SACD Seals & Crofts – Diamond Girl

Diamond Girl as a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series, mastered to DSD from the original master tape. All ten tracks play in one sequence – from the title song to “Wisdom”.

A mandolin at the heart of pop

A mandolin might not be the first lead instrument you’d expect on an American pop album from 1973 – but for Seals & Crofts it is part of their identity. Dash Crofts plays mandolins and Fender Rhodes, Jim Seals guitar and alto saxophone, and both sing. On their fifth studio album, Diamond Girl, they combine these voices with an extensive studio cast: far more than two singers with acoustic guitars.

The album was recorded at Sound Factory in Hollywood; producer Louie Shelton also played guitar, and David Hassinger engineered. The title track and “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” were released as singles – familiar ways into a ten-song album with much more to discover around them.

Two names, a big ensemble

The players include David Paich on piano and organ, Wilton Felder on bass and Bobbye Hall on percussion, while Jim Gordon, John Guerin, Harvey Mason and Jeff Porcaro appear among the drummers. These are album credits, not one unchanging band on every song – and that range of instruments and musicians opens up many ways to shape an arrangement.

The vocals reach beyond the duo too: England Dan and John Ford Coley sing backing vocals – and England Dan was Dan Seals, Jim’s younger brother. A family connection inside a network of great studio musicians: following individual voices and parts takes you much deeper into the music than the broad label of soft rock.

Strings next to electric keys

The quick response of a mandolin and the resources of an electric piano come from different instrumental worlds, and having both in the duo’s vocabulary is a lovely starting point for listening. Focus first on the string instruments, then on the keyboards around them – not every contributor has to be in the foreground for an arrangement to be carefully shaped.

The sequence runs from “Diamond Girl” via “Ruby Jean And Billie Lee” and “Nine Houses” to “Wisdom”, and “Dust On My Saddle” brings in another set of associations. The singles open the door – beyond them waits a complete ten-song album, full of variety in its personnel and in the ways a song can be accompanied.

The hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions

CAPR 025 SA is a hybrid stereo SACD from Analogue Productions’ Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series. According to the publisher, it was mastered to DSD from the original master tape. The publisher also notes that the album reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 – the highest chart position of the duo’s career. The SACD layer plays on SACD-capable players, the CD layer on any conventional CD player. The disc contains the ten tracks of the original album.

You order from Michael 45 in Germany. We arrange the US import and ship from Hilden.

More from the series: Acoustic Sounds 40th Anniversary Series

Also in another edition: Diamond Girl

More SACDs by Seals & Crofts: Summer Breeze

Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.