'You tore your dress'
Pieter | Johannesburg | 08/16/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The critics were wrong about this stunning album - it sounds better now than all those years ago. From the dramatic howling dogs introduction, through the gripping title track, Sweet Thing, Candidate, Sweet Thing Reprise and into the catchy Rebel Rebel it's a marvelous tour de force, comparable to the best work on his classic albums.
I love the innovative piano rolls on Sweet Thing, and as elsewhere observed, the bridge between the Reprise and Rebel Rebel is absolutely brilliant. Rock `n Roll with me is another powerful song while Big Brother/Chant impresses with its complex arrangement.
Diamond Dogs is pure rock, free of the strange cabaret songs that dominated Aladdin Sane. And compared to Young Americans of 1975, it is warm-blooded, human and vibrant. Perhaps this album needs to be assessed on its own terms, not in context of what went before or after. As such, it's a solid album with melodic songs and interesting ideas."