Three tried and true rockers have fought through 20 years of classic music industry ups and downs, overcome three very different schedules plus a band breakup just to be reunited as an up and coming rock band. Cy, Josh and The Tongue of Stone Diamond have managed to do that - the band started as a garage band when the members were 18...

Stone Diamond’s debut album, We Stole the Stars from the Black Night, was produced, composed and engineered by Cy. A bold move by most any producer’s measure, Cy insisted on recording the album on livetracks in an effort to solidify the spirit of each song.

This is another album that I've been hooked on for a number of weeks now - listening to over and over again, always finding something new and interesting on each subsequent listen. I have to admit on the first listen through, while an enjoyable album, I did have reservations about how well it would fair on repeat listens. For starters I was a bit concerned with the rather iffy vocals on 'Tattoo' - and to be honest I'm still not 100% sold on them.

The first track, 'Love Stays' features Ricky Lawson and is a great way to kick everything off. Personal highlights include: 'Love Stays'; 'No Boundaries'; 'Traumatized'; and 'Long Hard 5 Days'. But, to be honest the entire album feels like one finally craft piece of art - remove one song, or change the order of play, and everything topples like dominos.

This album lasts for around 42 mins and contains 11 songs. If you're a fan of AOR or soft rock in general you should give Stone Diamond a listen.

8

Nick Smithson