Dio - Lock Up the Wolves

IMO, if they'd replaced two songs, this album would be seen in a more positive light. Between Two Hearts is just a long, dreary snoozefest. The album is crankin' along real nice until that song shows up and the momentum grinds to a halt. The other song I'd take out is Evil on Queen Street. The song right before it is the title track, which is a slower number. The next song should have been a fast-paced asskicker. Instead we get ANOTHER slow, lumbering song that puts the listener to sleep. Replace those two tunes with a couple of fast rockers, and I believe it would change people's perception of this album. That's not to say every other tune was a classic, but the pacing of the album is the biggest issue.

Also, I LOVE the last song, "My Eyes". I never hear anyone mention that tune, but I think it's one of Dio's best.

It's ok, but...

Good album. I just don't listen to it that much.

Only 2 for "better off forgotten". That's far less than I expected. It just seems a lot of Dio fans feel this is one of his worst, and I don't think it's bad at all. It's not my favorite, but it's far from "bad".

I revisited this album last night and listened to it twice. It's got some good and bad on it and I still think it's mediocre. Night Songs is awful. Also, way too many slow songs, which became a hallmark of Dio from this point onward. It's not the worst thing he ever released but it's still "meh."

I really like this album. While it's not his best, it is certainly way overlooked.

"My Eyes" remains my favorite Dio epic. Great song and I like the lyrical references to his past tunes.

Off the top of my head, the only song that sticks out on this one is "Wild One"...the rest isn't bad, just forgettable.

I voted forgotten gem. But would have voted "album I've always loved, still love, and don't get the hate for it" if that was one of the choices.

I went with "it's ok but..."

To me it is an ok album. Not his best nor his worst. There were a few memorable songs but it seemed to lose focus to me. Not that it's bad, just doesn't seem to flow well together from one song to another.

Voted "it's okay, but...."

like others have stated, not Dio's best, but definitely not his worst. Walk on Water and Twisted are my favorite songs off that album.

Filling some holes and just bought this. At the time I wasn't too keen on Lock up the wolves. Spinning it now and it's not Dio's best, but I do think its good. Wild One, Twisted, Why are they watching me are stand out tracks so far.

This was the first Dio album that I did not like - other than Wild One. I think it has aged well and I now think it is OK.

Since I was responsible for breathing some life into the "Sacred Heart" thread, I thought I would give this a bump. One thing that I did discover, I actually now like the song "Night Music". This album really isn't that bad. I think the middle part of the album is very slow and plods along. In fact, I think that "Lock Up the Wolves" and "Evil on Queen Street" are the same song. Not only do they sound similar, but they're back to back and long. "Walk on Water" and "Twisted" are pretty much cut from the same cloth as the aforementioned. I think the strength is in the first five songs of this album; "Wild One", "Born on the Sun", "Hey Angel", "Between Two Hearts", "Night Music" and the last two cuts on the album, "Why Are They Watching Me" & "My Eyes".

Listening to this album again was a pleasant experience.

I did not like this one at all when it first came out, first time ever for anything by Dio for me...I never put much effort into it though, but I never needed to in the past w/his work. Odd I should see this now, I just ordered it from Amazon this morning, so I'll give it another day in court and hold off on this poll for a few weeks or so...

BTW, a real forgotten gem by Dio you might want to re-visit is "Strange Highways", one I thought you misjudged in your reviews...