''Diamond Head'' is the first studio album by English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

. It was released in 1975, originally on Island Records in the UK (who was handling all

E.G. Eg or EG may refer to: In arts and media * ''E.G.'' (EP), an EP by Goodshirt * ''EG'' (magazine), a journal dedicated to chess endgame studies * Eg White (born 1966), a British musician, songwriter and producer * E.G. Records, a music record l ...

recordings) and in the US on

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

. The sound quality on the US album was deemed to be worse than the UK album, so the UK import became a popular seller in the speciality record shops who sold

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

and other UK bands. The diesel locomotive featured on the cover art is an

EMD E9 The E9 is a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois, between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped A units were produced and 44 cabless booster B units ...

. Unlike other solo albums issued by an instrumental member of an existing band (Manzanera was Roxy Music's lead guitarist), ''Diamond Head'' featured a number of vocal songs performed by guest musicians. Metal band Diamond Head took their name from the album.

Track listing

All songs by Phil Manzanera, except where noted.

Track-by-track personnel

;"Frontera" * Robert Wyatt – lead vocals, timbales, cabasa, backing vocals * Brian Eno – backing vocals * Phil Manzanera – guitars * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums ;"Diamond Head" * Eddie Jobson – all strings, Fender piano * Phil Manzanera – guitars * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums * Brian Eno – guitar treatments ;"Big Day" * Brian Eno – vocals * Phil Manzanera – guitars, tiplé, fuzz guitar * Brian Turrington – bass * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums ;"The Flex" * Andy Mackay – soprano and alto saxophones * Phil Manzanera – guitars * Eddie Jobson – electric clavinet * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums * Sonny Akpan – congas ;"Same Time Next Week" * John Wetton – lead vocals, bass, mellotron * Doreen Chanter – lead vocals * Andy Mackay – saxophones * Phil Manzanera – guitars * Paul Thompson – drums * Sonny Akpan – congas * Charles Hayward – tree bells ;"Miss Shapiro" * Brian Eno – vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, handclaps * Phil Manzanera – guitars, organ, piano, bass, handclaps * Brian Turrington – bass * Paul Thompson – drums * Bill MacCormick – handclaps ;"East of Echo" * Quiet Sun: ** Bill MacCormick – fuzz bass themes ** Charles Hayward – percussion ** Dave Jarret – keyboard themes * Phil Manzanera – guitars * Ian MacDonald – bagpipes * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums, extra drums * Brian Eno – guitar treatments ;"Lagrima" * Andy Mackay – oboe * Phil Manzanera – guitar ;"Alma" * Bill MacCormick – vocals * Phil Manzanera – guitars, organ, tiplé, string synthesizer, vocals, fuzz bass * Eddie Jobson – synthesizer * John Wetton – bass * Paul Thompson – drums

Personnel

* Phil Manzanera — electric 6 and 12 string guitars,

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

, acoustic guitar, synthesized guitar, bass, string synthesizer, organ, piano, vocals * Robert Wyatt — vocals, timbales, cabasa, background vocals * Brian Eno — vocals, treatments, rhythm guitar, piano, percussion *

Eddie Jobson Edwin "Eddie" Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zap ...

— strings, fender piano, electric clavinet, synthesizer * Dave Jarrett — keyboards * Andy Mackay — soprano and alto saxophone, oboe *

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

— bagpipes *

John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...

— bass, vocals, mellotron *

Bill MacCormick William MacCormick (born 15 April 1951) is an English bassist and vocalist. He is also a politician and author. Early life He is the second son of Ewen and Olwen MacCormick who married in 1946 after serving together in the RAF. His older broth ...

— bass, vocals * Brian Turrington — bass * Paul Thompson — drums * Danny Heibs — percussion * Chyke Madu — percussion * Sonny Akpan — congas, percussion, bongos, big gong, maracas * Charles Hayward — percussion *

Doreen Chanter Doreen Chanter is a British singer best known as a member of the Chanter Sisters, and for her work as a backing vocalist and session vocalist, primarily during the 1970s and 1980s. Chanter Sisters Chanter started as a member of a group called ...

— vocals ;Technical *

Rhett Davies Rhett Davies (born 1949 in London) is an English record producer and engineer. Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies (no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks). Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, a ...

— engineer *Robert Ash — assistant engineer *Jon Prew — photography

References

1975 debut albums Island Records albums E.G. Records albums Phil Manzanera albums Albums produced by Phil Manzanera {{1970s-album-stub