ELF / Ronnie James Dio
Cherry Red Records Elf: Elf, Featuring Ronnie James Dio Rock

The Elf group is the first truly large and successful project of the great patriarch of heavy music Ronnie James Dio. In the early 70s, the band released three studio albums, the first of which I am now reviewing. At that time, the lineup included four people - guitarist David Feinstein, keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, drummer Gary Driscoll, and Ronnie himself, who in those ancient times still played the bass guitar. I would like to warn all Dio fans right away - the material performed by Elf has almost no relation even to the work of Rainbow, and even less to Dio and Black Sabbath. Elf play old-fashioned hard rock, completely saturated with the spirit of the 60s. Even the traditional sound of the Hammond organ is almost completely absent for hard rock, Mickey's main instrument is an ordinary piano. Well, and lovers of "trademark" fairy-tale-mystical lyrics risk going into shock, hearing the maestro performing songs like "Love Me Like A Woman". But, despite all these nuances, I sincerely recommend getting acquainted with the work of Elf to all fans of Ronnie. Firstly, all brilliant musicians started somewhere. And secondly, this very beginning of Dio is very good. Such wonderful, relaxed tracks as "Hoochie Koochie Woman" or "I'm Coming Back For You" create a pleasant atmosphere of returning 40 years ago, when classic rock and roll was more alive than all the living. Well, and for convincing proof of the fact that Elf's music is not so simple, it is worth listening to the absolutely masterpiece epic semi-ballad "Never More", perhaps the best work of the group. In general, it turns out to be a damn good disc, a must-read for all lovers of high-quality old-fashioned hard rock.