Search Results for "Elton John"

Neil Diamond – Lovescape (1991/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:00:46 minutes | 2,77 GB | Genre: Pop, Soft Rock, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Neil Diamond

Lovescape frames Neil Diamond’s typically strong, if a little over-dramatic, vocal style with plinking keyboards, cooing backup singers, and hissing, breathy synthesizers. It’s all drenched in the kind of reverb that screams “lite rock radio sap.” Fortunately, Diamond’s wine-stained voice is still full of emotion and more than capable of closing the album’s gaping holes with a just-right emphasis here and a plaintive growl there. “Mountains of Love”‘s sanitized world beat groove and keening horns would shrivel in anyone else’s hands. But when Neil sings “Come on let’s go/We’ve got room on that mountain of love,” you want to believe in his feed-the-world message and follow him right to the top of the peak (how does he climb in those ankle boots?). A strummed acoustic guitar slows down the Hammond/Warren composition “Don’t Turn Around,” letting it breathe like the classic “Red Red Wine” – Diamond’s take has none of the mechanization of Ace of Base’s later hit version. He has written or co-written 11 of Lovescape’s 15 tracks, and it’s his lilting, bruised heart duet with Kim Carnes that’s the obvious standout. Elsewhere, he covers “One Hand, One Heart” from West Side Story, refueling the ballad with his typical message of unification and peace, and buoys the faint country feel of “When You Miss Your Love” with a deft vocal touch, never letting it drift into dangerous Elton John territory. Although heaping helpings of synthesizer do their worst to slow him down, Diamond does his best with Lovescape’s material, and salvages a handful of memorable moments for longtime listeners or the casual fan.

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Neil Diamond – Dreams (2010/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 55:05 minutes | 2,05 GB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Neil Diamond

After two excellent collaborations with Rick Rubin, Neil Diamond can’t resist taking the production reins himself for this collection of (mostly) covers. His liner notes claim these songs as some of his favorites from the “rock era” implying it’s over. While this set is more intimate than most of his overblown production of the last 30 years, it is a step away from the simplicity of his work with Rubin, featuring full strings, chamber reeds, winds, and brass on various cuts. As a vocalist, Diamond’s dramatic rather than involved authority is his trademark; he imposes it on almost every track. It works well here sometimes: the reading of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” is excellent for this reason, more like a playwright’s look than a lover’s. The fiddle in Lennon and McCartney’s “Blackbird” adds warmth to Diamond’s declamatory vocal. Randy Newman’s “Feels Like Home” is a set high point: it so intimate, naked, and desperate uncharacteristic of the ultra-private Diamond it can stop the listener in her tracks; it feels unintentionally included on this collection. The restrained narrative storyteller’s presentation of “Midnight Train to Georgia” is, despite its simple delivery, more empathic than passionate. The reading of Leonard Cohen’s transcendent “Hallelujah” is not definitive by any means, but it best illustrates Diamond’s intention to pay homage to the song it’s an excellent version to add to the bunch that already exists. Lesley Duncan’s “Love Song” (Elton John’s reading on Tumbleweed Connection is the classic) is quietly yet exotically treated with layered acoustic guitars, a spare piano, and King Errisson’s imaginative hand percussion. Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me,” which bookends the album, is another high point with a celebratory horn chart underscoring the romantic world-weary irony in Diamond’s delivery. Some tracks just don’t work. Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally)” sounds like the maudlin, trite novelty it is. Diamond’s “I’m a Believer” is rendered with far more drama than necessary. Here it’s not an iconic pop song. It comes from the back end of the story illustrated by acoustic guitars, cello, and vibraphone, its joy is displaced by resolve, as if the singer is trying to convince himself the song’s lyrics are true. Like most covers sets, this is a mixed bag, and it’s for the hardcore Diamond fan more than those who admire Home Before Dark, 12 Songs, or his work from the ’60s through the mid-’70s.

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