I'm a Believer

Yeah, go ahead. Get it out of your system. Better yet, I’ll do it for you: “Neil Diamond?  Are you kidding? You need Street Cred to avoid Neil Diamond!” Sure, there’s a period of 30-plus years where he didn’t release much music that anybody aside from your mom would want to hear. But now is the perfect time to re-evaluate the alleged infamy that surrounds Mr. Diamond.

Late last year he released 12 Songs, a mostly acoustic album of new tracks and covers produced by Rick Rubin— the guy responsible for the huge mass of ace Johnny Cash material that was recorded before the Man in Black rode off into the sunset and producer for Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, Danzig, and Slayer. Rubin squeezed some good new material out of Diamond, and 12 Songs is a far better album than the average fellow might expect from him in 2005.

Quit acting all fidgety. I’m getting to the point. As I’ve already mentioned, there was a period—from roughly 1973 until he started on the 12 Songs album—when Diamond basically pulled an Elvis-of-the-1970s, without the weight gain or the unfortunate dying thing. What I mean is he stopped trying and just rode on the coattails of his fame. He still sold out arenas with nary a current hit or even a recent one.

Play along with me for just a moment: Pretend it’s 1973 and there’s a newsflash that Diamond has disappeared for some reason, whether it’s a tragic blimp accident or just that he saw the future and couldn’t face it. As always, a situation like this calls for a little reflection. The trivia buffs would note his successes at writing songs for others like “I’m A Believer” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You” for the Monkees. Others would point out the hits he had on his own, from the early ones on the Bang label like “Cherry Cherry,” “Solitary Man,” and “Thank the Lord For the Nighttime,” not to mention “Sweet Caroline,” “Cracklin’ Rosie,” and “Song Sung Blue” for Universal/MCA. Imagine he stopped right there.

Now, without giving yourself whiplash, come back to the present. Most of the songs mentioned above are the ones that you hear periodically. Despite how tired you may be of these tunes, they’re well written and performed. Something deep inside stirs and you wonder, “Is any of his other stuff is as good as this?” 

Before you get too lost in thought, I’ll answer that question for you: You bet. Lots of his album tracks, not to mention singles that weren’t quite as successful in worming their way into the cultural DNA, are quite good. From 1966 until 1968, when he recorded for the Bang label, he released a long string of tracks with a shamelessly mid-’60s pop sound to them, and they hold up quite well. The list includes, aside from the three tracks mentioned earlier, his version of “I’m A Believer,” “Red Red Wine,” “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” and “Kentucky Woman.” There are maybe a couple of dozen songs that he recorded for Bang, and most of them are top notch.

Diamond left the Bang label and signed with Universal/MCA in 1968. From then until 1972, he released six studio albums. There were several high points, along with a couple of low ones, plus two live albums: Gold, a decent set recorded in 1970 with just him and a small band in an intimate setting, and Hot August Night, recorded two years later with a whole lot of bombast and possibly one of the most embarrassing album covers ever created. (What exactly is he doing with his hands?)

Your glazed expression tells me that I need to wrap it up, so here’s how you should spend your money. Start with Classics: The Early Years, which contains 12 of the best Bang-era tracks he recorded, including all the ones I already mentioned. It’s an older disc and you don’t get much “Bang” for your buck (groan), but there’s no comprehensive collection available, so this will have to do.  The studio Universal/MCA recordings have been crammed onto a three-disc set called Play Me. The presentation’s not the best, but overall it has good sound for a good price. Check these out and give Neil Diamond his due. As for his other releases...well, at least they make your mom happy.