Diamond Jim 'Big Bad Beautiful Dreams' album

The Bedroom Trio isn't a band, but a group of solo artists spearheading the "bedroom music" genre. It's the sound of home recording fanatics crafting songs that are more confessional, more genuine and more creatively adorned. Diamond Jim is the nom-de-tune of Bay Area producer/songwriter Jim Greer. Big Bad Beautiful Dreams is Diamond Jim's fourth album of touchstones ranging from Alex Chilton to Stereolab. Trevor Childs' Terrified album is equally the product of working without interlopers, where the Oakland, CA songwriter spits forth social commentary with the humor and vitriol of Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce set to the sounds of antique folk-pop like the Turtles and Bob Zimmerman. Herman Jolly is a Pacific Northwest native and major label renegade whose Bunker Life is a compact collection of skilled-yet-simple songcraft rife with emotion.

biography
"Out of the woods into where?" Diamond Jim is the alias of label founder and producer/songwriter Jim Greer. Since establishing himself as a fulltime producer he has worked on an amazing variety of projects (Galactic's Ruckus, Handsome Boy Modeling School White People, Head Automatica, Decadence, MC Lars, Scissors For Lefty, Rondo Brothers, Bernie Worrell, Les Claypool, Souls of Mischief, and more) and has logged hours with legendary producers such as Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith), Prince Paul, Dan The Automator, Bill Bottrell, and more.

Big Bad Beautiful Dreams is a vibe record. An artist who follows whims to their bitter end, Jim clearly was under the spell of his muse for all these songs - and as an accomplished producer, he was able to let some songs go as a live take, while others were created clearly at the hands of a skilled producer.

Kicking off with a quirky instrumental "Pretty Little Zombies All In A Row", the record then launches hard with "LIttle Heartbreaker", a driving rock song that recalls Blur, Tom Petty, and ELO all at the same time.

Clever arrangements, universal themes, John Lennon influences abound. Songs recorded live like "Duck, Little One" and "Save Me" are classic piano ballads - songs with universal themes and no studio trickery to fill in the gaps - but tracks like "Walk You Home" and "Under a Half Moon" incorporate Jim's ability to bring out the best in a song through production that recalls Air, Beck, and Stereolab.

Instrumentals are featured as well: the trip-hop jam "Wash It Out", recorded live at Tiny Telephone studios in San Francisco with a 10-piece band, and "House Made of Dawn", an ode to early 70's film music blended with an off kilter big beat and creepy slide guitar.

Guest appearances from vocalists Herman Jolly, Latrice Barnett, and actor Pedro Shanahan round out the record making it Diamond Jim's expressionist, multi-influenced masterpiece.

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Diamond Jim - Big Bad Beautiful Dreams