“Proud to Be Your Slave” (1975) – Diamond Head

“Proud to Be Your Slave” (1975) – Diamond Head * Written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker * Produced by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter * Arranged by Jimmie Haskell * 45: “All for the Love of Music” / “Proud to Be Your Slave”
 
The soft-rock Diamond Head from Southern California (not to be confused with the UK metal band) took their name from the famous volcanic ridge mark in the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and although their version of the Dennis Lambert-Brian Potter tune “If That’s the Way You Want It” only reached #106 in Billboard (their only chart appearance), Hawaiian radio spun it like crazy. Info about this band is elusive, but a 1975 B-side of theirs called “Proud to Be Your Slave,” has the distinction of being a curio from the song catalog of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Although Diamond Head are shoo-ins for the recently-conceived “yacht rock” category, as are Steely Dan—thanks to their studio slickness and camaraderie with the genre’s regulars—this record, with its lyrical and musical sardonicisms, calls attention to the otherwise odd fit.

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