It took the re-investigation of a carrier bag full of tapes featuring dozens of old recordings for Brian Robertson to be encouraged by a friend to begin to piece together what became Diamonds And Dirt.
The inclusion of a new version of Thin Lizzy’s It’s Only Money plus two versions of Running Back from 1976’s Jailbreak and a further three songs written during his fruitful collaboration with fellow Scotsman Frankie Miller all suggest that far from attempting to break from his past on what is – perhaps surprisingly – his debut solo release, Robertson is happy to be embracing it.
Backed by members of Europe, Treat and Michael Schenker Group, song-wise Diamonds And Dirt is a relatively straight-forward blues-rock affair, although Robertson’s guitar playing is deft and lively throughout; his unique style still shining through after nearly forty years in the business.
