Dio "Holy Diver" Isolated Vocal

Time for another isolated track, and this one is the metal classic "Holy Diver" from Dio.

I remember Ronnie Dio from way back in the day as our bands used to share a bill together around New York (Ronnie was then the bass player with Elf). I ran into him years later out in Los Angeles and he was still as cool as ever. A great talent and gentleman and genuinely missed by everyone who knew him.

The sound isn't all that great on this video, but there are still a few things to listen for.

1. Listen for the nice long delayed reverb on Ronnie's vocal. The tone of it is shaped nicely as it blends seamlessly into the mix.

2. There's a lot of headphone leakage, and the compression is pretty heavy but still works in the track. There's also a fair amount of breath noises and pops that aren't too obvious because of the tone of the audio track.

3. There's a bit of sibilance from the compression, but it may be emphasized by the data compression on the video.

4. Take notice to the harmony vocals on the second verse and beyond to help the song develop.

5. Ronnie's pitch is excellent throughout. I'm told he didn't need to do a lot of takes or to punch in mistakes much. That's pure talent you're listening to.

6. There's a nice doubled rhythm guitar track in stereo during the solo section.

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Dio "Rainbow In The Dark" Isolated Vocal

For anyone who ever met him, Ronnie James Dio was not only a great singer, but a wonderful gentleman with a huge heart as well. We all still feel his loss and miss him. Here's an example of Ronnie's great voice on an isolated vocal track from his hit "Rainbow In The Dark" off of his 1983 Holy Diver album.

This sounds to be either the center channel from a 5.1 mix or  a center channel phase extraction, which actually can be a better learning tool than if it were off the multitrack. During the solo section you can hear the guitar solo enter, which is why a tell-tale sign that it's not directly from the multitrack.

Here's a couple of things to note as you listen:

1) Ronnie's voice is pretty compressed, but this is something that he really needs since he had such a  dynamic voice.

2) There's a good bit of a medium long plate reverb on his vocal. It doesn't sound like it's delayed.

3) He doubles the B section of the verse and then breaks into the harmony on the hook of the song. Some of the harmonies have different releases form the lead phrasing, which we probably wouldn't let pass today. That said, it never bothered me before when I listened to the song.

4) You can hear a punch out at the end of the high section vocal section of verse two.

Enjoy.

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Goodbye Ronnie.

Ronnie James Dio died today, which is a blow to everyone that loved hard rock music. Ronnie was a fabulous singer, but he was an even better person, a real gentleman who was truly concerned about everyone he came in contact with.

Most everyone knew Ronnie from either his days as singer for Rainbow, Black Sabbath or his own band, Dio, but I met Ronnie way before that when he was a bass player for The Electric Elves (eventually changed to Elf). I was in a band that opened for the Elves at a small festival in Pennsylvania back in the early 70's when I first got to know him. We met again when another band I was in opened for them at the long gone Electric Circus in New York City.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I'd run in to Ronnie again and again at parties and in various studios and we'd always fondly reminisce about the old days back East. I even did a surround mix for one of his albums along the way that unfortunately was never released.

Ronnie was always a kind and gentle soul, which absolutely no airs about him. He was your buddy from next door and he really cared about everyone he touched. Happy Journey, Ronnie. And thanks for the great memories and music you leave behind.