Neil at his timeless best
I've been a fan of Neil Diamond ever since I heard the 33 1/3 LP live "Hot August Night".

"Home Before Dark" is Neil at his songwriting best!! Superbly performed. The CD player in my car is now set at "repeat disc" for this CD. All the songs are great.

Very introspective and soul searching songs!!

Put it on, go for a long drive and hear it again on your return drive home.

Boring, tired, old
I've also been a fan all my life, but this one is way too sleepy and repetitive for me. It is hard to tell when one song ends and the next starts since they all sound pretty much the same. Forgettable.

These are the times I am very glad I'm a Yahoo Jukebox Unlimited subscriber. It saves me from wasting my money on sad albums like this one.

Diamond is forever
"There are two types of people in the world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't." - quote from the movie "What About Bob?"

If you're in the latter category, please read no further.

If you're still with me, this is a "pretty amazing" album from the evergreen Mr. Diamond, taking us back to his music of the seventies, namely the "Song Sung Blue" and "Sweet Caroline" period. There's also no complaining about the length of the album, as there are five songs that are six minutes and above, and only one track below four minutes.

American Idol viewers would have been treated to a live performance of the single "Pretty Amazing Grace", and if you liked that one, you're really going to enjoy this album.

Other recommended tracks are:

If I Don't See You Again - the first song on the album, and the longest at 7 minutes 14 seconds.

Another Day (That Time Forgot) - with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines

Forgotten - lots of guitars

Act Like a Man - a little Moon River, a little Country, pure Diamond

Whose Hands Are These - a folksy, inspiring treasure with heavy guitar and piano backing

No Words - you'll be hooked from the intro (personal favorite)


This is vintage Diamond, and I predict a very good year indeed.
Recommended - just recommended - buy it!!




Amanda Richards, May 15, 2008

A Neil Diamond CD even those who don't like him (that's me) can enjoy
The ultimate commentary on Neil Diamond comes from a film, What About Bob?

"There are two types of people in the world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't."

I don't.

Song Sung Blue, Cracklin' Rosie, Sweet Caroline, Shilo, Cherry Cherry, Holly Holy, He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother) --- these may have been #1 hits, but they make me cringe.

Okay, I did like him --- for a minute or three. It was at a Ralph Lauren fashion show, back in the early `80s. I was profiling Lauren for Vogue, so I was right up front as a model hit the runway wearing a wool sweater with the American flag sewn into the chest. And Neil Diamond's "America" came on:

Far
We've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star

Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again
They're coming to America...

I wept. And I wasn't the only one. Then I recovered. And as Neil Diamond went on to sell 120 million records, I never thought about him.

Except once. I woke from surgery, and his music was playing in the recovery room. "Please," I begged. "Make it stop."

So why do I love Home Before Dark?

Because he's 67. And, finally, his concerns are ones I recognize. Missed opportunities. The knowledge that comes so late. Really knowing what it means to be alone. And then the flip side: Relationships that matter. Second chances. "The power of two." Showing up. Taking responsibility. Being a man.

Corny stuff. As corny, for sure, as the big hits. But Rick Rubin is the producer, who did the Beastie Boys and a lot of rap, and also the very last Johnny Cash CD, which is raw and unadorned. He's done Diamond the same favor --- he surrounded him with A-list musicians, set the dials and stepped back.

And there, in your ears and in your face, is Neil Diamond. He plants his feet wide, slams his guitar and just pours his heart out. Did he live this music? In the oh-so-self-serving liner notes, he says he did. Maybe. But he indisputably wrote these lyrics, and he delivers them --- if he does nothing else, Neil Diamond can sell.

A Neil Diamond CD with an opening song that clocks in at 7+ minutes --- I never expected that. A sizzling 6-minute duet with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks --- I can't remember when a man and woman sang so passionately about miscommunication. To be sure, this CD isn't all winners; there are clinkers like "Even Einstein reclined/designing his theory." But longtime Neil Diamond fans are divided about this CD, and with good reason. Something happened to their beloved hitmaker, and it looks a lot like...life.

Later, no doubt, I'll cringe. Now? Heavy rotation.

Diamond Not in the Rough with Rubin by His Side for a Second Collaboration
At an age when most people retire, Neil Diamond managed a truly transcendent return to form with the release of 2005's 12 Songs thanks primarily to the behind-the-scenes work of Rick Rubin, the renegade producer who directed the late Johnny Cash to produce similarly stellar results on his acoustic 1994 return to form, American Recordings. For his latest recording, Diamond has wisely re-teamed with Rubin, and comparisons with the previous stellar effort are inevitable. Although the legendary musician's unique talent as both songwriter and performer are in full evidence, the 2008 result is simply not as revelatory as "12 Songs". The acoustically-oriented arrangements that worked so well before somehow don't seem quite enough this time around because Diamond's newest compositions seem to beg for fuller arrangements. On the upside, the core ensemble of "12 Songs" has thankfully returned and perform strongly - not just Diamond but also Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers and Smokey Hormel on guitars and another Heartbreaker, Benmont Tech, on keyboards.

While all twelve songs reflect Diamond's sterling craftsmanship, they are somewhat more variable in musical quality than one would hope. The opening track, the declarative "If I Don't See You Again", is a smooth-as-silk transition from "12 Songs" perfectly reflecting Diamond's true pop sensibilities, even if it runs too long at over seven minutes. Moreover, only Diamond could bring such dynamic conviction to his melodramatic ode to love's transcendence, "Pretty Amazing Grace", replete with his aggressively played fretwork at the song's climax. He displays a welcome sense of humor with the clever lyrics on the bluesy "Don't Go There", especially with the emphatic, frog-throated repeat of the chorus. It melds nicely into "Another Day (That Time Forgot)", a haunting duet with the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines about not getting over a long-lost love. It's suitably heartbreaking, even though Maines' reedy soprano does not make her Diamond's most ideal partner, at least tonally.

Diamond uses every metaphor imaginable for seeking second chances on "One More Bite of the Apple" building to quite a guitar-strumming crescendo. The mood of the recording becomes slightly mercurial at this point with the undeniably catchy "Forgotten" followed by the slow waltz of "Act Like a Man". Despite his bold guitar strumming, the anthem-like "Whose Hands Are These" comes across as a bit too slight to be genuinely memorable, while the Billy Joel-like "No Words" gallops along without really going anywhere. As a classroom example of straight-ahead pop music, "The Power of Two" is refreshing even if the chorus is inane - "We have the power of two...me and you!". Starting out like a country reel, "Slow It Down" takes its title too literally and becomes a dirge. Fortunately, he rebounds with the nominal closing track, as the title tune is classic Diamond - beautiful, full of yearning and lots of pointed references to the open road. He continues to be a troubadour for the ages despite the variability of his latest offering.