Poor Neil Diamond. There’s no way for him to win with the critics. Pushing 70, he constantly gets slammed for not being able to match the bombast of his songs from the ’60s and ’70s. And working once again with Rick Rubin, who transformed Johnny Cash from has-been to musical saint, his new recordings are expected to be as good as Cash’s final records were. It’s really not fair.

Diamond is no Johnny Cash, and there’s no “Sweet Caroline” on Home Before Dark, but it’s still an interesting album. Where Rubin pushed Cash to new heights by expanding his repertoire, he coaxes Diamond to simply chill out. Diamond built his reputation on polished, professional songs, but here he stretches his legs, kicks back, opens up and lets himself get vulnerable. It’s a portrait of a songwriter in middle age, confessing that he still finds his work, his life and his loves difficult and confusing.

That said, while this relaxed take probably is good for Diamond in the long run, he’s still working out the kinks. While his lyrics are richer and more personal, he runs some of his metaphors into the ground. It’s also shocking that Rubin didn’t edit him with a heavier hand: some of the best songs on the album are ruined by running three or four minutes too long. Neil Diamond is going in the right direction, but he’s just not quite ready to reveal his masterpiece.