CD - 12 Songs - Neil Diamond

From the archive, first published Wednesday 1st Mar 2006.

PRODUCER Rick Rubin was the man responsible for giving Johnny Cash a new lease of life in his dotage. Now he looks set to do the same for Neil Diamond.

The man whose country rock sound made him a household name on both sides of the Atlantic, stopped touring in 2002. But that is what has helped this album with the singer-songwriter coming up with a fresh and intimate collection of songs.

Turn away if you want uplifting lyrics and something cheery with which to start the day, 12 Songs is a touching medley about lost love and tragedy.

Gone are the sequins and bright lights that became such a trademark, this is Diamond without the trimmings - raw and personal.

Hell Yeah and Save Me a Saturday Night are both powerful tracks while things get a little more upbeat with Delirious Love, of which there is an excellent version at the end of the album with Beach Boy Brian Wilson.

With a brand new audience now tuned in to the revitalised Johnny Cash maybe this Diamond is another veteran set to sparkle again.

DL

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