MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: NEIL DIAMOND - MELODY ROAD

A disappointment here, and not because I was hoping for another Sweet Caroline.  Diamond has been on a creative role the last decade, with a couple of genuine quality releases produced by Rick Rubin, in the in the style of Johnny Cash's American Recordings.  Those albums took Diamond back to his classic songwriter days of the 60's, with just an acoustic and his iconic voice.  Mostly though, he wrote some good songs and did some good covers.

I don't think you can blame new producers Don Was and Jacknife Lee for the results here, other than they should have told him to go back to the drawing board.  Even if these songs are highly personal, which he explains in the liner notes, they are too cringe-worthy for anybody but the immediate family.  There's one about his son and daughter-in-law's meeting and romance, "she's from Korea, he's from Long Island."  Another is about writing and performing songs for the first time, called First Time, a mawkish description of the creative process that might turn would-be performers away from the craft.  Anyway, the less said the better in this case.  Damn!  Thought we had him back to Kentucky Woman, instead he's all You Don't Bring Me Flowers.