Neil Diamond

Home Before Dark


First off,I like Neil Diamond.I have always liked his music.He has made hits for The Monkees,Deep Purple,Barbra Streisand,UB40 and many others.

He has had tons of hits of his own,too...'Forever In Bluejeans','Love On the Rocks','I Am I Said','Song Sung Blue',etc,etc and so forth.

He is also a minor player in my life.I remember the Cleveland late night duo,'Hoolihan and Big Chuck'' playing,'Sweet Caroline ,every single time they were on Tv.Also,my Mom loved Neil's song,'America' so much,that my Dad made sure that the live band played it at my sister,Nora's,wedding.It was' one of the highlights of the reception.

Good stuff:-)

But I hadn't heard much from Neil lately.And what I had heard was sort of greatest hits,Vegas kinda stuff...so,I was curious.

I was pleasantly surprised.On,'Home Before Dark',Neil Diamond has made a jem of an album.Mr.Diamond was actually brave enough to make timeless,real music instead of another unneeded or unwanted pop music cd.Looong songs that tell stories and that are well crafted.What's up with that?WoW![Kudos to producer's producer Rick Rubin]

From the very first song,'If I Don't See You Again',you know you are on to something special...a craftsman,at the peak of his form...not caring about the 'pop' value,but just making enjoyable music.

'Pretty Amazing Grace' is a song of salvation-either via someone loving you,or,perhaps,even religiously.Either way,I say,'Hallelujah'.

My favorite song on the cd is,'Don't Go There'.The song clicks in at 6:04,but is so good that despite it's length,it should be a radio hit....it won't be...but it should be.It's that fun.

'Another Day(That Time Forgot)-'with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines- and 'One Bite Of The Apple' are both story songs.I am telling you folks,by this time,I am just enjoying a great album with actual songs that mean something on it.While the songs seem simple-just Neil Diamond,and a guitar or so,Mr.Diamond's husky voice and smooth tale telling come across with more 'ump paa paa' then almost every over produced cd that I have heard this year.

I also like,'Forgotten'.Sure,some of it is corny,but that is it's strength.It is so unique to hear an artist sing passionately about something he seems to care about.

Next,is the introspective,'Act Like A Man'.The beginning word instantly puts me into mind of 'Song Sung Blue',but Neil quickly turns this beauty into a nice country tweaked song...very nice.

'Whose hands Are These' and 'No Words' are also very nice pieces of music,but along with,'The Power Of Two',are probably the weakest songs on the cd,with 'Two' being the only misstep.It comes across as a little 'too' trite.

I don't want you to forget the last two songs,'Slow It Down',and the title track,'Home Before Dark'.If you listen to the cd a couple of times,I am sure you won't.

A very good cd.

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