{"id":485,"date":"2011-04-07T05:09:39","date_gmt":"2011-04-07T10:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2011-04-07T05:09:39","modified_gmt":"2011-04-07T10:09:39","slug":"album-review-phil-manzanera-diamond-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2011\/04\/07\/album-review-phil-manzanera-diamond-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Phil Manzanera – Diamond Head"},"content":{"rendered":"

When, in 1975, Phil Manzanera<\/strong> put together his debut solo LP Diamond Head<\/em>, fans of Roxy Music<\/strong> already expected something special. The versatile guitarist was already well-known for his highly textured guitar work. For the record he enlisted the aid of a number of talented friends: Brian Eno<\/strong> (ex-Roxy Music), John Wetton<\/strong> (King Crimson<\/strong>, Family<\/strong>), Eddie Jobson<\/strong> and members of Manzanera\u2019s old band Quiet Sun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The original album featured nine songs, all composed totally (or in part) by Manzanera. From the Spanish language \u201cFrontera\u201d to the soaring instrumental of the title track, Diamond Head<\/em> was both a showcase of Manzanera\u2019s talents as a guitarist, composer and arranger. But it also served to show that he could create some damn good songs.<\/p>\n

The one thing Manzanera didn\u2019t do on Diamond Head<\/em> was sing: he left the vocal duties in the capable hands of Robert Wyatt<\/strong>, Eno, Wetton, Bill MacCormack<\/strong> and others*<\/font>. On tracks like the infectiously poppy \u201cBig Day,\u201d Listeners would be treated to the multiple-overdubbed singing of Eno; Manzanera concentrated on creating catchy guitar parts with innovative sonics. While about half of Diamond Head<\/em> was comprised of instrumentals, the record was far from a guitar-wank excursion. Fascinatingly varied, the album included the funkified \u201cThe Flex,\u201d featuring some tasty sax work from Jobson, and — as always \u2013 fascinating sounds from Manzanera\u2019s guitar arsenal. The Latin flavor he\u2019d explore in subsequent outings was already evident even on this early work.<\/p>\n

Diamond Head<\/em> was reissued in 2011 with bonus tracks (more on those forthwith). The album mixes progressive styles with proto-world music, art-rock and other styles. More commercially-oriented than Eno\u2019s solo work, it\u2019s occasionally every bit as adventurous. And it\u2019s as close to an ego-free outing as could be imagined for a solo record: Manzanera affords his mates plenty of space to do their things. Wetton\u2019s lead vocal on the tricky-beat \u201cSame Time Next Week\u201d (actually a duet with Doreen Chanter<\/strong>) is almost as musically off-kilter as King Crimson, yet it is somehow rooted in pop styles alien to that group.<\/p>\n

Eno\u2019s contribution to \u201cMiss Shapiro\u201d helps create an arty rocker that one-ups the Roxy Music approach; whether it\u2019s Eno\u2019s perfectly dispassionate vocal, the corkscrew guitar lines of Manzanera\u2019s axe, or the whip-smart playing of the rhythm section, the song offers something for everyone. Manzanera\u2019s heavily phased guitar is a major feature of \u201cEast of Echo,\u201d a track featuring Quiet Sun. Notably, the timeframe for recording and mixing Diamond head was a mere 26 days; even more notably, during that period Manzanera and his Quiet Sun pals also recorded another<\/em> album!<\/p>\n

\u201cLagrima\u201d is built around backwards Spanish-styled acoustic guitar, with evocative oboe playing from Andy Mackay<\/strong>. The soaring \u201cAlma\u201d features a Bill MacCormack vocal plus a Leslie\u2019d guitar and some subtle string synthesizer work from Manzanera and Jobson.<\/p>\n

The 2011 reissue of Diamond Head<\/em> offers up a digipak, a lovely and informative booklet, and a pair of bonus tracks. \u201cCarhumba\u201d features a group of African musicians playing in a Latin style, with a searing Manzanera solo (of course). The song tips Manzanera\u2019s hand toward his abiding interest in what is now called world music; had it been released in, say, 2002 instead of 1985, it could have been a hit. \u201cCorazon Y Alma\u201d is a lengthy piece — a demo of sorts \u2013 predating the Diamond Head<\/em> sessions; it explores many of the musical themes fleshed out on the album proper. It marks one of the few notable uses of Farfisa organ (courtesy of Quiet Sun\u2019s Dave Jarrett<\/strong>) in a jazz-prog setting. The song sounds a bit like Caravan<\/strong>, not surprising in light of Quiet Sun\u2019s pedigree.<\/p>\n

No catalog of progressive music should be considered complete without a copy of Phil Manzanera\u2019s Diamond Head<\/em>, and if you\u2019re not going to track it down on vinyl, the 2011 reissue is the one to get.<\/p>\n

* Sincere thanks to reader SF for noting that Manzanera “did in fact share vocals on the last track, ‘Alma.'” <\/font><\/p>\n

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