He possesses one of the most steadily powerful pop voices around. Like Richie Havens' singing, Neil's is at once so virile and cosmically weary that it gets to you, even if you don't like the uses to which it's put. And I have to confess that on the rare occasions when I wish I were fourteen again, I can wallow in "Stones" and "He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother," playing them over and over and getting off on their cheap romantic hype.

All ten songs on Moods, including a lush instrumental cut, are by Neil, and all carry the unique Neil Diamond trademark–very strong catchy tunes rooted in basic 1-4-5-1 harmony. What is amazing is how much mileage Neil Diamond gets out of his formula. The fact is you can't listen to "Song Sung Blue" more than a few times without remembering its tune, even if you'd rather not remember it. The same goes for most of the cuts on the album. Moods is saturated in glutinous orchestration that for all its ick represents a high level of hack pop professionalism used indiscriminately. Half the songs on the album are in the spirit of "Song Sung Blue"; the other half are up-tempo.

Every number, however, expresses some aspect of teenage romanticism at its most grandiose level. The lyrics are pretty sloppy. Consider, for instance, the sense of the line, "Song sung blue, every garden grows one." Finally, of course, one isn't supposed to listen to the words but merely pick up on a few phrases here and there and, for the rest, just keep swimming with the violins and digging the conviction of Neil's singing. Innocent idealism and lachrymose self-pity are two sides of the same coin, and both are exploited here for all they're worth. Try to imagine the relationship evoked in the album's penultimate love song, "Play Me":

She was morning and I was nighttime

I one day woke up to find her lying beside my bed

I softly said "Come take me"

You are the sun

I am the moon

You are the words

I am the tune

Play me

Well, if the resuscitation of Sleeping Beauty is your bag, Moods is definitely for you. As for me, I'd rather hang out with Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show. (RS 118)

STEPHEN HOLDEN