Music |
Home Before Dark
Neil Diamond
By
Published: Jan 01, 2008
Category:
Rock
Home Before Dark
Neil Diamond
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 Song 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.
To buy “Home Before Dark” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy “The Essential Neil Diamond” from Amazon.com, click here.
To visit Neil Diamond’s web site, click here.
