Product Description

'Home Before Dark' sees legendary American singer/songwriter Neil Diamond team up with Rick Rubin, producer of his stripped back 2006 release '12 Songs'. More rhythmic in nature, the album sees Diamond return to his roots once again, creating an album of classic contemporary pop songs. Guest appearances come from the likes of Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines and The Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench.

Track Listing

1. If I Don't See You Again
2. Pretty Amazing Grace
3. Don't Go There
4. Another Day That Time Forgot (featuring Natalie Maines)
5. One More Bite Of The Apple
6. Forgotten
7. Act Like A Man
8. Whose Hands Are These
9. No Words
10. The Power Of Two
11. Slow It Down
12. Home Before dark

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61 in Music
• Released on: 2008-05-12
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Remarkably Home Before Dark is the first US chart topping album of Neil Diamond's forty year career. It appears to repeat the formula behind 2006's acclaimed 12 Songs--relatively understated arrangements and a subtle Rick Rubin production. But Diamond, though sixty-seven years old and the oldest recipient of a Number One so far, is no Johnny Cash, turning his unique voice to some well chosen contemporary material. Instead Home Before Dark is a collection of new Diamond songs, and though they might not match the boomers in his back catalogue they are hardly stripped back. These are songs designed to fill large venues alongside the showstoppers in Diamond's still energetic live show. "Pretty Amazing Grace" is in the great tradition of Diamond songs that defy their corniness with sheer catchiness, as is "One More Bite of the Apple" while "Don't Go There" features bracing backing vocals and a delightfully dated wobbly guitar hook. The duet with Natalie Maines, "Another Day (That Time Forgot)", would fit comfortably on American country radio while "The Power of Two" sounds like another hit in waiting. In fact this is more a conventional Diamond collection than a Rick Rubin production, dominated by lightly understated country rock arrangements played by a crack team including Smokey Hormel, Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell and the usually experimental Matt Sweeney. This is a charming and consistently solid set, though Home Before Dark does lack the unexpected intensity that made 12 Songs stand out so. -—Steve Jelbert

Customer Reviews

Nothing like as strong as 12 Songs
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
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.