How strangely and unerringly accurate that a band named after a notorious US gangster who refused to die despite being shot in four separate incidents should release an album in 2006, a full 30 years after they first got together, still refusing to die themselves.

These guys have had more career breaks than a woman whose had twenty kids.

I remember they were popular on these shores in the late 70’s when I still had stabilizers on my bike (took them off last month if you must know!). So to receive Diamonds Are Forever through the post was a surprise, a novelty and a blast from the past all rolled into one.

Having lost the services of main voice Rick Sanford, who had appeared on everything they’ve ever recorded, early in 05, it may have been time to call it a day but the remaining members remained true to their name and regrouped with the new vocalist John Levesque. This album is the result and it’s not half bad.

They have always had a chameleon approach to music, some rockin tracks, others with a melodic edge and a balladeers ear for the slower stuff. This remains true of DAF. (Not the Shirley Bassey number though).

A couple of the tracks are total dogs, Time Will Never Change is a dreadfully lame attempt at power balladry and Let It Go is a poor early Leppard style plodder. However opener Don’t Turn Away has a decent riff despite hackneyed lyrical content.

Cheerfully stealing a good idea is the pastiche of Purple’s Speed King, they have lifted the riff from Highway Star and gone Jonlordtastic with the Hammond and jigged the lyrics around and called it KING OF SPEED!! Nice homage and it works, despite the plagiarism.

Good Time flirts with more bluesy riffin and Rain Down reminisces with the echo of early Blackfoot, so nothing wrong up with that.

Get You Home comes on like Zep and is suitably sneering, Change rumbles along via Uriah Heep with a twist. When these guys get in the groove they still have something to say, it’s the slower more reflective tracks that drag the disc back to mediocre blandland. It appears they’re obligated to produce a few slowies and it’s these that let the side down in my humble opinion.

There are thirteen tacks lasting over an hour, with some judicious pruning, they could have produced a good album lasting forty minutes.

As it is, patchy but passable, they’re not going to uproot any trees but might well keep the Stateside faithful satiated.

Let us know your views on 'Diamonds Are Forever'

Track List

Don't Turn Away
Time Will Never Change
Good Time
King Of Speed
Trouble
This Time Around
Let It Go
Will You Remember
Rain Down
Loneliness
Get You Home
Change
For All We Know

Line Up

John Levesque - Vocals
Michael Prince - Keyboards, Guitar
Jeff Poole - Drums
Adam Kury - Bass
Roger Romeo - Guitars