CD WOW! Music, Movies & Games: Album Of The Week - Neil Diamond: Home Before Dark

Neil Diamond - Home Before Dark is his 29th studio album in a career that goes back some 42 years to his first album, released in 1966.
In 2002 he was ranked third most successful adult contemporary artist behind only Elton John and Barbara Streisand in the history of the Billboard chart.

For this release Neil has once again teamed up with producer Rick Rubin who he first worked with on his critically acclaimed 2005 release ‘12 songs’. For that album Rubin stripped down the by then massive production on Neil’s previous albums, to the bare bones of Voice, Guitar and a very subtle backing band. The album was intimately recorded and lovingly produced, and a showcase for his song writing talents, this album was full of all new songs, and was regarded by many critics as Diamond’s best album ever.

It is no surprise then to see this new release follow the same formula as 12 Songs. Once again Neil has written a whole bunch of new songs and they have been recorded in the same stripped down way, of course the surprise element is missing this time but that by no means detracts from the quiet strength of this work.
The first track 'If I don’t see you again' is clearly supposed to pick up where 12 Songs left off and is an ode to a loved one showcasing Neil’s fret board techniques.
'Don’t Go There' has that special Neil Diamond swagger, Act Like A Man, first written in 1984 but never recorded before this album shows why he was on the stage with The Band at The Last Waltz and Power Of Two has the full hearted conviction that Neil always brings to the best of his Pop tunes.
Outstanding tracks for me are the title song, Home Before Dark’s lament to marital bliss and Pretty Amazing Grace, a hymn to the soul healing power of love.