The Dio Album

It was pure chance that led Paul Gilbert to recording the music heard on latest release The Dio Album. The American guitar virtuoso was in his car when he saw something that made his heart start beating faster in a moment of unexpected, unadulterated joy. This was not a high value item of interest or even particularly rare, simply a baseball cap with the word ‘Dio’ emblazoned across the front. Sometimes, even for the biggest of guitar legends, it’s the little things that hit us in the most profound ways.

It was pure chance that led Paul Gilbert to recording the music heard on latest release The Dio Album. The American guitar virtuoso was in his car when he saw something that made his heart start beating faster in a moment of unexpected, unadulterated joy. This was not a high value item of interest or even particularly rare, simply a baseball cap with the word ‘Dio’ emblazoned across the front. Sometimes, even for the biggest of guitar legends, it’s the little things that hit us in the most profound ways.

Best known for his work with Racer X and Mr. Big, there’s no denying that Paul Gilbert is a phenomenally talented guitarist. The Dio Album features 12 covers (plus Japanese bonus track) of some of the late legend Ronnie James Dio's most iconic works with a certain twist: Gilbert has replaced the would-be vocals with verbatim lead guitar parts. Forged out of love and admiration for Ronnie James Dio's music, Gilbert's inspiration for a Dio covers record came to him unexpectedly, but nonetheless transformed into a unique collection of songs worthy of a sea of metal horns.

The original lineup of Black Sabbath possesses such a mythic quality that it's easy to overlook how far they slid by the time Ozzy Osbourne up and left the band…or how far they rebounded after they hired Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio as his replacement. Countless compilations over the years have preserved the initial part of the story line – celebrating the innovations of the first four albums with a near fetishistic quality – but there has never been a good retrospective concerning the Dio years until Rhino released the aptly titled The Dio Years in early 2007…

One of the finest singers of our time and the world’s leading tenor, Jonas Kaufmann presents his personal tribute to one of opera’s most beloved composers, Giuseppe Verdi.

Soprano Sonya Yoncheva has dedicated her latest release to the music of Verdi. This album includes arias ranging from Verdi’s most celebrated works—including Don Carlo and Otello— to some lesser-known gems. Sonya commences her European tour with Verdi repertoire in February. Sonya has already received outstanding reviews for her interpretation of Verdi’s roles. The New York Times said of her performance of Desdemona "Her Desdemona shows why she is looking towards a major career". "Yoncheva is a force of nature".