Customer Reviews

Diamond Head

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having enjoyed collaborations with John Cale on Fear and Eno on Here Come The Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain, Phil Manzanera began to look around for opportunities to express himself in ways that he couldn't with Roxy Music, as they began their inexorable descent into Ferry-imposed blandness...Diamond Head is his first solo credit as a performer, and it's a hoot and a half and one excellent record. The album splits nicely into instrumental mood pieces like Lagrima and East of Echo and Enoesque pop songs like Big Day, Miss Shapiro and Frontera, which features great Spanish vocals by none other than Robert Wyatt. Manzanera doesn't really stretch out and show his chops here; the closest thing to a guitar showcase is the great title cut, with a marvelous solo featuring that distinctive, distorted echoey sound that used to be Manzanera's trademark sound. Mostly, Phil is content to craft sonic landscapes and let his guest stars provide the scenery, such as in the case of the aforementioned Wyatt vocal.(Especially Eno...I think many of these tunes would fit on Taking Tiger Mountain with no trouble at all). Big Day is a clever Eno tune with funny lyrics; I daresay it's probably the best song ever written by British pop stars about Peru...Miss Shapiro is another great Eno performance-just try to sing along with this song and breathe! I also like Same Time Next Week, with its Wetton duet vocal (I've always thought, at least in the 70's, that Wetton was an extremely underrated vocalist-he doesn't have much range, true, but he was very expressive)and odd rhythms...I really don't understand the "dated" tag other reviewers have hung on it...the female singer's character holds her own quite nicely, I think! And finally, I also love the closer Alma, with its aching melody and lyrics, and some extended riffing by Phil at the end...the song does run a bit long, but it's no less beautiful for it. I've been a admirer of this record for a long time; I think it's another overlooked gem. I especially recommend it to people who are discovering Roxy Music for the first time, and Eno fans.

This release has aged better than most of Phil Manzanera's solo ventures, with the exception of 801 Live. It contains some essential Eno tracks like Big Day and Miss Shapiro and showcases Manzanera as a top notch axeman, his notes drenched with sustain.

There are some throwaway tracks here (Alma, Same Time Next Week), but overall this release is pretty darn good. Frontera--with Robert Wyatt providing vocals in Spanish--is awesome, as are the instrumentals The Flex, East of Echo and the title song. Fans of Brian Eno's 'rock' phase should definitely have this one in their collection.

There rough edges and inconsistent tracks, but overall this is Manzanera's best solo effort. Many different styles coalecse into an organic whole.

You can find many of these songs in different incarnations on 801 Live and on the jazz rock fusion release Mainstream, by Quiet Sun, of which Manzanera was a member during the mid-70s. That release is worth seeking out.

This is really a wonderful album, one of the not-so-well-known gems of the '70s Roxy Music-related canon. Despite not being a singer, guitarist Phil Manzanera put together a surprisingly coherent, witty collection of (mostly) vocal rock. Backed by the Roxy Music rhythm section (including the great drummer Paul Thompson) with plenty of help from Eno, Eddie Jobson, and Andy Mackay, this is the closest thing extant to a Roxy album sans Bryan Ferry. And that's actually not a bad thing.

Manzanera's guitar and compositional skills come to the fore here, but he rarely showboats as a lead guitarist, as one might expect in a solo album by a "guitar hero." As with Roxy, he's more interested in creating textures with his guitar, and he does it in many different styles: hard rock, funk, jazz, and more.

Still, it's primarily an album of songs. Even the instrumentals are more about composition and mood than chops, including the lovely title track and the complex and riveting "East of Echo." The vocal tracks are highlighted by two exceptionally cool Brian Eno songs: "Big Day" and the bizarre and rocking "Miss Shapiro." Robert Wyatt pitches in with the sung-in-Spanish but still catchy "Frontera." The usually horrid (as a singer) John Wetton even turns in a credible performance on the funky "Same Time Next Week." Few albums featuring multiple, unrelated vocalists come off as consistently listenable or coherent as this one.

Manzanera's subsequent solo albums mined a similar formula, but less interestingly and with far less Roxy Music influence. If you liked the classic '73-75 era of Roxy, you *must* own this album. You won't be disappointed.

Interesting, but I bought this album when it came out and Same Time Next Week is still my favorite track. I think it is a classic, "undiscovered" jem and I often now include it on prime cuts cds that I burn for friends. They almost always love the song and want to know "who is that"?

Now if you are focusing on the album for guitar technique, Same Time Next Week is perhaps Phil's greatest example of that, but I think it is a great song, nevertheless, and one I never get tired of listening to. Definitely NOT filler.

BTW, Phil, along with Brian Eno and all of the other original Roxy members, less Brian Ferry, are coming out with a new disk entitled "6 PM" due for release in Great Britain later this month....

Last time I checked Phil's website, it was pending. I somehow decided to check ...and found it is out in CD. Oh, so how long I have been waiting for! It is the album of my life and I feel as if my life has another chance. Thank you, oh thank you.

Probably Phill's most creative effort. This album as usual has great support from his Roxy alliances. Eno' Miss Shapiro is certainly a stand out also the them song Diamond Head has some excellent guitar work.Big Day almost an Eno song and could fit well on any of his albums especially Taking Tiger Mountain. I like the style of this one.

this is a masterpiece, in its own way. Manzanera recorded it in 1975, when he was still involved with Roxy Music but he probably wished to deliver something sunny and latino, escaping from the snobbish Brian Ferry's style...(which I love, I'm not saying that's not good!). In Diamond Head Phil is backed probably by the best musicians of that era: listen to Frontera, the first track, it's something stunning and you will understand why he 's been regarded at as one of the most crafted guitarists of the seventies. A lisergic trip in a Caribbean jungle, at sunset, if you like it....with echoes of rock, reggae, ambient, world---- Don't miss this album, if you love the Eno/Ayers/Roxy/Gong genre.

This is by far the strongest recording that Phil Manzanera has produced. The performances and compositions are outstanding as Manzanera is backed by an all-star cast that is well up to the task. The lone weak cut is the John Wetton number, an odd duet with dated lyrics. Otherwise this is just a phenomenal recording. Highly recommended...Simon

If you like Eno, you must hear "Big Day" & "Miss Shapiro." These two songs and a few other cool instrumentals make this album HOT! If you like Roxy Music's early stuff, you'll like this! Manzanera shreds!

Manzanera the player and visionary is awesome. But, throughout his career he's been pulled in various directions, all simultaneously. Regardless, this album is a must-have as an Eno and Manzanera collectible. You MUST have this version of Miss Shapiro, as well as Manzanera's "East of Echo." In Manazera's collaborative band, Quiet Sun, you can hear the companion piece, titled "Mummy Was an Asteroid, Daddy Was a Nonstick Kitchen Utensil." Then, on 801:Live, you can hear Manzanera's medley, "East of Asteroid."