Legs Diamond

Reissues

Some of the best late-70s American hard rock. Just how did Legs Diamond fail to become a huge band? Listening back to these three albums, it still seems inexplicable that they’re not fêted on a par with Foreigner or Cheap Trick.

Their self-titled debut (8/10) of ’77 has two storming punchers in Stage Fright and Satin Peacock, Can’t Find Love is mind-blowingly epic, and the album now comes with a lot of bonus material featuring fascinating demos.

A Diamond Is A Hard Rock

(8/10), from later the same year, is perhaps the best of these reissues. The band upped the quality, with the title track, Long Shot and I Think I Got It worthy of ‘classic’ stature. Again it includes a batch of demos as bonus material.

1978’s Fire Power (8/10) includes Underworld King, a track that could have graced Deep Purple Mk 3, and Man At The Top is another highlight. The reissue comes with a clutch of recordings done to showcase songs for what would have been the band’s fourth album had they not split up in 1980.