...you don't like rock 'n' roll as a form.
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An idiosyncratic blog dedicated to the precursors, the practioners, and the descendants of power pop. All suggestions for postings and sidebar links welcome, contact any of us.
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22 comments:
Diamond is a hell of a songwriter. By the early 70s I was sick of him. When I listen to his later stuff I didn't like back then, I find I like them now.
Okay, I'm not prepared to go THAT far, William. :-)
He definitely wrote some good stuff, and often performed well (although I tend to like the covers, such as Chris Isaak's version of Solitary Man, better than the originals). But there's a lot of crap in the catalog too, especially starting around, say, 1973 or so. Overall, I think the crap level well exceeds Sturgeon's Law, but (as you did) there are still cherries to pick in there.
I really like the four you posted, along with about ten more of my faves. An excellent songwriter from the Brill Building era. It waned for me with that America/Jazz Singer stuff. There also was some non hits and b-sides that were good and worth checking out, namely a tune called You'll Forget on Bang. And I still love September Morn.
Oh, and if you're ever willing to go the extra mile, or that far, dig into a fine Live album Hot August Night from 1972, a great performance all around.
Neils songs were perfect for 60's AM radio..Lulu even had a hit with one of his b sides.."The Boat That I Row"
I forgot he wrote that.
Urge Overkill did a great non ironic cover of "Girl...."
Hello all...no, please remain seated.
Cool choices. Confession time: I love "I Am...I Said"
(I also love Isaak's Solitary Man. Good call, cthulhu)
Regards, RichD
I'm a fan, right through the MCA years, with even a touch...just a touch of the Columbia stuff. I second FD13NYC's choice of "You'll Forget."
"Overall, I think the crap level well exceeds Sturgeon's Law, but (as you did) there are still cherries to pick in there."
Arguably, this applies to Lou Reed and Neil Young at this point, too, no?
Of course, he sucks on ice in The Last Waltz.
:-)
Well, clearly the only good thing that ever came as an (in)direct result of the Last Waltz was, obviously, This is Spinal Tap.
But The Bang Years CD that came out a couple of years ago is essential. Daft covers of Monday Monday, La Bamba and New Orleans notwithstanding.
After that... nah. Although I got a soft spot for Sweet Caroline.
And this is good stuff as well:
http://acerecords.co.uk/a-solitary-man-the-early-songs-of-neil-diamond
I always loved "Shilo"
I fucking hate "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" --- fucking HATE, do you hear me? :-)
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming ---
Love early Neil Diamond. Great AM pop that still holds up and makes you turn up the radio. Glad to see someone mention that ACE comp, too; its excellent, as is this blog.
Happy New Year to you Steve, and to all the other thoughtful music lovers here
Hello all...no, please remain seated,
Bored at work, so I hit the inter tubes. Googling Neil Diamond's repertoire, I intersected with Steve's previous thread on the Hollies. Apparently Elton John played piano on the Hollies version of He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother.
So, I'm the only guy who didn't know that, right?
regards...RichD
Sal - absolutely right on Sturgeon's Law as applied to Lou Reed and Neil Young!
I was quite sad when Lou died, but face it; far too much of his career was what-might-have-beens, and just doesn't hold up well. The Velvets stuff is still pretty much great (and Rock and Roll in particular is beyond great); then there's a track here and there through the '70s, the stripped-down "Finally! After 10 years!" promise fulfilled of The Blue Mask, Legendary Hearts, and New Sensations, then back to the pearls-scattered-among-swine-poop that characterized the '70s.
And Neil Young? Has wasted much of his career trying way too hard to be the chameleon. I'm glad he's been such an influence to so many, but I'm never quite sure if the kids are listening to Down by the River or some unmemorable recent piece of drek.
But maybe that's the hard truth about Sturgeon's Law: mere mortals have a hard time even getting to the 10% not-crap stage; if you can get even a little bit better than that, you're really doing something!
I wish I still had all those Monkee bubblegum cards I bought in 1966 and 1967!
Neil Diamond made great 45s (personal fave: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show), but he definitely jumped the shark when he played 'The Jazz Singer.'
liked this period's music as opposed to the 70's and beyond. but i'd probably replace 'Girl...' with Lulu's version of 'The Boat That I Row' as it's more in the 'rock & roll' form.
I think three of these four songs are great, and one---girl---quite decent. in ascending order for the great ones, it would be solitary man, cherry cherry, and i'm a believer. I'm a believer is so good i can scarcely imagine a world without it.
but good god, what happened to this guy in the 70s? i will not pretend that he was anything other than a plague upon the radio, on that just kept getting worse. the only consistent hitmaker lower on my list from those days is barry manilow. of course, i supported mike dukakis with a vote and with effort, but a part of me thought he deserved to lose for making coming to america his campaign theme song---sometimes lack of aesthetic sense can trump substance.
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