If

"Double Diamond" 1973
by request...





















The real and true If came to an end when all members except Dick Morrisey left after "If 4". Morrisey decided to start the band from scratch again, and gathered together a completely new line-up with himself as the only member on sax and flute. The jazz-influences were toned down a bit, and the new If appeared to be a rock band in search of a direction and identity on "Double Diamond" (the very first If album with an actual title). The new keyboardist Pete Arnesen used Moog in several places, and Morrisey's flute was also a bit more dominant in the sound. Among the better tracks on the album we find "Another Time Around" where the Moog and flute melts nicely together in the middle. "Fly, Fly, the Route, Shoot" is a quirky tune that manages to be bouncy and laid-back at the same time, dominated by a melody that sticks to your head already the first time you hear it. But other tracks seem to lack focus. The 13-minute "Feel Thing" starts like a generic rock and roll tune, but turns in the middle into something that slightly resembles Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" of all things. The last part is an instrumental that probably is the closest the album comes to the If of old. The opener "Play, Play, Play" and "Groupie Blue (Everyday She's Got the Blue)" are both generic and mediocre tracks. "Pebbles on the Beach" is more interesting, and features a very Tull-ish, medieval-like flute part in the middle. And "Pick Me Up (And Put Me Back on the Road Again)" is a decent rocker. But as a whole, "Double Diamond" is a poorly produced album that clearly revealed that this version of If didn't quite know what they wanted.