BRIAN ROBERTSON ***FORMER THIN LIZZY/MOTÖRHEAD GUITARIST¹S DEBUT SOLO ALBUM ŒDIAMONDS AND DIRT¹ RELEASED MARCH 28TH ON STEAMHAMMER / SPV*** It¹s not for the first time in the history of rock music that coincidence led to the discovery of hidden treasures: a carrier bag full of music tapes (note: tapes!) turned out to be the basis for ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹, the first ever solo album by Scottish guitarist/composer Brian Robertson, due to be released on 28 March 2011 on Steamhammer/SPV. ³I thrust the bag into my friend Søren¹s hand and said: ŒWhy don¹t you listen to these some time when you¹re bored. They¹re a number of my previously unreleased compositions.¹² Søren Lindberg from Sweden is one of former Thin Lizzy/Motörhead guitarist Brian Robertson¹s closest friends and frequently works as his driver when he has equipment which needs transporting. ³He had plenty of time to listen to that pile of tapes in his lorry on the way back to Scandinavia,² Robertson remembers, ³and he called me as soon as he reached Stockholm: ŒBrian, there¹s some brilliant stuff on those tapes. We should make an album of them!¹² Lindberg enlisted two of his country¹s most renowned instrumentalists in drummer Ian Haugland (Europe) and bassist Nalley Påhlsson (Treat & Therion). Robertson: ³They¹re great, the best rhythm section I¹ve played with since Phil Lynott and Brian Downey.² Superb singer Leif Sundin (ex-Michael Schenker Group) was recruited as additional lead vocalist, and the amazing Liny Wood joined the fold as backing vocalist. ³It wasn¹t easy to get all these extremely sought-after musicians in one place at the same time, which is why the work on ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹ took longer than originally scheduled. But it was important to us to get the best possible line-up, so we preferred to wait until they could all be there.² The result is a superb, thoroughly captivating album, chock full of catchy, blues-tinged gems of mainstream melodic hard rock songs, all highlighted by Brian Robertson¹s distinctive, flowing, guitar solos and arrangements. ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹ contains 5 outstanding Robertson solo compositions, including the hard driving, uplifting title track, the truly intense ŒPassion¹, ŒTexas Wind¹ with its wonderfully atmospheric beginning, and the powerful ŒDevil In My Soul¹ with its awesome wah-pedal guitar solo. The album is rounded off by tracks from Robertson¹s extremely successful collaboration with Phil Lynott during their Thin Lizzy days in the years 1974 to 1978 and his fellow-countryman Frankie Miller, with whom he recorded ŒDancing In The Rain¹ in 1986, among others. ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹ features a new version of ŒIt¹s Only Money¹ (from Thin Lizzy¹s 1974 release ŒNightlife¹), plus two new versions of ŒRunning Back¹ (from 1976¹s ŒJailbreak¹) and a previously never-before-released Robertson/Lynott co-composition ŒBlues Boy¹. ³I think Phil would be proud of what I¹ve done with these Lizzy songs² says Robertson, noting that ³my guitar style is audibly stronger than it was back then². Regarding why ŒRunning Back¹ was recorded in two versions he explains; ³I said to Søren: ŒLet¹s cut it the way I hear that number.¹ So we tried several interpretations, among them a slower version, which we¹ve also included on the album.² The three Frankie Miller numbers, ŒMail Box¹, ŒDo It Till We Drop (Drop It!)¹ and ŒAin¹t Got No Money¹, sound equally accomplished. To keep Miller happy, former Riverdogs frontman, Rob Lamothe, was enlisted to record the latter. ³I played the first version to Frankie, but he didn¹t like my vocals. So we asked Rob to sing the number. Frankie was very pleased with the result.² ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹, superbly co-produced by Robertson, Søren Lindberg and Chris Laney, fascinates from the first to the very last note. We can only hope that we will get an opportunity to see this illustrious line-up live on stage. ³For organizational reasons, I have my doubts that it will be possible to get these musicians together for a full tour, but who knows: we may always turn up for a number of festival gigs this summer. I¹m sure we¹d all enjoy that.² So would the audience Š Track Listing 1. ŒDiamonds And Dirt¹ (Brian Robertson) 2. ŒPassion¹ (Brian Robertson) 3. ŒIt¹s Only Money¹ (Phil Lynott) 4. ŒMail Box¹ (Frankie Miller) 5. ŒRunning Back¹ (Phil Lynott) 6. ŒTexas Wind¹ (Brian Robertson) 7. ŒDevil In My Soul¹ (Brian Robertson) 8. ŒDo It Till We Drop (Drop It!)¹ (Frankie Miller/Jeff Barry/Brian Robertson) 9. ŒBlues Boy¹ (Brian Robertson/Phil Lynott) 10. ŒThat¹s All..!¹ (Brian Robertson) 11. Œ10 Miles To Go On A 9 Mile Road¹ (Jim White) 12. ŒRunning Back¹ (Phil Lynott) slow version 13. ŒAin¹t Got No Money¹ (Frankie Miller) bonus track Line Up Brian Robertson All Guitars, Lead & Backing Vocals, Keyboards Ian Haugland - Drums and Percussion Nalley Påhlsson - Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals Leif Sundin - Lead Vocals Liny Wood - Backing Vocals www.spv.de
