Neil Diamond
(Columbia)
Neil Diamond’s Second Coming on his Rick Rubin-produced albums, first 12 Songs and now Home Before Dark, owes as much to Diamond as to the producer’s ability to coax sensitive, subtle musical approaches from his older artists. Diamond toned down his own earnest (and sometimes bombastic) overemoting in favor of real singing, with real warmth, and also started writing less obtuse lyrics that address his maturity in a positive but not vacuous way.
“The Power of Two” is upbeat and engaging; “Another Day” (a duet with Natalie Maines) exudes shadowy, dreamlike mystery. On Home, Diamond and Rubin favor fairly sophisticated arrangements – strings, horns and woodwinds – but also welcome a bedrock, folk-rock-values band that includes Benmont Tench on keyboards and Mike Campbell and Smokey Hormel on guitar and bass. Diamond’s own acoustic guitar allows you to hear the connection between this work and his Bang Records hits of the 1960s– the urgent, sometimes-foreboding romanticism of “Cherry Cherry” or “You Got to Me” creeps through in the gorgeous “If I Don’t See You Again” or “Don’t Go There.”
Diamond could have been content to remain the Jimmy Buffet of wealthy older romantics; instead he’s stretching for musical relevance.
Standout Tracks: “Another Day (That Time Forgot),” “Home Before Dark” STEVEN ROSEN
