'Diamond Studs' shines on disc

Various artists, "Diamond Studs" *** 1/2 | "Lone Star Love" - 2 1/2 Stars

For three decades, fans of "Diamond Studs" have had to live without a cast recording of the popular Jesse James musical created by members of the Red Clay Ramblers and Southern States Fidelity Choir. The Triangle-based musician-actors, who premiered the show in Chapel Hill and then took it to New York for an off-Broadway run, intended to record the music with the original cast, but their plans never materialized.

Now, Durham-based Mojo Productions, which staged a sold-out run of "Diamond Studs" at the Fearrington Village Barn in January, has issued a recording with live cuts from the show, combined with studio tracks made later.

It was worth the wait.

The show's rough-and-ready energy comes across with twangy singing and playing. Jim Wann and Bland Simpson's original songs, with their blend of country and beach music, still have that "get up and dance" pull. But it's the haunting period songs, such as "Unreconstructed Rebel," "New Prisoner's Song" and "Bright Morning Stars," that have the greatest impact, especially in these fine renderings.

Franklin Golden as Jesse adds catchy stylings to "Steal Away" and "Sleepy Time Down South," while Amada Watkins' and Taz Halloween's distinctive voices give their songs a rock-laced spin. The live tracks occasionally put the voices in less than ideal perspective, but not enough to mar the enjoyment. The CD preserves the complete show minus one song, "Pancho Villa."

No self-respecting "Studs" fan should be without this recording. The performances are not slavish to the original version yet retain enough of its spirit to please all admirers, old and new.

To order the CD, send a $15 check to Mojo Productions, 7 Duke of Gloucester Circle, Durham NC 27713. For information, call 475-9906 or send e-mail to studsCD@mojoshows.com.

'Lone Star Love'

Since "Diamond Studs," the Ramblers have composed for a number of stage shows. The latest is "Lone Star Love," which opened a two-month off-Broadway run in 2004.

The show had a lengthy hatching, beginning in 1989 with stagings around the country, including Durham. Titled "The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas," it was an adaptation of Shakespeare's play set in the South after the Civil War with music from collaboration among five "Diamond Studs" veterans, including Jack Herrick.

On the original cast recording, released by P.S. Classics, Herrick is credited for all the music and lyrics. The album, which combines country, hillbilly and Broadway, boasts high-energy performers (including Raleigh native Beth Leavel) and impressive technical production. The show's Broadway ambitions require big production numbers and dialog songs, and Herrick's contributions for these have a certain generic feel, uninvolving minus the visual elements.

But he shines on the love songs and individual character numbers. "Prairie Moon" and "Count on My Love" have gentle charm, while "A World of Men," a diatribe on the male species, and "Texas Wind," a declaration of a wife's loyalty, have arresting melodies and messages. Herrick and other Ramblers regulars, Chris Frank and Clay Buckner, add musical humor as minor characters.

The album probably works better as a souvenir of the show than as new material for Ramblers fans.