diver will likely enjoy The Last in Line nearly as much.
Dio - The Last In Line
When LAST IN LINE formed, the intent was to celebrate Ronnie James Dio's early work by reuniting the members of the original DIO lineup. After playing shows that featured a setlist composed exclusively of material from the first three DIO albums, the band decided to move forward and create new music in a similar vein.
Campbell, who has spent the last four months touring with DEF LEPPARD as part of "The Stadium Tour", discussed LAST IN LINE in a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. He said: "Naming the band LAST IN LINE was a good idea at the time, 'cause we were just gonna go out and play some of the [DIO] songs from the early albums, and we didn't have any ambitions to take this beyond that. Now that we're on the eve of releasing album number three, having that association is both a blessing and a curse.
Campbell told Billboard that Wendy has nothing to do with, and no love for, LAST IN LINE. "Vinny still has occasional contact with her," Campbell said, "and when we first started doing this project, she said something along the lines of, 'Ronnie would be spinning in his grave.' So there you go."
The band still recall this early period in their history with fondness, with Vivian Campbell later revealing, in an interview with online publication My Global Mind, For me, The Last In Line and Holy Diver were both the same in terms of quality, as they were both strong records.
There are so many astute interpretations of this song. I can see how inadvertently RJD wrote a song that parallels many of these comments. I would like to add that it could vaguely reference the final battle at the end of Christ's 1000 year reign on earth. GenX is likely the last in line, and those who endure (post millennial dictrine) will be saved. So let's fight this Witch(whore of babylon) and endure to the end. Regardless if it was written this way on accident.
This is the last generation before Judgement day. The prophecy in Holy scripture declares the signs in Jesus words Matthew chapter 24 Daniel chapter 8 she easily understood to all who desire to know wisdom to go to the well freely draw as this Holy Bible and be prepared to stand in awe of it's power. It's all about Heaven and hell light and dark and The watchers role. Understanding we are tested as humanity is being ready to be exposed to the greater cosmos as we enter have entered the age of understanding. Only the Devine will be chosen
I liked many of the given interpretations, particularly the very first one (by Anonymous) and the last one so far (by Donald Ray). I think Dio made a compilation of the Biblical message and a mystical-philosophical approach to that subject. It indeed portrays the Human's growth, picturing all those stages from earliest youth to the old age. At the same time, Dio seems to picture God differently than the Bible does, namely as a good-evil dual force. We're the last in line probably refers to "the first will be last and the last will be first". The hand that writes and then quickly moves away alludes to Daniel's report about the message "mene, tekel, Upharsin". I have a hunch that Dio sends out the mystical message that Humans are higher than the dual God, because his song has a positive vibration in spite of its apparently negative text. To him, it seems that we are "lost, last, or never coming home" etc, is just the beginning of something much better than the existing reality. We're the throw before the toss probably means we're the pain before the birth, the pain that "God" has to feel before he makes a BETTER creation than this miserable one.
My take on the song is that it couples spiritual growth with finding your own path rather than taking conventional wisdom.Ship with out a storm = we've got nothing to fear (calm vessels)Cold without the warm = We don't seek comfortLight inside the darkness that it needs, yeah. = We are wise, and corrupted forces need to hate us in order to existA laugh with out a tear = No regretsHope with out fear = Shining our light with prideWe are coming home = We'll bestow our bounty on youWe're off to the witch = We seek a magical spiritual lifeWe may never come home = We might like it thereThe magic is worth a lifetime = It's worth itThe rest of the song, in my mind is about duality. Where the truth is in-between good and evil, pleasure and pain, fire and stone.The last in line's chorus, in my mind means we've got too much cool stuff to do to follow the pack, or our industrial world. We are entrepreneurs! And if anyone judges us they should also be born on the cross (understand personal sacrifice for the betterment of humanity). You can release yourself from the burden of spiritual truth, but if you do, you'll diminish yourself. Just my point of view.
Dio probably announced the omen of the future is a event called the tribulation is where the souls accepts who is your eternal owner so will decide to go forever, choose then with the devil in the lake of fire now or prepares to perish.and Ronny it moves you leaving you in a frightening suspense: will it be you who can escape this torment here as the last in line?
As he sings "you'll know for the first time,if you're evil or divine,you're the last in line. Pertaining to Judgement Day as to what position in line you want to be. If you feel you have something to fear you'll want to be the last in line to be judged.
The meaning I see in it is who we are, our essence, is a potential, We can begin actions but how they play out is another matter, such as the throw before the toss. We also see ourselves in an inner world that isn't necessarily how the outer world sees us, the smile without the mirror. We are seen by both the potential and the consequences and results of our actions.We begin in a perceived state of innocence, and untroubled by our path, so we are the ship without the storm, born upon the cross. To partake of the world means taking action and losing innocence--the only way to go is down.We journey to the witch--I agree, Wizard of Oz, but allegorically the journey of life to find who we are, the magic of discovery, the search for the truth.The final conclusion probably is the tribulation, the last in line for salvation. None of us are completely good or bad, but the ultimate summation of whether we're divine or evil we simply don't know, it's a judgement on a life we've interpreted by our intents but not seen objectively.
Jimmy's struggles with his demons were well documented through the years, but over the last 18 months he had finally won that battle and he was bright and lucid and motivated throughout the writing and recording of the new record. He leaves behind him a rich legacy of work from Rainbow, through Wild Horses, Dio, and finally, Last In Line. Jimmy was immensely proud of our new album and his input to it was immeasurable.
The latest legend to be given the 'Deluxe' treatment is the late Ronnie James Dio, which sees the first three albums from his Dio group repackaged with a collection of goodies. I've decided to review them all together, because I can't believe there is any self respecting rock fan who doesn't know about, heard or own these albums in some form already. For those that have never heard of Dio, seek medical help immediately. After a successful stint in Black Sabbath that led to a rather acrimonious departure, Ronnie set about putting together his own band Dio, recruiting Vivian Campbell on guitar, Jimmy Bain on bass and his Sabbath band mate Vinny Appice on drums. The quartet set about making the debut Dio album 'Holy Diver' and released a classic. Nine songs of superbly crafted rock, fronted by Ronnie's amazing voice, this album had it all. All killer, no filler, you don't mess with a classic, and fortunately the deluxe edition leaves it well alone. As for the bonus stuff, I'm delighted to say the extras here are of a far higher calibre than some of the woeful 'bonus' material other 'Deluxe' packages have offered (Rainbow's 'Down To Earth' set being a prime example). Here we find the 'Holy Diver' B-side 'Evil Eyes', which would actually be re-recorded for the second album, but I rather like this first version, it has a rawer feel. There are B-side live recordings of 'Stand Up and Shout' and 'Straight For The Heart' which are furiously paced and excellent, showing what a great line up Dio had put together. With that in mind, the rest of the disk is rounded out by a King Biscuit broadcast, featuring 'Stand Up And Shout', 'Shame On the Night', 'Holy Diver' and 'Rainbow In The Dark', along with Ronnie plundering his back catalogue to serve up excellent versions of Rainbow's 'Man On The Silver Mountain' and Sabbath's 'Children Of The Sea'. The sound isn't absolutely pristine, but it does have a nice, raw, good quality bootleg feel and is more than listenable. How do you follow up a classic? Well, you make 'The Last in Line'. I must admit, I loved 'Holy Diver' that much I used to always regard 'The Last in Line' as it's weaker sibling, but upon revisiting it for this review, I completely underestimated how good it really is. There is quality here by the truckload, from the opening salvo of 'We Rock' and the epic title track, the classy 'Breathless' to the breakneck 'I Speed At Night', the commercial strain of 'Mystery', the powerhouse finale of 'Egypt (The Chains Are On')... it's another classic! Bonus tracks include more live B-sides and concert performances, but credit to UMC, they've mixed and matched so there isn't too much duplication. There are recordings from Dio's gig at the Pinkpop Festival in Geleen, which offers some different stuff. Alongside obvious favourites such as 'Stand Up And Shout' and 'Rainbow In The Dark' you get live performances of the new stuff like 'One Night in The City' and 'We Rock', as well as wheeling out the old epics such as 'Heaven And Hell' and 'Stargazer'. The sound for these recordings is crisper than the 'Holy Diver' stuff with some deep bass and treble heavy guitars. Ronnie, as always, is in top form. 'Sacred Heart' finds Dio going in a more commercial direction, but not at the expense of the song quality. With the sole exception of the title track, gone are the more epic tracks, instead the focus is on more three or four minute gems, such as 'King Of Rock And Roll', 'Hungry For Heaven' and 'Rock And Roll Children'. While not quite as high calibre as its two predecessors, 'Sacred Heart' is still a great album and marked the last with the Dio/Campbell/Bain/Appice lineup. Bonus material for 'Sacred Heart' is equally excellent, offering the studio track 'Hide In The Rainbow' that was only released on the virtually extinct 'Dio E.P.' or the 'Diamonds' compilation. The set is rounded out with three excellent sounding live B-sides, and the remastered live mini album 'Intermission' which features a lovely mix of material from Dio, Sabbath and Rainbow, as well as boasting another exclusive studio track, the catchy 'Time To Burn'. To sum up, all the albums are well worth owning, and the bonus stuff is actually worth owning too. I had the original CD releases of these records, so to get them remastered with a bonus disk in each one of things I'd certainly listen to more than once? It makes these a no brainer, rather than the feeling of 'money for old rope' that can so often be attributed to the more poorly thought out sets. It's another great example of what an amazing artist the late Ronnie was. He rocked!James Gaden 041b061a72