Customer Reviews

Home Before Dark [Vinyl]

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

"There are two types of people in the world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't." - quote from the movie "What About Bob?"

If you're in the latter category, please read no further.

If you're still with me, this is a "pretty amazing" album from the evergreen Mr. Diamond, taking us back to his music of the seventies, namely the "Song Sung Blue" and "Sweet Caroline" period. There's also no complaining about the length of the album, as there are five songs that are six minutes and above, and only one track below four minutes.

American Idol viewers would have been treated to a live performance of the single "Pretty Amazing Grace", and if you liked that one, you're really going to enjoy this album.

Other recommended tracks are:

If I Don't See You Again - the first song on the album, and the longest at 7 minutes 14 seconds.

Another Day (That Time Forgot) - with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines

Forgotten - lots of guitars

Act Like a Man - a little Moon River, a little Country, pure Diamond

Whose Hands Are These - a folksy, inspiring treasure with heavy guitar and piano backing

No Words - you'll be hooked from the intro (personal favorite)


This is vintage Diamond, and I predict a very good year indeed.
Recommended - just recommended - buy it!!




Amanda Richards, May 15, 2008

Wow. Since when does an artist who has been toiling away in the industry for 5 decades challenge his entire catalog by releasing what may be the two strongest albums in his illustrious career? As good as 12 Songs is, it's possible that Home Before Dark may even surpass its achievements. Whether it does so will depend on whether 12 Songs was too stark, too stripped-down, for the listener. Without moving remotely close to the bombast of the 80s, Diamond and Rubin have filled out the sound Home Before Dark with more instrumentation, which may please those for whom 12 Songs was too intimate.

Not for this listener. 12 Songs and Home Before Dark both showcase Diamond's greatest asset: his ability as a songwriter, and in both cases we are presented with the most solid, accomplished cycle of songs since the period that gave us "Moods" and "Stones."

Home Before Dark is a towering achievement, possibly even moreso than 12 Songs, as it shows without a doubt that 12 Songs was no fluke. Neil Diamond may be no spring chicken but he's at the height of his power as an artist. I guarantee you that if you ever loved Neil in the past, this album will remind you of everything you loved him for. It's truly stunning.

I have been a Neil Diamond fan my whole life. One of the first songs I remember learning by heart is "Song Sung Blue," taught to me when I was three or four by my then-teenage sisters. I was taken to my first concert when I was about 10. I've grown up with this man's music -- singing it, teaching it to myself on the guitar and piano, returning to old favorites as I got older and finding nuances that I had missed when I was younger.

This is, hands down, his finest album. I feel a little sorry for the reviewers both here and in the media who can't see that. Those who long for the boom-boom-boom of the 80s, the sequins and muttonchop whiskers, are forgetting that, first and foremost, Neil Diamond is a songwriter. For too many people, the whole Neil Diamond thing has never actually been about the music. It's all about "the scene," the big events, the production numbers, the over-the-top orchestrations and the oversized flag descending onstage at the end of "America." Really, it's too bad that not everyone can hear these songs for what they are: some of the best of his career, right up there with anything he wrote 30 years ago.

Over the years I've turned my husband, a die-hard classic rock aficionado, into a fan. We caught our nine-year-old daughter singing along to "Pretty Amazing Grace" in the car last night. If that doesn't prove the timelessness of these new songs, and the man who wrote them, I don't know what will. I hope he keeps recording with Rick Rubin and this stripped-down little band until he's ready to call it quits -- a long time from now.

Neil Diamond sounds good on "Home Before Dark". There is so much wisdom and warmth in his voice. These two qualities have always been part of his appeal for me. My favorite track is "The Day Time Forgot". It is a pretty duet that Neil sings with Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks. The keyboard playing by Benmont Tench is beautiful on this track. My other favorite track is "Pretty Amazing Grace". This is a spiritual song about forgiveness. Neil sounds great vocally. He also plays the acoustic guitar superbly on this track. "The Power Of Two" is a good song. I like the violin playing by Chuck Findley on this track. "If I Don't See You Again" is a beautiful tune about friendship. There is a trio of guitar players on this track. They sound so good playing together. Julia Sweeney is creditted with playing the guitar here. "One More Bite Of The Apple" is a very personal song about Neil's longing to make music. "Forgotten" is another song that Neil performs with his guitar. This is a very engaging song and video. I love the musical arrangements and the lyrics of the songs very much.

Home Before Dark may not resemble the music that Neil turned out in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's however the songwriting and performing on this CD is nothing less than incredible. This is a new style for Neil, which he started with 12 Songs, and in my opinion he has fined tuned it in Home Before Dark and made it his own in a very extraordinary way. Don't buy this CD if you are looking for a CD full of Sweet Caroline songs however if you are a serious music lover and Neil Diamond fan I would highly recommend purchasing this CD. This CD showcases Neil's talent at its best!!

Way to go Neil!! Hope this CD makes it to #1!!!!!!!!!

Neil Diamond has been around for 40 years and I've been a fan of his for about as long as that. This CD is a quiet introspective collection of songs that won't disappoint his legion of fans.

I don't normally review CD's, as I just don't have the gift to explain how songs move me; it's all so personal and the words just escape me most of the time. I'm glad I waited to review this new CD though, as I honestly didn't like it much when I first heard it. It's the kind of CD that has to grow on you and you have to get use to the fact it isn't the rock side of Diamond that so many love. These are all personal songs with both subtly and intensity and you don't quite catch that on the first hearing of it.

An obviously favorite for most Diamond fans will be "Pretty Amazing Grace" which is the single he promoted when he appeared on American Idol last season (May 2008). I love that song and bought the CD on the power of that one single, but over time I've come to love other songs on the album even more. My favorite is the long (7 + minutes) of the first song "If I Don't See You Again" and followed closely by "Don't Go There" which is rather hypnotic and playful in tone. The duet with Natalie Maines on "Another Day" is just plain beautiful music. The most interesting song on the album for me was "One More Bite of the Apple" and for the life of me, I can't explain why that is so.

Some may think because Diamond has strayed from some of his more rock roots (America, Cracklin Rosie, Cherry Cherry, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, etc.) that he has lost his voice with age, but let me assure that after seeing him in concert at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia on August 9, 2008 that Neil Diamond has NOT lost an ounce of his voice at all. In fact, I was blown away at just how energetic and powerful he and his voice still are at 67 years old. He is just ageless. My family originally had seats in the upper decks of the concert hall, but A staff member came up to us, a family of four, and said, "Neil hates to see holes in the floor seats, so how would you like to have front row seats?" We were dumbstruck! We ended up in the front, on the floor seats, right in front of his microphone. What a way to introduce my kids, who love Diamond's music, to their very FIRST concert of a famous singer.

We will never forget that night and my only disappointment was that Diamond didn't sing "Hello Again" from The Jazz Singer which was the first movie I took my wife to see and that song became our wedding song as your best friend should always be your spouse and that is what that song is about.

Oh, well, I digress here. See why I don't write about CD's often. I just go all over the place. Anyhow, any Neil Diamond fan will want to buy this album, but just know that it may take some time to appreciate its power.

Neil Diamond's last album "12 Songs" was the best he had done in years. The expanded edition of that album featured mostly the songs with just Neil and his guitar. It was a breathe of fresh air. The songs were well written , and to paraphrase a Diamond song , just "A Singer And His Song".....it was great to hear Neil without all the orchestrations and over-production that marred many of his other albums.And this trend , thanfully continues on in "Home Before Dark". Most songs feature just the barest of musical embellishments. And the 4th track , "Another Day (That Time Forgot)" , a duet with Natalie Maines , is in my opinion the absolute most beautiful melody that Neil has EVER produced. It's nice to have the singer-songwriter back. Thanks Neil , for another disc that will spin monthly in my player!

this is a great second edition to the Rick Rubin/Neil Diamond collaborations. Neil seems to bring everything to his craft for this one. I would have liked at least one song with a bit more groove to it, but such a song might have stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Home Before Dark" is the follow-up to the acclaimed 12 Songs and,in my opinion,is proof that 12 Songs was just a warm-up practice for this masterpiece."Another Day(That Time Forgot)","Forgotten","One More Bite Of The Apple","Pretty Amazing Grace" and the haunting title song that closes the disc are the highlights of an album that nothing BUT highlights,including the bluesy "Don't Go There" and "Act Like A Man".Dig in and enjoy!

I loved this album. I'd have given it 5 stars if not for one problem I had with the DVD. But before I get to that, I want to state for the record (no pun intended) how good this album is. If you loved 12 SONGS, you'll love this one, too. It's that simple. They are done in the same style and Diamond's catchy melodies really work with the expanded band used for this recording. It's pure Diamond. Any Neil Diamond fan knows what I'm talking about. I purchased the version with the bonus tracks and the DVD. As for the bonus tracks the Dylan cover is great the other cover not so much. I don't know if this is due to the fact that both of he bonus tracks are not Diamond compositions so they don't quite gel or what. The Dylan one is very good the other just seems a bit out of place. Perhaps further listenings will correct this.

As for the DVD, it should be great! You get a couple of live performances and a couple of studio performances. My knock against it is that, after the first tune, you can't hear ANY vocals. They are either mixed down to a whisper or were poorly recorded in the first place. On the last tune, The Boxer, they are just gone. You can't hear a word. I thought perhaps my DVD is defective in some way. Has anyone else encountered this problem.

But if you're a Diamond fan and have your eye on the single CD version of the album, then I can't recommend it highly enough. Just be wary of the DVD. It's an exercise in frustration. There's Neil singing his heart out and you can't hear a word!

However the album is one of the best I've heard this year.