DIAMONDS
Dsc | New York City | 12/18/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought it because it said Daft Punk was involved in this album. Regardless, after the first song, I was hooked. What a great album. I can hear a bit of Daft Punk in the driving drum rhythms and the influence of eighties synth pop. Benjamin sounds like early Peter Murphy or the lead singer of the Call and at times like early Bono. Great song craft. Worth paying the import price."
Music for supermodels.
Watujel | San Antonio, Texas | 06/15/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"If glossy European disco music and bored facial expressions aren't necessary accoutrements of supermodel life, I don't know what are. So what better CD for these runway mavens than Benjamin Diamond's "Strange Attitude." Even if they show up to the photo shoot engrossed in Proust (hey anything's possible), by the time they hear Diamond singing "back a new day" (and somehow pronouncing it "love your music") for the tenth time, they'll have that perfect glassy-eyed, slackjawed look that photographers love.Though Diamond uses some fat bass synthesizers and thanks George Clinton in the liner notes, this stuff is too polished to qualify as funk. Many of the songs (especially "Little Scare," "18 and Over," "Strange Attitude," and "In Your Arms") boast promising, catchy intros, but quickly lapse into seemingly endless repetition. It's good to have a strong hook and interesting title, but that doesn't mean you can just repeat them mindlessly for six minutes and claim that constitutes a song. Especially foul is his cover of Oran "Juice" Jones' "The Rain," which doesn't even have a decent intro; it sounds like a six-year-old is playing the piano. And his singing betrays a lack of interest in the material.This CD will set the right atmosphere at a party, but if you're looking for dance music that will hold up under closer, and more um, sober inspection, better stick with the Pet Shop Boys."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1