Customer Reviews

Diamond Girl

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While browsing in my local Walmart's music section I happened to come upon "Diamond Girl" by Seals and Crofts. I immediately picked it up and purchased it. I believe this is the first time that it's ever been released on compact disc in The United States. Released in 1973, Seals & Crofts second album on Warner Brothers Records entitled "Diamond Girl" was a combination of AM radio pop, folk and country. Where "Summer Breeze" was more acoustic folk songs, this album appealed to just about everyone. Superb harmonizing, songwriting and acoustic and mandolin guitars all added to the appeal of this duo. The album produced three hits "We May Never Pass This Way (Again)", "Ruby Jean and Billie Lee" and the self titled "Diamond Girl". But this album also contained other great tunes such as "Nine Houses" that showcases Dash Croft's mandolin playing, "Intone My Servant", the rocker "Standing On A Mountain Top", the beautiful "It's Gonna Come Down (On You) and "Jessica", the country tune "Dust On My Saddle" and the instrumental "Wisdom" which features excellent saxophone and piano playing. If you enjoyed Seals & Crofts debut "Summer Breeze" as well as other 70's artists/groups such as America, Bread, Jim Croce and Paul Simon to name just a few, then you'll enjoy this release.

Like many I owned this in Vinyl and was amazed it took so long To come out.
And to those who said they found this album a little bit sappy, I say "So the hell what." Everything in that era was sappy and if your worried that a little sappiness may alter your manhood then I recommend against the purchase of this Cd.
But if you want to listen to something thats gonna make you feel pretty damn good this is it.
S&C have a well blended album here. The well known and recognized "Diamond girl" followed by "Ruby jean and Billy Lee"leads it off.
Both were big hits and still sound good.
"Intone my servant" follows and though not a hit you'll wonder why. like all the others a beautifully uplifting harmonic piece.
"We may never pass this way again" another hit shows once again how S&C can change a beautifull melody and lift your soul right out of your body and make it fly.
"Nine houses" starts off kinda odd (The song has a mid east flare to it) but hear it out. Vocals will come in lator and pick it up.
"Standing on a mountain top" by far is one of my favorites a great countryish sound and a really great sounding guitar in this one that'll make you feel like dancing and singing to it.
"It's gonna come down on you" a minor hit shoulda been "major" starts off mellow and beautifull and like most of there songs in this album just lifts you right up with an increase in tempo.
"Jessica" has got to be the most sappy song of the bunch. But, Hey! my niece's name is "Jessica and It was once a favorite of mine and still is a beautifull song.
""Dust on my saddle" A country diddy that you may find yourself singing word for word after some time.
"Wisdom" is the only song I never listen to its a jazzy piece and I dont care for Jazz much but even I gotta admit they do show off their talent on the horns.
In short this is a great album from beginning to end (Which is rare to find nowadays) and really represents the times in which it was written (Early 70's)
ENJOY

Diamond Girl" is a vintage collection of folk-rock tunes clearly rooted to the mid-70s and one of the finer albums to emerge from that cluttered genre. Though Seals and Crofts were a duo, their fine-honed sound would not have caught the public's ear without the able assistance of producer Louie Shelton, who really shaped and smoothed their sound, and multi-instrumentalist Jim Lichtig, who shares writing credits for several Seals and Crofts' songs. A cast of fine session musicians contribute as well, and the set.

I would say that nearly all of us who listened to the radio back when this CD was popular will always recognize the opening chords of Diamond Girl within a millisecond and drew comfort and permission from the philosophy in We May Never Pass This Way (Again). This CD has other jewels as well, Nine Houses, Jessica, and Wisdom, and all in all contains more Baha'i themes than some find comfortable. A pair of older tracks, such as Dust on My Saddle and Standin' on a Mountain Top, both penned before there was a Seals and Crofts, do not hold up as well.

Note that this CD is not actually a Warner Brothers release, which may bode well for those, like myself, hoping to see more of this duo's catalog appear on CD. After their antiabortion stance on a later recording, "Unborn Child," the band's popularity began to wane and they found themselves being judged more on politics than music.

I've been without this music ever since I gave away my vinyl collection years ago and converted to CD's. I've occasionally searched the music stores for this CD, but as fans of the album know, it is only now available. Hard to believe it took so long, though other selections of Seals and Crofts are out there.

I guess they fall into the pop/folk/light rock category of music, but along with the excellent mandolin or piano there is some pretty gnarly guitar and bass as well.

My collection includes the Beatles, Chicago, Dylan, the Doors, Elton John, Led Zepellin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rolling Stones, Springsteen and Frank Zappa. This album is near the top. Excellent lyrics, solid musicanship, and a great sound even today.

It's inexpensive, too. What are you waiting for?

Seals & Crofts had produced at least two albums of great music before "Summer Breeze" blew up! "Down Home" and their self-titled first LP which contained the single, "See My Life", were exceptional contributions to music history! A box set of their collection is long over due!

Seals & Crofts / Diamond Girl: This album has a few hits and the rest of the album is very good as well. As usual, this Seals & Crofts album is very enjoyable and there is enough excellence here to give it Five Stars. Having this album, along with the Summer Breeze album, are a much better experience than having a short `hits' CD.

I had searched for so long to find this album and just never could. The two songs on this album that were popular back in the mid 70's Diamond Girl and We may never pass this way again reminded me of time spent with a dear friend back when we were teenagers. Funny thing when i got the cd and started to play it those two songs are terrific but the rest of the album is Fantastic. Its funny how your taste in music changes as you get older. And that dear friend? I was lucky, i found her after 30 years and we are still friends. Great album great service.
Thanks Amazon!

While it took James Seals and Dash Crofts four albums to finally have a hit, the classic "Summer Breeze," they made certain to craft a follow-up that was near its equal. The 1973 release of "Diamond Girl" met the challenge, and included two of the duo's most enduring hits. Both the title track and "We May Never Pass This Way Again" helped make "Diamond Girl" Seals and Crofts highest charting album, peaking at number four.

While not as strong musically as "Summer Breeze," Seals and Crofts were stretching out musically. In addition to the harmonized folk they're best known for, they also took turns at Texas boogie ("Standing On A Mountain Top") and a country story song (the weak "Dust On My Saddle'). The jazzy instrumental "Wisdom" closes the CD showcasing Seals' saxophone abilities. But their strengths were still in the CSN styled mellow sounds, and "Diamond Girl" was loaded with them.

The hit "We May Never Pass This Way Again" became the theme to many a mid-seventies high-school prom, but Seals and Crofts were all about the spiritual bonding. "Ruby Jean and Billie Lee" was a heartfelt valentine to their wives and newborn children, and "Nine Houses" an explicit song about their Baha'i religious faith. They hadn't yet crossed the line into proselytizing (that would happen on the next album, "Unborn Child"), so "Diamond Girl" maintains its luster as one of Seals and Crofts' best works.

I love Seals and Crofts, and as someone who's only 27 years old and didn't even grow up in the 70's, I don't feel embarrassed at ALL for liking these guys (despite some people trying to make me feel bad for liking them).

Seals and Crofts just have a special way with their vocal melodies that makes me feel at ease, and allows me to think about adventurous images from places all around the world, whether it be mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans, deserts, or rainforests. Just wonderful music. Diamond Girl is a great album.

Alright, you got me- the main reason I bought this album was because of the title song. You see I never actually heard either the Diamond Girl or Summer Breeze albums and as someone who's heard well over 600 rock albums from the 70's, I felt it was time to give a relatively popular album a shot from a band that WAS pretty big at one time.

Some people think "Diamond Girl" is ripping off Van Morrison's "Moondance" a little bit, and maybe they're right since I never really noticed it until it was brought to my attention. Both songs feature similar vibes.

"Ruby Jean and Billie Lee" shows the beautiful and incredible vocal talents of Seals and Crofts. Spectacular vocals continue on "Intone My Servant" and "We May Never Pass This Way Again" (supposedly this song was a major hit, but I sure never heard it on the radio).

I'm really not sure what to make of "Nine Houses". It's seven minutes of... pretty acoustic playing, a small influence of the progressive rock movement perhaps (maybe Jethro Tull) and strangely melodic vocals.

"Standin' on a Mountain Top" sounds like it should have been a huge hit, and a song millions of people would have loved. "It's Gonna Come Down On You" might be my favorite of the underrated selections from the album (my favorite song is still "Ruby Jean and Billie Lee", but more people are aware of that song.

"Jessica" is another great song (though short) and "Dust in the Saddle" has an obvious country influence (or maybe bluegrass, not sure exactly). "Wisdom" closes out the album, and the song is NOTHING but a four minute saxophone jam. Sure, it's no Miles Davis or Soft Machine, but for what it is, it's pretty good. Good thing I started getting into saxophone jams a short while ago or I wouldn't be appreciating the song as much as I do now. A really weird choice by Seals and Crofts I must say.

Don't be afraid to try this album. Just because Seals and Crofts tend to be lumped in with America and Lobo doesn't mean they actually SOUND like those bands. This is seriously some good music no matter if you grew up in the 70's or not.

If you're browsing a Seals & Crofts album, chances are that you're familiar with the two power cuts that got a lot of airplay from this album, the title track "Diamond Girl" and "We May Never Pass This Way Again". Those two along with the second track about the singers' wives are included on the Greatest Hits album.

So if you've got the Greatest Hits already, what might be the choice cuts to download for rounding out a Seals & Crofts playlist? I'd point straight to "Nine Houses". It's got an extended instrumental introduction that's just plain delicious if you enjoy their style, and as the song progresses they throw some flavors from India into the melody.

The other six tracks offer variety. "Wisdom" was the b-side of the single "Diamond Girl". This is up there with "Nine Houses" but you might want to listen to the song samples to see if your taste calibrates with mine. The first half of the song isn't so much jazz, it's more of an instrumental with sax in the forefront. But as the song builds up, whoever is playing sax gets to cut loose a little bit. From what I understand Seals & Crofts had been performing this one for years before they finally laid it down as an album track.

"Intone My Servant" has the classic Seals & Crofts sound, and is one of those numbers that serves as a supporting album track without being a leading candidate for rounding out a greatest hits album. Good number, definitely not filler.

"Standin' on a Mountaintop" is an upbeat song reminiscent of a tidied up "Dizzy Miss Lizzie". You know how it is with bands whose catalogs are mostly rocking numbers that play well to the arena crowd; they slow things down in the middle of the show to freshen the audience's palate before the pacing builds up again to a rocking end. Well, this is the opposite situation. Seals & Crofts' best numbers have a delicacy spun from folk music which emphasizes their harmonies and instrumentation. But somewhere in the middle of their live sets you can imagine that they would need to throw in a few changeups to vary the pacing. Such is "Mountaintop". The artists know music well enough to be able to craft a song of necessity but it does sound like it came from a stylistic template.

With "Dust On My Saddle" I suppose one could take the same outlook but Seals & Crofts just do such a good job of nailing that old Kingston Trio sound, even down to the narratives and voices that trio used on songs like "The Reverend Mr. Black". More folk than country, I find this one quite enjoyable.

"It's Gonna Come Down On You" returns to the style of Seals & Crofts greatest strength. I could imagine hearing this on their first couple of albums, it would have fit in well.

All in all a good album. I bought this after "Greatest Hits" since those were the only two Seals & Crofts CDs on the market at that time. "Diamond Girl" definitely has more to offer than just the familiar hits.