British "Blue eyed Soul" at it's FINEST
Shirley Pena | Central California, USA | 08/06/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Scottish-born singer/songwriter Jim Diamond is that RAREST of finds:a singer/songwriter who is just SOOO GOOD that when you hear him you want to climb up the nearest rooftop and shout his praises to every passerby who has not had the sheer JOY of hearing him! Jim is sadly almost unknown now here in the U.S., but overseas his bright star has never dimmed, especially among his peers and discerning music critics.
In the early '80's, he came THIS close to cracking the U.S. market, first with the truly AMAZING group Ph.D, then as a solo artist. With Ph.D, he produced two TRULY CLASSIC songs:"I Won't Let You Down" and "Little Susie's On The Up". "I Won't Let You Down" is(IMHO)one of the stellar TOP TEN Pop songs of the '80's. Just LISTEN to Jim's phrasing here, sheer GENIUS! When he sings the word "Woman" it positively MELTS me every time! It went on to rightfully become a HUGE European hit for Jim and the band(Jim also re-recorded it later in his solo career). Years later, Tesla recorded "Little Susie's On The Up"(renaming it simply "Little Susie")and had a U.S. hit with it, though for MY money, it's JIM'S marvelous version with PhD that really SHINES!
As a solo artist, Jim also scored two big hits:the lushly romantic "I Should Have Known Better" and "High Ho Silver"(the theme to "Boon").
However, Mtv's truly CRIMINAL neglect of properly exposing Jim's excellent music videos with BOTH PhD and solo(even though the videos were consistently SUPERIOR to most of what Mtv put on heavy rotation)made it difficult for Jim to effectively crack the U.S. market. As a result, all too many folks in the U.S. LOST the opportunity in the '80's to hear British "Blue eyed Soul" at it's Finest. What an UTTER WASTE!
Jim has a voice that deftly blends the best elements of Pop and Soul, bubbling forward with a unique, sweet blend of emotional bravado that is sweeping but never overwrought. It hits the ear like a cool, caressing bleeze right off the ocean, and his four octave range never ceases to amaze me! The years he tutored under Scotland's legendary Alexis Korner(the godfather of British Blues) have served Jim well.
Starting in the '60's, he has worked in a range of musical genres that is almost unheard of with today's artists, running the gamet from Blues to Soul to Punk and finally Pop. As a result, Jim is an ARTIST'S artist, creating songs of immense emotional range and style. I seriously can't think of another singer who is even remotely like him.
This is an EXCELLENT compilation of his solo work, and the reason I gave it only four stars is because it DOES NOT include "I Won't Let You Down", which really is his "signature tune" and SHOULD have been included here.
*Note:do yourself a favour and look closely for the PhD videos on VH1's Mtv 25th anniversary show for 1 & 5 August. Likely, they will once again make SCANT play of 'em, but they are WELL WORTH watching for, especially "I Won't Let You Down" which is both hilarious and touching, one of my all-time favourite videos!"
"I Should've Known Better" makes the CD
Hinkle Goldfarb | R.R. 1 Highway 162, Butte City, California | 11/24/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I spent literally years tracking down "I Should've Known Better," the mid-80s Euro-hit, because I had never learned the singer's name. When I finally found the album I bought it just for the song, and was not disappointed. The rest of the album is good, but I Should've Known Better is one of the best pop songs ever recorded.
"
Track Listings (18) - Disc #1