Emma Alvarez Blog: Music

Ronnie James Dio died recently on May 16th, 2010, of a stomach cancer, and with him one of the most emblematic voices of heavy metal died too.

His real name was Ronald James Padabona, and was born on 10th of June, 1942, in Postmouth (New Hampshire, USA). His origins were Italian.

Although he always had a great interest for baseball, his father felt that his son had great musical ability. So when he was 5 years old they gave him a trumpet as present. Dio was an excellent trumpeter, and he even played with Cortland High Jazz Band. Due to his skills as trumpeter he got a grant for going to Julliard music academy.
But with the raise of Rock, Dio abandoned Jazz. In this moment he felt more inclined to play the guitar, bass or the keyboards.

In 1957 he founded his first own band, and adopted the name of Dio, that came from a gangsters book. At the end of the '60s, his old band was renamed as "The Elves", and soon it was changed to "Elf".

In 1971 Ian Paice and Roger Glover (Deep Purple) saw a performance by Elf, and offered to produce an album for Dio's band. They made a tour with Deep Purple. And Richie Blackmore recorded an album with them.
Blackmore left Deep Purple and Rainbow was born, the mythical and legendary rock band.

The voice of Dio became one of the most representative of rock. During the end of the '70s and beginning of the '80s, Ozzy Ousburne's health became worse due to his addiction to alcohol, and other substances, that brought him to a hard rehabilitation treatment. The substitute of Ozzy in Black Sabbath was Dio.

The charisma of Ronnie James gave origin to Dio (the band). Dio left legendary albums in the history of rock. The figure of Dio, his voice, his evolution in the world of metal, will last forever in History.

I must say that I saw Dio in a concert, and he left a profound impression on me. He was a men of a very short stature, and when he started to sing (oh my Gosh!)... he had one of the most powerful voices that I've heard.
I felt impressed not only for his voice. Dio looked like a fantasy being, an elf, someone emerged from the depth of a forest, of extraordinary politeness, and with a special way of moving.

Today he is not with us, but as all the big artists his talent will remain with us forever.

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Walking With The Angels (Doro & Tarja Turunen)
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"Sometimes the wonder or I am not afraid
Or understanding then all this heavy rain
And they wonder, yes they wonder
Yeah, they do

Sometimes they wonder if I will never break
For these burnings and all this heavy pain
And they wonder, yes they wonder
What I told

There is a power not from this world
I've found the power, a higher power
I'm walking with the angel
Walking with the angel
I'm talking with the angel too
I'm walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
And they pull me through the darkness too

I've been traveling the dark and deadly road
Sometimes so lonely, but never really alone
No wonder
I've been under the wings of a godless soul

I turn the secrets that I found out for sure
I wanna show you this heaven's guidance too
Don't wonder, no, no wonder
I can prove you that is true

There is a power not from this world
I've found the power, a higher power
I'm walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
I'm talking with the angel too
I'm walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
And they're watching over me and you

There is a power not from this world
I've found the power, a higher power
I'm walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
I'm talking with the angel too
I'm walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
And they're watching over me and you

I'm walking with the angels
I'm walking with the angel
I'm talking with the angels
I'm talking with an angel
And they're watching over me and you

I'm talking with the angels
I'm talking with the angels
I'm walking with the angels
I'm walking with the angel too
I'm talking with the angels
Talking with the angels too
Walking with the angels
Walking with the angels
I’m talking with the angels too
Walking with the angels"

-lyrics of the original song-

This song "Walking with the Angels" belongs to the latest album of Doro Pesch called "Fear No Evil", edited in February of this year, and I think one of the most important of the career of the brilliant German singer Doro.

This song of Doro in collaboration with Tarja Turunen (ex NightWish) shows two great voices, the most greatest of female rock. Enjoy it.

A Rite of Passage (Dream Theater)
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Michael Jackson & Eddie Van Halen
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In 1983 Eddie Van Halen worked with Michael Jackson for "Beat It" a song for the album of Michael Jackson: Thriller, the most selling album of history, and that sounded like this:

These days it's hard to find another music albums in best-seller lists that are not of Michael Jackson. I was never interested in pop music, and I see this from a certain distance, that distance that may give me some objectivity.

Personally, I never understood why everything that was around Michael Jackson was an inexhaustible source of controversy.

The singer wore a glove in his hand because he burned it in a commercial for Pepsi, and it was a scandal.

He slept in a oxygen bubble and it was a scandal. Using oxygen to recover from burnings is something usual. This is also used as a kind of instant recovery. I have seen photos of the old band Led Zeppelin with oxygen masks after a concert and no one found it strange. It is usual in sportsmen too, and no one is surprised.

The continuous use of pure oxygen is highly harmful although it feels like a miracle remedy, it also causes cell aging.

Another scandal of the artist was that he lived with a chimpanzee. George Clooney slept with a pig and was not criticized so much.

I never understood another one of the controversies: that he was black and wanted to be white... Well, if it was that way, it is not a crime at all because nowadays there are people that change their image through aesthetic surgery.
Some people change their sex, and no one worries. And if someone who is black wants to change his color for some social reason it is because of people that are racist, and that is a big shame for all the white people. If it was that way, we should feel so ashamed that we should just shut up and blame the racists, and not to someone that just wants to protect himself from racism.

But, despite this, Michael Jackson did not want to change his color, he just had a common disease: vitiligo, that is genetic and causes partial whitening of the skin and sometimes reaches a total whitening. Maybe he did what many people with the disease do, which is a procedure called depigmentation, to avoid that look of patches that the illness gives. He also used makeup to hide it, avoiding to be touched by people so the makeup was not removed, or maybe it was only visible from some distance.
He had to justify himself all his life for suffering vitiligo!!!

Another consequence of vitiligo is that it provokes photophobia . People with vitiligo can easily be blinded by sunlight, and because of the same illness, may also suffer dangerous burns on the skin. This is why Jackson may often wore an umbrella.

He had nose cancer and everybody did jokes about this. It was obvious that he had surgery on his nose, and many people do that, and nothing happens. Was that a tiny nose and too natural? The breasts of Pamela Anderson are not natural too, and nothing happens.

But the worse controversy that the singer suffered was the accusation of children abuse. In the last days, that child that denounced the singer, with whom he reached an economical agreement, has confessed that it was an idea of his father, and that all was a lie.

But I think that it is too late and actually, Jackson died more than 10 years ago with this terrible accusation that I think he was not ready to bear with. From being a philantropist that gave fortunes to NGOs and to children, he passed to be, for the public masses, to be a monster that abused of children.
And it was then when the character, and probably the person, died.

From the distance, I see Michael Jackson as a money-making machine. Since he was 6 many people has made profit of him exhibiting him as a freak monster. And I feel shaming to polemize about his diseases and his weakness, that was wanting to recover that lost childhood. Maybe the biggest mistake of Michael Jackson was to think that even that lost childhood could be bought.

And that's because with Michael Jackson we can see that not everything can be purchased. Not the lost childhood, nor people that love you and protect you, and not everything has a price.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Iron Maiden)
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Part 1

"Hear the rime of the ancient mariner

See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobodys been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in gods name, hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the north
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what hes done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north til all is calm.

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me.

day after day, day after day,
We stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
All the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.

There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but heres two.

Death and she life in death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
They drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, life in death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

one after one by the star dogged moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh
Each turned his facce with a ghastly pang
And cursed me with his eye
Four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner wished hed die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
Gods creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain."

Part 2

"Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and they´re
lifelesss in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
Spirits go fromhe long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariners left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilots boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.

And the ship sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The mariners bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach gods word by his own example
That we must love all things thaat God made.

And the wedding guests a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on."

-lyrics of the original song-

You can find this song, "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", in the latest album of Iron Maiden "Flight 666". This work is a compilation of 17 of their most successful songs. It's a live album and recorded in 16 different cities in 11 countries around the world. Published this 9 of June.

If you haven't seen them live I recommended it, because it's a great experience. It's incredible how this band sounds, and their show...

Without a doubt Maiden are masters of masters.

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The Secret Voyage Of Blackmore's Night
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When I was asked to give my opinion about the latest CD of Blackmore's Night, I had no doubts that it should be very good. I know the band well, and I expected a great work. But when I received the promotional copy, I was shocked. "Secret Voyage" is more than good, it's simply excellent.

Blackmore's Night band was born in the 90s, and is the union of the charismatic Ritchie Blackmore (guitarist of Deep Purple and Rainbow) and Candice Night, a singer with a captivating voice and a strong passion: the Renaissance.

Candice and Ritchie met in the recording of "Strangers In Us All". In that time, Blackmore was guitarist of Rainbow, and Candice did the chorus of that album. In 1997, they published "Shadow Of The Moon", and achieved a big success in Europe.

Blackmore's Night offers a very original proposal. Their music is a mix of folk, rock, and post-medieval sounds, adding authentic musical instruments from the Renaissance.

Blackmore's Night always gives high quality music. We should not forget the brilliant career of Blackmore, and that he's a lover of classical music. His way of playing the guitar reaches virtuosity. To this, we can add the sweet and melodious voice of Candice. This makes of Blackmore's Night a band that goes beyond trends, seeking something really great.

After a series of unforgettable albums, comes "Secret Voyage".

"Secret Voyage" has 12 tracks:

"God Save The Keg" is an instrumental piece, of great intensity, a Renaissance air, and triumph feeling.

"Locked Within The Crystal Ball" is one of my favorites. It's a song full of vitality. It joins the Renaissance sound with Rock. Blackmore's powerful guitar resounds all along the song. It's a very dynamical and passionate theme.
"Gilded Cage" is a very melodious song. A ballad with many shades, and a very dreamy air.
"Toast To Tomorrow" is very cheerful song, with big influence from the traditional musics of Central Europe, Gypsy inspiration.
"Prince Waldeck's Galliard" is an instrumental theme. A jewel for those of us who love string instruments.
"Rainbow Eyes" is a precious song. One more time, the brilliant riffs of Ritchie Blackmore make it unique.
"The Circle" is a song that joins Celtic, Oriental, and Rock sounds. Joins risky elements and the result is excellent.
"Sister Gypsy" is a piece that reminds the stories sung by legendary troubadours.
"Can't Help Falling In Love" is a version of Elvis' song. Elvis sang it for first time in the movie "Blue Hawaii". This version is truly brilliant.
"Peasant's Promise" is a very ethereal theme, and at the same time, very cheerful, deeply Celtic.
"Far Far Away" is very dreamy. Candice's voice sounds sweet and charming.
"Empty Words", strong Renaissance influence and the always awesome strings of the great Blackmore stand out.

For knowing all about the band, you just have to visit their official website: http://www.blackmoresnight.com/

You can also listen to some of the songs of "Secret Voyage" here.

Many of the concerts of Blackmore's Night take place in castles, surrounded by a Renaissance halo. A true pleasure for your ears. So have a look to the tour info.