To be honest, I never gave too much thought to Neil Diamond. I always found most of his contemporary rock songs a tad over-dramatic. But it's hard to ignore the fact that the guy has been and remains a major concert draw. Regardless of the changing musical landscape, Diamond's tours usually rank among the top money makers of their given years - not that I care about, or give credence to, box office grosses, I mean, New Kids On The Block were the top draw of 1990.
Nevertheless, many people genuinely love Diamond; he has an intensely, devoted flock of fans, labeled DiamondHeads. And he did pen one of the coolest party songs of all time in "Sweet Caroline" (if you don't think that it's a party song, then you have never experienced what the song does when sing-a-long/jester Jim Plunkett uncorks it at the Purple Shamrock in Boston). So I decided to give Mr. Diamond both ears and caught his live act at the completely sold-out FleetCenter on Wednesday night.
Perhaps I'm getting less cynical, but I found his Vegas shtick, flashy shirts, and brass/string laced material... well... fun! Yes, it was a whole lot of fun. I mean I did get a kick out of eyeing the 50-something ladies, who had near climactic bellows when Diamond crooned a high note. Also, the larger than expected male portion of the audience really seemed to admire his charisma.
Diamond is the consummate showman, and the show had enough glitz and chutzpah to make even ol' Wayne Newton proud. And... come on! It is damn near impossible these days not to get emotional over a song with such blatant patriotism as "Coming To America," Diamond's opener. Even several tunes that I never cared much for (e.g. "Love On The Rocks," "Cracklin' Rose") came off amazingly colorful live. And the introspective side of Diamond that everyone blabs about really was kind of endearing on "Solitary Man" and "I Am."
One also tends to forget that Diamond also wrote some of the better "loss of chastity songs" (did I just create a new category for VH1's The List?) in "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," which was given a new life after Pulp Fiction, and the lesser known "Desiree." Neither song is subtle or lyrically wise, though Diamond's silky live delivery of "Girl" made it almost quixotic. It's a shame that the rousing "Desiree" went mysteriously un-played.
Though most of the show was purely pleasurable, Diamond did hit a couple of snags along the way. He unearthed the maudlin duet he once performed with irksome Barbara Streisand a few decades ago, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," with one of his back-up singers. Not his most shining moment - we sure didn't need a reminder of such lovely '70s schlock-rock (though, to be fair, his back-up singer did hit Streisand's high notes with amazing ease).
Diamond quickly redeemed himself with the catchy "Forever In Blue Jeans" which The Gap is presently using with much success in its commercials. Only Diamond could get away with belting out lyrics like: "Money talks. But it don't sing and dance and it can't walk." Save for a rousing "Sweet Caroline" it was the best received song of the night.
Diamond also offered a handful of songs from his new Three Chord Opera. They were interesting and well-received by the audience, but the tunes lacked the hooks of his historical catalogue. At 60, Diamond has really become the elder statesman of "adult pop." He has indeed proven that his catalogue can withstand generations (his "I'm a Believer," a hit in 1967, resurfaced last summer, and was a hit for alt-pop group Smash Mouth) - but after 40 years in the music biz, he really doesn't need to prove a thing.
