Neil Diamond |
OK, Neil Diamond is an easy target for parody -- voice straight outta Brooklyn, bespangled shirt straight outta Vegas. But this ex-Brill Building tunesmith crafted a batch of excellent songs during the 1960s (hits such as "Solitary Man" for himself and "I'm a Believer" for the Monkees) before emerging as a stadium superstar. His bombastic, ubermelodramatic work from the 1970s has earned him an enormous, if aging, female following who feel that Diamond tells them what their tight-lipped, big-bellied husbands never will. Today, a new generation of ironic hipster fans have swelled their ranks. Both these groups know that underneath the florid orchestrations and over-the-top emotion lies the truth. Who doesn't feel that love can go on the rocks? Who hasn't experienced a great September morning? Be it a longtime fan in too-snug polyester trousers or a smug twenty-five-year-old in his dad's leisure suit -- both pump their fists in unison during "America." Neil Diamond, an undeserving nation thanks you for trying to put some feeling (however unsubtle) into our bored, numbed lives.Find Neil Diamond cds and Neil Diamond records on Columbia Records. |
