After his rather punchy (if perhaps punch drunk, who knows?) acceptance speech at the Rock n’Roll Hall of Fame two years ago, following a makeover by producer Rick Rubin resulting in two highly-acclaimed albums for which he spurned sequins and sentimentalism in favor of a low-key raw stoicism, Neil Diamond is back to his lyrical, if sometimes extravagant, persona with a new album to be released in late October, Melody Road.
The album is produced by Don Was who, 25 years after initially offering to revive Diamond’s career, has brought back the exuberant style of Brooklyn’s troubadour, complete with horns, strings rousing choruses and unabashed emotionalism. NPR reviews the album and provides a first listen.
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In other Neil Diamond news, the singer signed a deal with Universal Music Publishing Group for the groups rights to use his past catalog and future recordings in advertisements, video games, films and other media. Too bad this wasn’t done way back in the 80s. I somehow can imagine myself at 13 playing Pac Man in the arcade to “Sweet Caroline.”
