Diamond Mine by Blue Rodeo

Diamond Mine, Blue Rodeo's second album, came out on Risque Disque in 1989, and the Toronto band went looking for air and space to make it. Producer Malcolm Burn, hired in December 1988 on the strength of Crash Vegas's Red Earth, set up shop with them in the abandoned Donlands Theatre in the city's east end, chasing a big, roomy sound with the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session in mind, then took the tapes to Daniel Lanois's studio in New Orleans to mix.

What came out is country rock that drifts and broods, with Bob Wiseman's instrumental interludes threaded between the songs on most versions and original drummer Cleave Anderson making his last appearance. Jim Cuddy later called it the most honest picture of where the band's musical heads were at; Greg Keelor heard mud and confusion in it. Canadians bought it anyway, making it the country's second-best-selling homegrown album of 1989, even as manager John Caton's heart condition forced him out mid-tour and took the label down with him.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.