Black Diamond Heavies
December 21, 2008 by Andrew Watt
Filed under New Artists Worth Knowing
Although they hail from Nashville it is abundantly clear that Black Diamond Heavies come from a very different part of town than that which the country music establishment calls home.
Consisting of only two members - James Leg (aka John Wesley Myers) on vocals and keys and Van Campbell on drums – Black Diamond Heavies recently toured Australia and played at the Meredith Music Festival but I suspect that many of the festival goers might have missed the point.
The point about this duo is that they are deeply steeped in tradition and for all the suggestions that they are ‘the next big thing” chances are they will appeal a lot more resoundingly to fans of older blues and dirty rock fans.
Artists that are obvious reference points for Black Diamond Heavies include Tom Waits (who is a oft referenced vocal inspiration for Leg), The Doors, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Green On Red and Leon Russell. Their take on blues is dirty and confrontational but it’s not a case of random violence.
There’s real musicianship at work here and for all the reviews that will lazily call them ‘ass-kickin’ or ‘brutal’ there will be a few fans who realise that there is real method to the madness and the music is calculated to infiltrate your senses rather than just bludgeon you into submission.
Their latest album (only their second) is called A Touch Of Somebody Else’s Class and it opens with a cover of Ike and Tina Turner’s Nutbush City Limits. Don’t judge the album on this as it’s probably the weakest track.
Instead lock into Numbers 22, a Leon Russell styled rave up, Bidin’ My Time (an aching ballad), or Take A Ride (a T-Model Ford cover that could be a companion piece to Roadhouse Blues).
James Leg is a great organ player – he has a tone that wouldn’t go astray in a Southern Baptist church but plays the sort of hypnotic runs that have you on the edge of your seat wondering if he will get back in time to catch the train that Campbell has leaving the station.
In short this is the sort of band that this section was created for!