NEIL DIAMOND
12 Songs
Sony
· Rick Rubin gives Neil Diamond the same treatment he gave Johnny Cash – with very credible results. But will it pass muster with the gazillion Moms who made him rich?
So, just like he did with Johnny Cash, yielding the big comeback American Recordings, big-shot producer Rick Rubin spent the better part of a year hanging out with Neil Diamond, poring through your mom’s favourite singer’s old material and digging down to Rubin’s idea of Neil’s essence. Then, same as Johnny, it was time to record 12 Songs, an emotive, stripped down album that puts the singer and his songs front and centre.
Diamond is a prolific songwriter who’s been covered by a staggering number of successful artists including Frank Sinatra, Urge Overkill, UB40, Elvis Presley and Chris Isaak, to name a few. He ain’t no Johnny Cash, however, which is most apparent in the fact that stripping his sound down still means having a couple of additional guitarists (Rubin forced Diamond to play his own rhythm guitar) and keyboard player on deck.
But even in the absence of Diamond’s ubiquitous string and percussion sections, his songs still prove to be gloriously overwrought and, ultimately, very good. 12 Songs may well be, as was likely intended, the album that proves Diamond was indeed one of the 20th century’s heavyweight songwriters and will likely bring him some critical acclaim. The acclaim of critics didn’t fill Diamond’s bank account, though. One has to wonder what the multitude of moms who kept his career going all these years think. Perhaps if some Fast Forward writer was despicable enough to con his demure mom into unwittingly reviewing this record....
Re: Neil Diamond
Hi Rick! I have now listened to the new material twice and some of his old favourites and find that I can enjoy his new songs (including the guitar arrangements), too. Would I play this one again just to listen to it– yes. Over half of them are quite listenable.
He still writes good lyrics, but they are different, I think, because of his age and life experiences. I want to say they are not as lighthearted, but then I remember, "I Am, I Said." Yes, they are as good as his old songs but they don't have the youthful exuberance of "Cracklin’ Rosie," "Red Red Wine," "Beautiful Noise" and "Forever in Blue Jeans" (some of my other favourites are "Song Sung Blue," "Hello Again," "Sweet Caroline," "Crunchy Granola Suite" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers").
My favourite on this record is "We." "Delirious Love" has a catchy turn, too, I guess, but the beat is too heavy for my liking. "We" is lighter and easy to listen to. There is enough heavy stuff in life that when I listen to music, I like it to lift my mood. Was Brian Wilson a member of the Beach Boys? That last rendition of "Delirious Love" with him was sounding a lot like their old music.
I've decided to rate it at four. Would like to hear your opinion, too.
Love, Mom
RICK’S MOM 4/5
RICK OVERWATER 4/5
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