Carolina County Ball [L.A. 59] (Elf, 1974)

If all you know about Ronnie James Dio is stuff like "Stargazer", "Heaven and Hell", "Holy Diver", etc., the Elf albums can be a bit of a shock. At the time of this album's release, Ronnie had been recording for about 15 years, mostly for obscure labels around New York state. The early 60's stuff is mostly derivative and even if you are diehard Dio fan you can probably live very comfortably without ever hearing the stuff. However, around 1967, things began to click, starting with the release of the high-energy single "Hey Look Me Over/It Pays to Advertise" credited to a "new" band called the Electric Elves. Even suffering the loss of guitarist Nick Pantas in a car crash around that time didn't steer the band off its trajectory toward heavier material, illustrated by unreleased gems like "Driftin'" and "The Rape of Andre Lucia". While this stuff was light years removed from the days when Ronnie belted out "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" at a pizza parlor in Cortland, it doesn't really predict that Ronald Padavona would be the "Voice of Metal" ten years down the road.

This middle ground is sort of where we're at by the time Carolina County Ball (released overseas under the name of the 2nd track, "L.A. 59" - see artwork below) was recorded. The music is certainly heavy, but not in Black Sabbath territory. They had just endured the departure of guitarist David Feinstein, Dio's cousin, who had been on the forefront of making Elf into a heavier band. Also, this is the first album where Dio is no longer playing bass. Additionally, pianist Mickey Lee Soule is given co-credit with Dio for all songs. Also, Ronald Padavona has gone back to his stage name of Ronnie Dio. So there were some substantial changes afoot with the release of this album. New guitarist Steve Edwards and bassist Craig Gruber carry on the Elf tradition admirably. Mickey Lee Soule and drummer Gary Driscoll are also in top form here. What's interesting is how these performances don't carry through well to Rainbow. In Soule's case he was forced into non-piano keyboard for nearly every track (compare here, where he is 100% honky tonk piano), and Driscoll I guess just had the misfortune to be Ritchie's drummer in the short window between Ian Paice and Cozy Powell.

I originally picked this up in England as part of a two-in-one set called "Ronnie Dio: The Elf Albums" which combines this album with Trying to Burn the Sun, released the following year. Many have remarked that these albums, in spite of sporting virtually the same personnel, are better than Rainbow's first album. I tend to agree, as they are playing to the strengths of the different band members and not trying to fill mere slots in Blackmore's solo adventure.

For those interested in Ronnie Dio's pre-Rainbow days, check out http://www.padavona.com which has a treasure trove of data from this era, including almost all of the early recordings.