Just Another Diamond Day

Released

As an album of songs written during times of travel and change, Just Another Diamond Day couldn’t be more unprepossessing. Having roamed across Britain, to Scotland, in horse and carriage, to get to folk singer Donovan’s proposed musical commune, Bunyan and companions arrived to discover he’d abandoned the idea. But Bunyan had been writing songs on the way – gentle, muted songs, sitting somewhere between everyday folk melodies, and lullabies for children – that, when recorded by Joe Boyd across three days, achieved a kind of hymnal purity. It’s partly in Bunyan’s voice, a whispery hum that’s as graceful as it is shy; the album’s other musicians, including members of Fairport Convention and Incredible String Band, support Bunyan’s finger-web guitar figures playfully, but without whimsy. The album disappeared when released in 1970, but slowly accrued legend. It’s now a classic of its time – deservedly so.

Jon Dale

Suggestions
Bert Jansch cover

Bert Jansch

Bert Jansch
Plastic Ono Band cover

Plastic Ono Band

Yoko Ono, John Lennon
Cuerpo Y Alma cover

Cuerpo Y Alma

Eduardo Mateo
Tiny Waves, Mighty Sea cover

Tiny Waves, Mighty Sea

Future Pilot A.K.A.
The Valerie Project cover

The Valerie Project

The Valerie Project
Randy Newman cover

Randy Newman

Randy Newman
I’m the One cover

I’m the One

Annette Peacock
Dogs & Donkeys cover

Dogs & Donkeys

Christian Kiefer
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter cover

The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter

The Incredible String Band
The Naive Shaman cover

The Naive Shaman

Richard Youngs