One might say that Legs Diamond is among the greatest Hard Rock bands of all time. Someone else will argue by stating that this band never sold that much. A third person will come in crying out that you don't have to be a worldwide selling artist to gain recognition. The truth may be lurking somewhere in the middle. We won't find out what would happen if Uncut Diamond - firstly issued in 1999 via Zoom Records - was actually cut, but this excellent Majestic Rock re-release may throw some extra light to this peculiar band.
Legs Diamond was formed in the land of salvation and sin, California, in the mid 70's. A steady lineup was ready to roll the dice in an era where Kiss and Aerosmith began to rule the world of ass-kicking Rock in the States (at least, at that time). Three remarkable recordings of passionate and promising melodic Hard Rock music, the first two - Legs Diamond (1977) and A Diamond Is A Hard Rock (1977) - on Mercury Records and Firepower (1979) via the independent Cream label. Jumping off to a later stage, the band released 3 - 4 other records from 1984 to 1993, in a more mellow direction (not bad at all...) but still remained out of the big L.A. bang of the 80's; upon request, I can attach a list of who made it that time in the City of Angels.
Back to 1979/1980, Uncut Diamond would be the 4th (back then) album the band had roughly recorded in order to come up with a tempting deal. Featuring 14 tracks, the classic (sic) Diamond vibe is present all over, with appealing guitar hooks, pleasant vocal melodies and a general live feeling for an e.g. evening drive. For the unaware, Legs Diamond - named after the famous NY gangster - played music similar to the likes of bands like AOR-ish Deep Purple, April Wine, Blue Oyster Cult, Moxy, some of 70's Aerosmtih, sentimental Kiss or straightforward Angel. Tunes like Winds Of Fortune, High School Queen or My Own Game are the appropriate excerpts of a work keen on the simplicity of Hard Rock music of that time in the States, while as you may assume about the lyrical themes; no in-depth 'atmosphere pollution' messages here...
The band was recently reformed, as I was surprised (or not) to find out, and are on agreement for a possible new album. In addition, Legs Diamond participated in 2005's edition of Firefest in Britain; we'll definitely have to check out the relative reports.
In total, Uncut Diamond is for sure a must for all of the band's fans, plus it's a good purchase for everyone having at least 2 of their albums in his/her collection. Otherwise, try A Diamond Is A Hard Rock or Out On Bail at first and if you find yourself smiling, then gab this one too.