LEGS DIAMOND – Legs Diamond [2-CD Rock Candy remaster +12] (2018) *EXCLUSIVE*

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Rock Candy Records has just remastered the hard to find, first three LEGS DIAMOND albums, all with a large amount of bonus tracks. The reissue of the band’s first album “Legs Diamond [2-CD Rock Candy remaster +12]” even includes a bonus disc with a huge amount of 12 extra tracks.
Listed by legendary Kerrang! magazine at No. 33 among the “100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time”, “Legs Diamond” is a must have in your collection.

America was no fit place for young, hard rock bands trying to make a name for themselves during the second half of the ’70s – what with the general populace being hopelessly spellbound to the strobe lights reflecting off of disco’s dazzling mirror ball.
Sure, established groups like Kiss and Aerosmith were still making do (or shamelessly selling out to the enemy), but the going was tough for up-and-comers on both coasts — e.g. New York’s Starz and Riot, and California’s Y&T, Quiet Riot, and the soon-to-break-out Van Halen.

Often forgotten alongside this left coast bunch was Los Angeles’ own Legs Diamond, who were fittingly described, years later, as “the best undiscovered band in America,” but nevertheless managed to eke out a deal with Mercury Records in 1976, and delivered this eponymous debut early the next year.
Right away, one can tell why Legs Diamond stood slightly apart from their loud, brash, groupie-devouring Sunset Strip colleagues, as their own songs were comparatively sleek, restrained, and marked by a penchant for ’70s progressive rock, to boot (of course groupies were still quite welcome).

The latter certainly explains the surprisingly sedate stroll and proggy organs draped across album opener ‘It’s Not the Music,’ which duly gives right of way to the pure hard rock territory of ‘Stage Fright’.
But it’s the album’s even more urgent third cut, ‘Satin Peacock’ (KISS wanted this one, but Legs Diamond said no), that really struts the band’s hardest-rocking tendencies, which are later revisited with almost as much gusto on ‘Deadly Dancer’ and ‘Come with Me’.

Amid these tracks, though, Legs Diamond continue to indulge their progressive rock streak with the killer ‘Rat Race’, ‘Can’t Find Love’, and the sleekly ambitious ‘Rock’n’Roll Man’ – an epic, six minute piece that crystallises the essence of the band.

“Legs Diamond” is a fantastic US hard rock record, when this type of music was done unpolluted and from the guts.
This Rock Candy remastered reissue is the definitive, adding a second CD containing not 10, not 11 but 12 bonus tracks. It’s truly an aficionado’s dream, a treasure trove of tantalising outtakes, early versions of songs that made it eventually onto the debut; demos and alternative versions – there’s a rendition of ‘Rat Race’ from a 1976 K-West Radio compilation – a genuine, bona fide obscurity.
Arguably, it’s as much of an historical document in the journey of Legs Diamond. Rock Candy have surpassed themselves here.
HIGHLY Recommended

DISC 1 : ‘Legs Diamond’ Remastered
01 – It’s Not The Music
02 – Stage Fright
03 – Satin Peacock
04 – Rock And Roll Man
05 – Deadly Dancer
06 – Rat Race
07 – Can’t Find Love

DISC 2 : Bonus Tracks
01 – Come With Me (original album outtake)
02 – Rat Race (K-West Radio version)
03 – Thrill Seeker (early version of Deadly Dancer)
04 – High School Queen (early demo)
05 – Not Yours Not Mine (early version of RnR Man)
06 – Deadly Dancer (demo)
07 – One Way Ticket (demo)
08 – Avalanche (demo)
09 – Traces (demo)
10 – Street Runner (demo)
11 – Closer (demo)
12 – Food For Thought (demo)

Rick Sanford – Lead vocals, flute
Roger Romeo – Lead guitar
Michael Durham Prince – Rhythm guitar, keyboards
Michael “Diamond” Gargano – Bass guitar
Jeff Poole – Drums

BUY IT !
www.nehrecords.com/product/legs-diamond-legs-diamond/
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