Customer Reviews

Diamond Mine

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

 

 

Recorded in an old movie theatre, and you feel like you're there in the seats, with a real rock-n-roll band up on stage. There's nothing fancy, just Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor singing harmonies to their chiming guitars, Bobby Wiseman's off-kilter piano and organ, and straight-ahead rhythm from Bazil Donovan on bass and Cleave Anderson on drums. Producer Malcolm Burn does what few producers do: brings out great performances and then stays out of the way. Blue Rodeo has made more sophisticated albums since, but not a better one.

Diamond Mine is another solid outing from one of Canada's favourite bands. Their first Cd was chockablock with great songs. This one has a weak ones and fewer highlights. It is one of those Cds that the aficionados loved but that received a lukewarm reception from casual listeners like me. God and Country, Diamond Mine, House of Dreams and Nice Try (think Chris Isaak) are standouts. As with the first release what lifts Blue Rodeo out of the ranks of the ordinary are Rob Wiseman's eclectic keyboards and the voices of Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor. Listen to the song Diamond Mine and you will hear some very innovative instrumental passages, ones certainly not designed to appeal to the typical country-ault-rock fan. I can lose interest in that type of music pretty quickly after a few tracks (Jayhawks for instance). Blue Rodeo, at least for the first seven releases held my interest from start to finish, or pretty close to! At over 59 minutes this cd is possibly three of four songs longer than it needs to be. Then again, as always, the songs that I think are superfluous are someone else's favourites.

Although the Dylan fetish gets out of hand at times, this is a solid, if annoyingly out-of-print debute from Canada's Blue Rodeo. Compared to contemporary alt.country efforts, this release has held up well over time. The template for their 1993 album track "Five Days In May" is clearly evident on Diamond Mine's title track. Although pretentiously Dylaneque titles like "Ballad of the Dime Store Greaser and the Blonde Mona Lisa" may seem like jokes today, the songwriting holds its own.