A walk back in time along Legs Diamond Boulevard will reveal a few hidden treasures, one of these is the 1999 release ‘Uncut Diamond’.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Legs Diamond
ALBUM: Uncut Diamond
LABEL: Zoom Club Records
SERIAL: ZCRCD36
YEAR: 1999
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Rick Sanford – vocals * Roger Romeo – guitars * Michael Prince – keyboards * Michael Diamond – bass * Jeff Poole – drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 Winds Of Fortune * 02 Between The Legs * 03 House On Fire * 04 High School Queen * 05 Symptoms Of Passion * 06 Dance Hall Gigolo * 07 Shell Of A Man * 08 Fight For It * 09 Hidin’ * 10 Gamblin’ On You * 11 My Own Game * 12 Urban Desperado * 13 Card Shark * 14 Smother Me
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
A walk back in time along Legs Diamond Boulevard will reveal a few hidden treasures. One of these is the 1999 release ‘Uncut Diamond’, though to be correct, the songs originate from the 1980 timeframe. After the disappointment of 1979’s ‘Firepower’, an album the band weren’t very happy with, LD parted ways with Cream Records, who they described as being totally ineffectual in promoting their cause.
According to keyboardist Mike Prince, the label spent more time promoting the band Snail and next to no time on LD. The following year, LD would produce a raft of demos in two major sessions: one featuring Roger Romeo (who also left the band during this period), the other session involved his replacement Jim May. Many of the songs which feature on this ‘flashback’ CD are some of the best tunes the band ever recorded, according to the band themselves.
The Songs
The impressive ‘Winds Of Fortune’ leads off this collection. The organ work is prominent throughout, as is the catchy chorus. Though the songtitle might be dodgy, the song ‘Between The Legs’ is all about motorbikes (Harley Davidsons) and not …. umm yeah. ‘House On Fire’ wound up being ‘World On Fire’ from 1992’s ‘Captured Live’ CD.
‘High School Queen’ is a energetic workout which is primetime LD from the early 80’s. ‘Symptoms Of Passion’ is a slow brooding effort with ‘Rok Doktor’ lyrics applied to it – according to the band. ‘Dance Hall Gigolo’ is pretty different – the funky bass lines in particular, and if you thought that was off the wall, ‘Shell Of A Man’ dips into reggae territory.. Eek.
However, the next three tracks ‘Fight For It’, ‘Hidin’ and ‘Gamblin’ On You’ restore the rock equilibrium with ease. ‘Card Shack’ is another track to feature Prince’s organ work, traces of Purple and Heep shine through here. The finale ‘Smother Me’ is a Zep/Purple rock bash, and a fitting send off for the album – a great track reminding me of their classic stuff from 1977.
In Summary
Not long after Roger Romeo left the band, the remaining members also threw the towel in. It was to be another couple of years before Legs Diamond were resurrected, though they did form the band Rag Doll during 1983 with Timothy Eaton on vocals, and some of the material which featured on their 1984 comeback album ‘Out On Bail’ had its origins during this period. Anything released by Legs Diamond should be a compulsory addition to the collection. You know how it is.
