Customer Reviews

Just Another Diamond Day

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the last couple of years Vashti has performed her first live set in over three decades at the Royal Festival Hall; duetted with Devendra Banhart on his Rejoicing In The Hands album; recorded with Piano Magic; sung on a Simon Raymonde collaboration, and with Animal Collective on their Prospect Hummer EP; and recorded a new album for Fat Cat, with guest appearances from the likes of Joanna Newsom and hopefully the arranger Robert Kirby. She has been cited as an influence by a whole new generation of young performers of avant folk and has a higher profile than she has had since her initial emergence on a single produced by Andrew Oldham and in TV appearances for Ready Steady Go! in 1965. Reviews of the single, Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind, a Jagger/Richard song which the two Stones had initially placed with Dick and Deedee the year before, variously described her as "the new Marianne Faithfull" and the "female Bob Dylan." 
The reason for all this renewed activity was the re-issue in 2000 (2004 in the US) to great acclaim of her only album, Just Another Diamond Day, which had originally crept into the shops in 1970, without fanfare or promotion. "Nobody seemed to give it a second thought when it was released", says Vashti on her website, "In fact it was not really released, it just edged its way out, blushed and shuffled off into oblivion. I abandoned it, and music, forever as I went on to travel more with horses and wagons, with children and more dogs and chickens." 
However, in the intervening years it has become regarded as a cult classic, with vinyl copies passing hands among collectors for ever increasing sums. When Vashti learned of this from the internet, she began the long process of collecting and collating the old masters, doing the legal stuff and finally getting the album made available on the Spinney label, together with some additional earlier bonus tracks.
The circumstances of the creating of the album are extraordinary and integral to its unique quality. After a trying couple of years recording for Columbia and Immediate to little effect, she simplified her style to just her and her Martin guitar. Donovan suggested she visited an artists' colony he was setting up on the isle of Skye and advanced her £100, and she, boyfriend Robert and dog Blue duly set off from Sidcup in July 1968 on a two-year adventure of magic, hardship and odd-jobbing, in an old green wagon towed by a horse called Bess (punctuated by a brief tour performing in the pubs of Belgium, and the odd train trip to London with songs for subs from new producer Joe Boyd). All the way, the songs she was writing were of what she was experiencing on her pilgrimage. "The songs were the dreaming in verges of grimy roads," she writes, and it is these songs, borne of the lifestyle of blood, sweat and rose hips that she found herself adopting, that make up the unique document that is this album. When Vashti reached Skye, the artistic renaissance had not taken seed and Donovan was in the process of leaving, so she continued to the Outer Hebrides with a virtually complete portfolio of music.
She eventually travelled back down to London, in a Morris Minor called the Kettle since it regularly boiled over, to record the album at Sound Techniques in November 1969, with Christopher Sykes and John James on keyboards. Joe Boyd had invited Robin Williamson of the Incredible String Band to add fiddle, mandolin and Irish harp on three tracks, and from Fairport Convention, Dave Swarbrick to add fiddle and mandolin and Simon Nicol to add banjo on three others. Robert Kirby, well known for his work with Nick Drake, arranged string quartet and recorders on a further three.
Although very much of its period, the record has a beauty that stems from its unashamed purity and freshness, and is all the better for telling a true and unrepeatable story. Following its re-release The Observer Music Monthly listed it at 53 in their Top 100 British Albums list

It is highly refreshing that this relic of simple beauty has not been utterly lost in the shuffle. Vashti's gentle voice and quiet, short meditations on dreamy, rustic life strike a chord with a society that is constantly on the move.
She herself DID go to that life after this single record...Though it is too bad she could not transcend her shyness to make more records, I must say that this album is a testament to the influence of traditional folk music on the experimental scene today. To go back to the beauteous structures allows us to move forth, deconstruct, and manipulate the essence of our musicality.
We are also reminded that the extremely short song is no less powerful and evocative.
In short, this album should be enough to lull even Mike Tyson. Simplicity has rarely been showcased like Vashti Bunyan performed it.

Vashti Bunyan's "Just Another Diamond Day" belongs in the pantheon of the greatest folk records of all time. This record captures not only the essence of an age, but a way of thinking about our world that has too often been overlooked or forgotten. This is not a "cult" classic - it's a classic, period. It is an important and ageless record, as vital today as it was when it was released, if not more so. A touching thing of pristine, rare beauty.

When I first heard about this record, it was in relation to Devendra Banhart, and then I heard a little about Vashti's life. How she had recorded a Mick Jagger song, but felt uncomfortable with pop-stardom, finding performing her own compositions infinitely more rewarding. Fleeing London, she set off with another free spirit, a horse and a wagon to live a wandering life. The songs on 'Just another diamond day' were written on this journey, and later recorded by Joe Boyd back in London, with some string arrangements by Robert Kirby, but the album has only become widely appreciated very recently.
Given these links to Nick Drake and the gorgeous story behind the album, I was an instant sucker for its charms. Vashti's voice may at first seem detached and fey, but in time you come to love its openness and clarity. It's a voice that is beautifully open to life, nature and love, and gorgeously complimented by the sparse, crisp guitar and string arrangements.
That said, the song writing is not always fully satisfying. The songs are short, sweet and rarely develop beyond their initial mood and tone. In this way, her influence on Devendra is clear - concise, simple songs with a singular mood. I've heard Vashti compared to Joanna Newsom, but I disagree - while Joanna's songs (especially 'Sadie') are intricate and fascinating in their form, Vashti's are very straightforward, the lyrics also strikingly simple.
However, the absolute sincerity of Vashti's voice and the album's sheer prettiness mean that this simplicity is not a major problem. It's intimate and soothing - the kind of thing to listen to when you want Nick Drake's gorgeous melodies and atmosphere but without the melancholic intensity. All early-morning light and winter sunshine...

For certain people, music is more than some random noise to dance to or listen to while painting the bedrooms. Sometimes it can just stop you in your tracks. Vashti Bunyan does that for anyone that considers themself her fan. You won't find many casual Vashti fans as her music just seems too engaging to turn away. For those who listen to her are likely to love her regardless of anything. Sure, she might be too demure or at first sound too fragile and sensitive for bedrockheads who run through walls, people, and steel to get what they want out of life, let alone music. But others will suddenly sit still and scratch their heads wondering where this marvelous music has been hiding all their lives.

Most may have discovered it through a cell phone commercial in 2006; that would be this albums opening cut. Indeed, the sublime splash of Diamond Day introduces us to a world as provocative to us as it was to Vashti when she left the modern world for a rustic commune in 1967 until the album's recording in 1969. Throughout the album, the lyrics detail 2 years of experiences involving relationships, nature and the sudden happiness she discovered after a depressing and jaded stint through the pop market in the mid 60s. Sure, there is some world weariness sprinkled throughout and her voice can still relay a sense of despondency, but more often than not, as exemplified by songs like Come wind Come Rain, Jog Along Bess, and Where I Like to Stand, she hopes, yearns and quietly celebrates her life while the musicians move the songs in jaunty folk arrangements filled with recorders, Irish harps, mandolins and banjoes without effects or any progressive trappings popular at the time. The music is often a perfect compliment for her songs. Many of the musicians came from Producer Joe Boyd's contingent including the Fairport Convention, ISB and Nick Drake's string arranger Robert Kirby, all of whom Vashti had admitted were unknown to her when she showed up to record this album in 1969. The result is something that transcends its perceived folk genre. It is thankfully impossible to pigeonhole and that's probably what may forever endear it to those discovering her all these years later, whether through commercials or wandering by a club in early 2007 to hear her singing while she toured the world after years in obscurity. It has that much power to stop you on the pavement and check her out.

As a bonus, reissues have added some of her finest singles that she recorded in the mid sixties including her most morose song, a demo of Winter is Blue featuring the payoff lines, "I am alone, waiting for nothing. If my heart freezes, I won't feel the breaking." By the time her last single for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label, I'd Like to Walk Around in You Mind was recorded, it wound up being shelved. This seemed to be the song to bridge the despondency of her sixties recordings with the world weary optimism of this album. She makes for a mischievous ghostly presence here, hoping and determined to cheer up the most iron-hearted cynic. Her delivery starts off tentative then becomes more assured as she finishes the verses. The approach is natural and simply brilliant. It's as assuasive as pop music could get and stands arguably as her greatest song; my favorite to say the least. It may have taken over 30 years for many to discover this, but it's worth it.

Having just returned from seeing Vashti perform at Carnegie Hall in a review assembled by David Byrne, I am amazed that her voice still has that angellic dream quality that owed much to early Joni MItchell and a host of Brit folk-rock earth mothers. If you are familiar with Eric Andersen's BLUE RIVER, you'll have the aesthetic sense of this.
Discovered by Joe Boyd, but entirely lacking in whatever drive one needs to sustain oneself through the interminable disappointments os a life as a professional musician, Vashti's effort here was considered a one-off until the new wave of folk hippies somehow caught wind of her.
Hers is a truly beautiful and whispery type of voice, what might have prompted Richard Thompson to write "Beeswing" for example. She had no sense for what to do with her talent, and took after fellow wanderers instead of focuing on what was an ambitious and promising start. Boyd gave up. Bunyan wandered around northern England, the Hebrdides and Ireland in a tinker's caravan after the release of this record. God knows if she even collected a dime.
But here it is again, and hopefully she has a better focus. She has recorded a follow up, 35 years later, that is also a stellar effort. But in listening to this, in listening to her sing Friday night with Adem Ilhan, I can't help but think of Jack Hardy's "Tinker's Coin." Perhaps she'll stick with it now that new folkies seems to have dragged her back into the spotlight. She is still quite beautiful, with an extraordinarily emotional set of pipes. This is well worth it.

Five stars is not enough for this record.Until last year, I had never herd of Vashti or J.A.D.D..This album is up there with the finest works of Nick Drake,Sandy Denny, Tom Waits,Kate Bush or any others you might care to name.Rarely does one find something so perfect in the CD racks.If beauty and quality are things you look for in music, do yourself a huge favor and buy this.Don't let it slip away like it did when it was first released on LP.This record is perfect.

This album is gorgeous. It is so amazing that an album like this could be concieved in such a natural and organic way. The ulitmate song highlight for me is 'Iris's Song" where she sings in unison with a single violin. When she starts singing in russian, or whatever language, i just melt. It reminds me of Russia many centuries ago.

I am a huge fan of Folk music. I especially love Nick Drake, Donovan, the Incredible String Band, and Fairport Convention. A friend recommended Vashti Bunyan to me, and I am rather thankful. I bought Just Another Diamond Day last week and I cannot stop playing it. It's just gorgeous.

To better appreciate the beauty of this album, it is good to know the background story of it. These songs were written while Vashti was on a journey to the Isle of Skye to meet Donovan and live in a commune during the late 60's. Donovan sent her enough money to get a horse and cart, and she painted it lovely colors and took to the road with her animals and boyfriend. It took her a year to get to Skye, and by then Donovan and crew were leaving.

The songs are about the beauty she encountered on her way. Jog Along Bess is filled with real characters. Her voice is soft and magical, like sunlight shining through the trees. I simply love this album.

I cannot even name a song that is my favorite. They are all good. If you are a dreamer or a hippie at heart, you will love Vashti. It's a must for anyone who loves Folk music, although I don't think she considers herself a folk artist, much like Dylan.

This is one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded and my personal favorite. Vashti was discovered by the Rolling Stones' producer and pitched as a pop singer, but fled to the country to live alone in a caravan after recording this album of pastoral english folk. Her soft high voice trembles ever so slightly over a collection of beautifully crafted, sweet but never simple songs about sunlight and hay, wind and rain, dogs and horses, frog and birds, cups of tea, muddy boots and romantic longing. Some of the songs are very like nursery rhymes, like Beatrix Potter-ish tales set to music. "Jog Along Bess" is one of my favorites, about rescuing a bunch of psychologically or physically wounded animals and taking them to the country to frolic with her. It's adorable but kind of sad and weird, too. "Rosehip November" is a lyrical masterpiece that would not be out-of-place on Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" album. "I'd Like to Walk Around in Your Mind" is a touching ode to a reluctant lover. There is a strange tone of High Elizabethan mourning in her voice that echoes the overall wistfulness of Vashti's lovely lyrics. It is said she did not collect one dime off this, and somehow that all just adds to the allure.