Brian Robertson - Diamonds And Dirt
Famed for being former guitarist of Thin Lizzy and Motorhead, Brian Robertson's first solo album is a mixture of his own material and some exceptionally arranged covers. Having discovered a bag of old music tapes containing some unreleased compositions, Brian decided that these would form the basis of his solo album, 'Diamonds And Dirt'. Joining him are drummer Ian Haugland (Europe), bassist Nalley Påhlsson (Treat & Therion), additional lead vocalist Leif Sundin (ex-Michael Schenker Group) and backing vocalist Liny Wood.
The album opens with the title track, 'Diamonds And Dirt', which is the first of five Robertson – penned songs. The chunky chords and the catchy melody and chorus are complimented nicely by the backing vocals of Liny Wood. The signature wah wah lead break brings it all together superbly; a great opener. As expected, the second track was heavier. 'Passion ' begins with a high energy introduction with some nice guitar work which leads on another catchy song and catchy chorus; again featuring the backing of Ms Wood. The intricate backing and in your face disjointed guitar break are also worth a mention.
The Phil Lynott penned 'It's Only Money' is next. Originally released on the Thin Lizzy 1974 album 'Nightlife', Robertson gives it a modern twist with some funky guitar, a less restrained guitar solo and some retro-sounding backing vocals. The album contains three Frankie Miller numbers, 'Mail Box', 'Do It Till We Drop (Drop It!)' and 'Ain't Got No Money', the latter featuring Rob Lamothe on vocals. 'Mail Box' is tight, has classic hard rock phrasing and has an infectious beat, whereas 'Do It Till We Drop (Drop It!)' is slow, though still with the heavier chords, the addictive chorus and the intricate guitar licks are simply sublime. The third Frankie Miller song, 'Ain't Got No Money', is the album closing track. This is very up tempo and relays a big sound and classic feel; a great song to finish on.
There are two versions of Phil Lynott's 'Running Back' on the album. The first rocks along to a Southern beat with a clean, almost Lynyrd Skynyrd feel. The second version is much slower and features some surging blues moods over piano. There's also the previously unreleased 'Blues Boy' which was co-written by Lynott and Robertson which is a heavy blues song which sweeps along and has some memorable guitar licks.
A diversion in style comes with Jim White's '10 Miles To Go On A 9 Mile Road' which has acoustic beginnings with an Eastern feel and vocals that reminded me of Lou Reed. There were even moments reminiscent of Frank Zappa.
The other Robertson penned tracks on the CD are the layered and atmospheric 'Texas Wind', the sweeping and heavy chorused 'Devil In My Soul' and the intricate 'That's All..!' which features acoustic guitar and heavy electric chords competing against each other.
This is a superb album of thoroughly catchy rock songs and some very good guitar work that features Brian Robertson's unique guitar style. I just hope he plans to take the album on the road.