Home Before Dark
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Artist: Neil Diamond List Price: £16.99 Our Price: £8.98 You Save: £8.01 (47%) Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours  |
|
 | Product Details: Release Date: 12 May 2008 Record Label: Columbia Rating:   Sales Rank: 52 | | Look for similar items by category:
| | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: Nothing like as strong as 12 Songs (12 July 2008)Another new release, another raft (?) of 5 star Amazon customer reviews. Is it only me that feels that the majority of reviews on Amazon are given by die-hard fans who would give a 5 star review for a CD of their beloved artist breaking wind for 2 hours. The trouble is that this makes a mockery of the whole review process and ends up hindering rather than helping the average purchaser separating the Tom Waits CDs from the Robbie Williams CDs. The only solution I find is to look at all reviews by a given person before taking any notice of a given rating in an attempt to see if they have good taste, well, similar taste to yourself anyway. Anyway, back to the new CD. I thought 12 Songs was a phenomenal album, a stark, emotional affair full of powerful, melodic songs. By contrast the music on Home Before Dark is more laid back, rhythmic and ephemeral; something to have on quietly in the background while you work. The exception is the opening track If I Don't See You Again which would have felt quite at home in 12 Songs. From that point on the music loses it's intensity and edge and becomes, well, for me anyway, largely unremarkable; an easy listening experience. Too add to this many of the songs feel overlong and outstay their welcome lacking the brevity and tightness that made 12 Songs so good. This is not to say that Home Before Dark is a bad album, it isn't, it's just a little bit, well, of a let down compared to the previous CD. It's also extremely annoying to find that the CD/DVD contains two bonus songs (a fact I missed until after I had purchased the regular CD) one of which, Without Her, is one of the strongest tracks on the album in my opinion. Hey ho. Abolutely brilliant (12 July 2008)Words you can actually hear and sentiments you can appreciate. Unlike most performers of Neil Diamond's age and beyond, who constantly, it seems, have a wish to show just how far past their 'sell-by-date' they are, this is as good as it gets. Anyone who saw his performance at this years Glastonbury Festival, live if they were lucky, will agree that he still has what it takes - in spades. I'm a rebel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (04 July 2008)I'm going to ruin the end of this cd for everybody without a care in the world... The last track is called ''Home Before dark''. There I did it. Oh no he didn't, oh yes he did. Diamond Stories (23 June 2008)I was going to start with the cliche "a return to form", but frankly this offering is so far beyond Neil Diamond's previous achievements for a studio album that the phrase doesn't fit. A collection of lyrical, thoughtful, poignant songs musing on life, lost love, faith, hope and fear, it well deserves its number 1 slots. None of the real anthems of the past, in favour of solid vocals and sharp backings, with a few melodic gems including "Pretty Amazing Grace" and "Don't Go There", these songs have stories to tell and do so beautifully. Far from being too long, the six minute opener "If I Don't See You Again" is worth every second. "Act Like a Man", "The Power of Two" are other highlights and the superb title track, "Home Before Dark" is one to make you want to start all over again. Have a glass or two of Mr Diamond's red wine and let these beautiful songs wash over you... Not as tight as 12 songs, but still very good (18 June 2008)A coulpe of years ago I was seeing a friend who works in the music business. I asked him what the album of the year was. He looked slightly shame faced and said "12 Songs, by Neil Diamond" NEIL DIAMOND? I cried. Surely you're having me on, that guy's rubbish. "Well, Rick Rubin has stripped away everything that makes him rubbish, leaving everything that makes him great". And, sure enough, 12 Songs is one of the best records of recent times. Without the bombast and the, well, rubbish, that obscures everything, it was a revelation. Simple, raw and honest. Genius. Seriously. And so when I heard he'd made a follow up, with Rubin again, I bought it. Only this one's not as good. For one thing, all the songs seem to be five - six minutes long (one is more than seven). Too many are flabby, compared to the tightness on 12 Songs. It's a good record, but not as good. It doesn't feel as personal. 12 Songs sounded like a man who was forcing himself to rediscover himself as a song writer. In comparison, this sounds knocked out - the songs lack the honesty. Which is not to say it's bad - just not as good. Although judging by the other reviews, this one seems to be more popular with his long standing fans, so if you're one of those, perhaps you'll actually like it more. But 4/5 from me |
