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 Nashville's talent spotters have missed a trick. They didn't spot the arrival of the hottest new female country artist for years.
As they continued to fall over each other to sign up the latest batch of TV Talent show starlets - all of whom will have one hit, one album and then disappear into obscurity - Lucie Diamond slipped in under their radar.
This girl IS going to be rich, because she can sing, perform, and write better than ANY talent show winner I've yet come across. And she's no one-hit wonder either!
Actually those suits in Music City may well have spotted Lucie ... but immediately dismissed her as a "no-hoper". Most Nashville execs would consider her to have a flaw which - in their eyes - will prevent her from "making it".
Lucie, my dear friend, I'm truly sorry, but I have to tell the world.
Brace yourselves, folks: Lucie Diamond is BRITISH! (Ouch!!)
But set YOUR prejudices aside and take a lusten: she's also brilliant!
So what's the music like? Well, I'm gobsmacked. It is a class above the majority of what Nashville's pushing out which.
Diamond doesn't sound British. She sings it like she was brought up on Arkansas, or Texas, or Tennessee. And there's something of Tanya Tucker at her very best in her delivery.
But what impresses most is the energy. Nashville studios have this annoying habit of taking all the rough edges in an artist's performances and smoothing them off - turning the overall sound into a homogenous sound - factory-produced mass-appeal Nashpop - where every song sounds the same.
Diamond's producer and manager, Simon Redley seems to have taken the opposite approach. He's honed those rough edges, sharpened them to add to the cut, the impact of each track. So it is that, even on the quieter tracks, there's an edge, an energy that grabs the attention. Brilliant.
And there are some wonderful songs here.
The title track, "I Wanna Be Rich" - written by Joie Scott & Scarlet Keys - is superb. The lyrics - are excellent - even if sometimes the rhythmic scan struggles a little. The fiddle is placed at just the right place in the mix so that it doesn't overpower, yet it adds a dimension to the song. And Diamond belts the words out.
This is production to die for, killer vocals, great lyrics. A hit song waiting to happen. Put simply: if US radio gives this the airtime it needs, this will hit the charts. It's already been a hit in the UK Country charts.
"I Wish I Could Re-Write The Ending", written by Diamond and Rachel Thibodeau, is a tremendous number based on a true story. A woman aged 26 who was murdered by her ex fiancee about three miles from Lucie's home. That victim used to
ride her horse by Lucie's place and say hello. After her killer got life, the
mother did an interview in a national magazine and Lucie read it, and it upset
her.This shows this girl can really write, and that she can sing tender songs, and express pain in her voice too.
"Take It Or Leave It Alone" has a wonderful rolling blues sound, and Diamond sings it like she's in some New Orleans dive.
The rough edges really show on "My Ex True Love" which was written in just an hour by Diamond and Bat McGrath, but Redley went with this recording, and rightly so. Raw energy and vocal skill carry Diamond through and it's another song with chart possibilities.
That Diamond is a great vocalist is shown again on "Let Me Be Me" and "God's Working Overtime". The latter - just Diamond and Buddy Hyatt's delicate piano - could be a hit in the mainstream charts! (Lucie, stay Country!!!)
The opening track - "Don't Even Think About It" - almost bursts out of the speakers. You can FEEL the song. That energy is there again on "Did He Mention My Name", mainly thanks to Ray Cotton's brilliant guitar work!
Albert Lee (a Brit who made it in the USA) makes a guest appearance. So does Country legend Delbert McClinton. That alone speaks volumes for how good this girl is.
In truth, there isn't a single weak track on this album. and Lucie Diamond is the best female Country singer I've heard in years!
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