Sacred Heart
	Produced by Ronnie James Dio
	Released on August 13, 1985
	UK CHART POSITION #4 . . . US CHART POSITION #29 . . . GOLD RECORD
	Find it at GEMM
25292-1 cover [(apparently not) high (enough) resolution scan]

A crone’s hand holding a crystal ball holding a dragon holding a heart-shaped ruby? Even the 8th level half-elf cleric in me weeps. I’m all for the devils & dragons imagery, so long as the dragons aren’t smiling at me and telling me to Follow my dreams. That’s what Dragontales is for. Dio is supposed to be a rainbow in the dark, to guide you out of this world and into a brighter one. Or so I thought. Listening to “Shoot Shoot,” I’m not so sure I agree with his methods. If I were to halve Heart, then you’d have something: “Hungry For Heaven,” “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children,” “Fallen Angels,” “Sacred Heart,” “King of Rock and Roll.” Those songs would have felt at home on his first two elpees, which were classics in their own right. Sacred Heart doesn’t share their stature, but it’s not bad. Certainly not as bad as it looks. Intermission is, but that’s a discussion for another day. The trouble with Sacred Heart is that it isn’t timeless like Holy Diver and The Last In Line. It’s good, serviceable ‘80s metal, maybe a little too smart for its own good, by turns too tender and too tough. In the beginning, Dio made you take your eye off of Ozzy and Sabbath, but there’s nothing on Sacred Heart you won’t find in similar quantities on No Rest For The Wicked or The Eternal Idol. So I wandered off to see what the new metal heroes were up to (Metallica, Anthrax) and left Dio to collect dust among bygone gods. Not everyone needs to own three Dio albums in their lifetime. If you do feel the need, though, Sacred Heart is here.

25292-1 back cover	25292-1 sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. KING OF ROCK AND ROLL    (Ronnie James Dio/Vinny Appice/Jimmy Bain/Vivian Campbell)    3:49
2. SACRED HEART    (Ronnie James Dio/Vinny Appice/Jimmy Bain/Vivian Campbell)    6:27
3. ANOTHER LIE    (Ronnie James Dio)    3:48
4. ROCK 'N' ROLL CHILDREN    (Ronnie James Dio)    4:32
5. HUNGRY FOR HEAVEN    (Ronnie James Dio/Jimmy Bain)    4:10
6. LIKE THE BEAT OF A HEART    (Ronnie James Dio/Jimmy Bain)    4:24
7. JUST ANOTHER DAY    (Ronnie James Dio/Vivian Campbell)    3:23
8. FALLEN ANGELS    (Ronnie James Dio/Vinny Appice/Jimmy Bain/Vivian Campbell)    3:57
9. SHOOT SHOOT    (Ronnie James Dio/Vinny Appice/Jimmy Bain/Vivian Campbell)    4:20

CREDITS

RONNIE JAMES DIO -- vocals
VINNY APPICE -- drums
JIMMY BAIN -- bass
VIVIAN CAMPBELL -- guitar
CLAUDE SCHNELL -- keyboards
Angelo Arcuri -- engineer
Robert Florczak -- illustration

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SUGGESTED VIEWING

In 2004, Sacred Heart "The DVD" was released. This is a Philadelphia concert recorded in 1986 with guitarist Craig Goldy replacing Vivian Campbell. I've seen Dio live, and the man simply exudes energy, so this may be one way to get the bad taste of Intermission out of your mind. The GEMM search retrieves both the lp/cd and the dvd, so clicking on the "Find it at GEMM" link above catches both birds with a single search.

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