Home Before Dark

More freedom provided to Neil Diamond

One of the last and current centuries' most outstanding figures, a legendary composer and not the least successful performer Neil Diamond has been recently prized as the oldest performer who has a number one record. Bob Dylan and his Modern Times released at the age of 65 has passed him this title for Diamond has already turned 67. The artist's sensational comeback to the stage has happened quite recently, too, in 2005, when after thirty years of standing in the shadow he released an absolutely new material 12 Songs. The project has featured producer Rick Rubin, and today the tandem successful in many ways is ready to please us with its new work Home Before Dark. The two records are similar in many respects but it is clear that Rubin has provided the performer with more freedom on Home Before Dark, and here as many years ago the impressive instrumental parts reflect Neil Diamond's love of brightness and expressiveness in everything concerning music. Home Before Dark is a great collection of songs whose main themes are love and wisdom and certainly it proves to be more varied and joyful than its predecessor.

A whole galaxy of talented musicians on Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark has been recorded with a whole galaxy of talented musicians: keyboardist Benmont Tench and guitarist Mike Campbell from Tom Petty & The Heatbreakers, bassist Smokey Hormel and guitarist Matt Sweeny who used to play with Chavez. The album opens with a bit sad and philosophic ballad If I Don't See You Again, pleasing with a beautiful combination of an acoustic guitar, piano and the synthesizer's magic sounds. Track Pretty Amazing Grace is a most beautiful and elegant love confession full of wise thoughts while Don't Go There is remarkable for a livelier sound closer to blues. One of the album's highlights is composition Another Day (That Time Forgot) with a memorable tune, it is a duet with The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Mains devoted to the reminiscences of the past and One More Bite Of The Apple is full of hope to restore the relations with the main character's once beloved. Almost and epic piece Forgotten about fame, an artist's life and an inevitable end of all of it makes the listener think of his own life, while the title of Act Like A Man speaks for itself, here all the performer's experience is concentrated for he has surely survived some troubles in his life. Emotional composition No Words is again about love no words can express whereas song The Power Of Two with a wonderfully beautiful guitar from Mike Campbell is an ode to wisdom and an elderly age. The album closes one of Diamond's most personal compositions lately, Home Before Dark, unusual in its simplistic instrumental background and honest, sincere lyrics.

Quintessence of Neil Diamond's music and life experience

Whatever happens Neil Diamond will always remain one of the most talented authors whose songs are sung by performers of most various genres from rock to hip hop. Despite his quite respectable age the texts are rich with strong emotions. At the same time he never pretends to seem younger than he is generously sharing his life wisdom. Speaking of his new creation it can be easily called one of Diamond's most anticipated works after 12 Songs. One the peculiarities of Home Before Dark is that the first words of almost every song are its title, the couplet and the chorus are closely connected and on some tracks there is no chorus at all, yet most of them end with an impressive climax. Yet the album's main merit is the frankness of the texts and the vocals without any embellishments. Neil confesses of his fears extremely honestly, feels happy about what he has achieved, misses the romance that has gone into the past and broods on what he has not managed or could not commit. Home Before Dark today is a quintessence of Neil Diamond's all music and life experience and hopefully he has enough important thoughts and observations in store to record more than one new impressive creations like that.