Unknown Soldier

A diamond in the rough, that didn't fit the slot.

Overview
If anybody saw the name Legs Diamond for the first time, they would more than likely think of them as an early American glam metal band and coming from Los Angeles (even though some sources say San Francisco) that would surely enforce the belief even more. But they would be wrong on all counts, from early on in their career the band were christened “The American Deep Purple” in much the way that bands like the Blue Oyster Cult and Bang, had been christened as “The American Black Sabbath” many years earlier. Also with the growing East Coast/West Coast divide in the USA, Legs Diamond found themselves lumped in with the likes of Y&T who had already issued a mediocre debut and Quiet Riot who had released an even worse debut. Legs Diamond from the word go, were well and truly a cut above either of those two bands when it came to songcraft. The band had nothing in common with what would become known as the ‘Sunset Strip’ bands and instead went in for well crafted, slick and proggy laden songs, and then confounded us by issuing a string of stripped down basic hard rock tracks as well! In general they were a world away from the likes of other newish bands, despite having likeminded cousins in the Hunt (see review) and like the Hunt they would be doomed to commercial failure, despite the fact that metal fans do remember Legs Diamond and they don’t remember the Hunt! Legs Diamond weren’t slow at getting off the ground and issued through Mercury two albums in 1977 and two great albums they were as well. The debut album which is the second album in this double header follows straight after, as their second album A Diamond is a Hard Rock is the stronger of the two. I have seen though, that their debut has actually been included in Kerrang’s 1989 “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time” list and a fairly high placing as well! The band were also a favourite of the influential DJ Joe "The Godfather" Anthony who championed the band. The band’s debut album was produced by British producer Derek Lawrence who had produced the likes of Wishbone Ash and most importantly the first three albums of the MK.I Deep Purple and hence the Deep Purple connection. Any chance of success that the band may have had though, was surely ruined the following year anyway with the arrival of the Van Halen debut, which was a world away from what Legs Diamond were doing and an album that would shape American East Coast metal for decades to come. As for Legs Diamond, the band are fondly remembered in metal circles as “The Best Undiscovered Band in America”.

Rick Sanford- Vocals
Roger Romeo- Guitar
Michael “Diamond” Gargano- Bass
Michael Durham Prince- Rhythm/Keyboards
Jeff Poole-Drums

Production- Edward Leonetti

The Album
A Diamond is a Hard Rock- A driving and pounding intro before the vocals of Rick Sanford kick in on the title track, a good song despite being fairly one dimensional throughout. Waiting- A slower track that doesn’t let up on the heaviness one bit and its opening organ is distinctly a leaf out of the Deep Purple song book and the song is stronger than the album opener. Longshot- Heavy and catchy, and a song which at times reminds me of how an up-tempo Blue Oyster Cult might sound like, largely because vocalist Rick Sanford sounds like Eric Bloom here, as he does on several other songs. Woman- A slow deliberate song of over 6 minutes, that surely ranks as one of the best songs that the band ever put out, the song actually threatened to become a major hit at the time, something which would’ve done the band real favours and done justice to the actual track. Jailbait- Another pounding effort with a classic metal anthem feel about it and it’s a top quality cut as well, to finish the first side of the album and at times sounds like something that Judas Priest could’ve done. I Think I Got It- Starts side two and it’s the band at their fastest here and features great vocals by Rick Sanford, along with some great swirling keyboard touches by Michael Durham Prince and it’s a real pile-driver of a song. Evil- One of the band’s progressive hard rockers, which features a flute accompaniment and still manages to be one heavy mother of a song! Live a Little- As the title suggests, the song is an upbeat track and for just an album track it again shows some real quality, at times the song has glam rock flourishes in its chorus section and has that catchy feel. Flyin’ Too High- A hooky sounding track that has that addictive feel to listen to and another strong album track. High School Queen- A slightly disappointing album closer, considering the quality that has gone before it.

Verdict
All Music describes Legs Diamond on this album as having a “Musically Split-Personality Disorder” This largely comes about from the album’s eclectic and odd feel. Side two of the album by and large is based around well-crafted hard rock tracks, with a heavy dosage of progressive rock and a certain amount of eclecticism, whilst the first side largely goes in for a more repetitive and mostly frugal rock style with commercial tinges. The album as a cohesive whole certainly doesn’t sit well at all, but luckily though nearly all these tracks are quality compositions with hardly a weak track in sight and for these reasons the album makes the cut. So looking at side one the more frugal side, the title track “A Diamond is a Hard Rock” is an expected bludgeoning title track without any thrills and is later mirrored by the closing track on side one “Jailbait”. The heavy organ on the second track “Waiting” is as near as the band got to sounding like Deep Purple (which was always a fickle comparison anyway) and “Longshot” which sounds very much like a single and has the added bonus of a slight farfisa solo. If the previous songs came across as largely one-dimensional “Woman” goes a long way to rectify this, as the musical ability of the band leaves no doubt of their ability to write classic material such as this and it’s a classic cut. The second side of the album actually flows better with the electric “I Think I’ve Got It” showing us that side two is where the real songcraft of the album actually is and then there is the eclectic “Evil” a great heavy proggy-rocker. “Live a Little” is an easy listening rocker and “Flyin Too High” sounds somewhat akin to Aerosmith and then the lightweight album closer “High School Queen”. The Achilles heel of Legs Diamond surely had to be their lack of true commitment to either their hard rock or progressive rock tendencies. Both albums featured here demonstrate the superb ability of the band on both types of music and the hybrids between the two sounds are indeed accomplished at times. But the group don’t quite master the art of mixing both hard rock and progressive rock as a happy medium, as well as say Atomic Rooster did on an album like Death Walks Behind You or the one-off album by Armageddon released just a few years earlier for example. Quite often Legs Diamond come across as a band that combines frugal hard rock with sophisticated progressive rock flourishes here and there, rather than being a cohesive listen. This Achilles Heel even splits fans and critics in which sound actually exemplifies the band. For all that though, the band are probably the most interesting listen on this year’s list and certainly one of the heaviest.

The wild wind that blows across the sea.

Rick Sanford- Vocals
Roger Romeo- Guitar
Michael “Diamond” Gargano- Bass
Michael Durham Prince- Rhythm/Keyboards
Jeff Poole-Drums

Production- Derek Lawrence

The Album
It’s Not the Music- With a strong progressive rock intro that is draped in organs, the song has a sedate and deliberate feel, and is a worthy album opener. Stage Fright- Distinct to the previous song in every way and the song displays a certain amount of toughness that was certainly the order of the day for many a band out there at the time. The song really demonstrates the influences and the scope of the band all in one solid rocker. Satin Peacock- Raspy and tough sounding, this song is hard rock as it should always be played and features a solid workout by the band. Rock and Roll Man- This is largely a progressive rock track, which is boosted up by the band’s hard rock tendencies. It’s really an accomplished and interesting listen throughout especially with its flute, and it’s a real album highlight. Deadly Dancer- A 2 minute plus stinging gusto of a song and really shows that the band had some real venom when required. Rat Race- A fairly all-encompassing song that captures the true spirit and quality of the band with their love of progressive rock, even though the song must’ve come across as fairly debatable for its time. Can’t Find Love- An 8 plus minute album closer, that surely focuses more on the hard rock aspects of the band, but unsurprisingly the organs get a look in the later part of the song and it’s one of the heaviest tracks on the whole album.

Verdict
An accomplished debut in every aspect and not exactly a world away from the Angel debut a few years earlier, where proggy flourishes had highlighted that album as well. Legs Diamond from the word go, demonstrate their love for progressive rock on the album opener “It’s Not the Music” which features organs to give the band’s hard rock, a truly progressive rock feel. The album opener is really in stark contrast to the second song “Stage Fright” which sounds far more like a heavy version of Rush at times, and the song also has some solid and heavy guitar work throughout, and then there is “Satin Peacock” which really does show the toughness of the band, along with the stinging “Deadly Dancer” as well. Then there are hybrids like “Rock and Roll Man” which sound like a mating outcome between the hard rock and progressive rock aspects of the band, and makes for an impressive six minute listen and probably it’s the best song on the album. Another one of these hybrids is the impressive and lengthy “Rat Race” and will appeal to anybody that liked the previous song. The album closer “Can’t Find Love” is a heavy and lengthy album closer, which by and large focuses on the hard rock characteristics of the band, despite the proggy additions that enter into the song later on. With the exception of bands like Rush, new bands putting out anything with a strong progressive rock influence, were certainly running the risk of being deemed outdated at this time and thus losing the commercial marketing push that the record label could provide. A band like Legs Diamond for all their talent were one such band, who refused to compromise on the type of music that they wanted to play. In fairness the band should’ve seen it coming, especially after the debacle of the Angel debut the supposed rivals to Kiss just a few years earlier and after this Angel had to sacrifice their sound in order to take a more streamlined and commercial route to please the record label. Legs Diamond on the other hand, came across as a beast less certain of the direction that they should take and seemed less inclined initially, given their fairly eclectic approach to their own music and their lack of desire to initially say adios to the early 1970s progressive rock influences that they loved so much.

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