Neil Diamond, eh? Not exactly cutting edge, I suppose, but one of the great singer/songwriters of my lifetime. Seriously. And I’ve seen him live. In 1972.
I doubt that many of you, or rather the few of you, who read this website were even around in 1972, but never mind about that. I had long hair in those days and so did Neil and my god he could sing and play.
Believe it or not, Diamond wasn’t always in the middle of the road. He wasn’t exactly punk, either, but there was something that set him apart from the dreary cabaret singers of the day and rock music. I think it was his music.
The first album I ever bought, not including albums that were bought for me as a young ‘un, was Taproot Manuscript. To this day, it remains Diamond’s finest hour, or however long it lasted. Sweet Caroline, I Am, I Said (this was actually a song about my mother, not that Neil intended it that way. Check the lyrics and I’ll tell you about it someday) and the quite magnificent Coldwater Morning, my favourite song on the album, my favourite Diamond song ever. But it was side two that was really interesting. Really interesting and really brave.
You see, side two was an “African Trilogy”. These were the days of vinyl records. Diamond filled side one with his own, brilliant, songs. Side two was music from Africa, albeit written by Diamond. I must look up the history of that record one day, to see if there was any African authenticity, but my feeling has always been that the writer “got” the spirit of Africa, a continent I have never even flown over, never mind set foot in. To this day, Taproot Manuscript stands as a monument to the creativity of Neil Diamond. Away from the mediocrity of “Forever In Blue Jeans” and “Song Sung Blue”, the man has a stellar talent, as confirmed by his recent “Melody Road” album which shows he still has it.
But if you haven’t got “Taproot Manuscript”, as a music fan you haven’t really lived. As a Neil Diamond fan, you should hang your head in shame. It’s a truly great record.
