Posted on 08/12/2005 4:03:44 AM PDT by 7thson
My wife and I went to the Neil Diamond concert the other night at the MCI Center in Washington, DC. There were about 18,000 people there and he puts on a great show. Did over two hours of songs with no intermission. Not bad for a guy in his 60's.
He brings in a fantastic cross section of people. People from their teens to their 60's; white, black, Chinese, Indian, etc.
My wife and I saw him for the first time in 2001. It was about a week after 9/11 and we did not know if they would still have the show. I think everyone was still kind of jittery but he opened with Coming To America and brought the house down. Back then, everyone in the audience rocked to that song? And four years later?
Though he did not open with Coming To America, when he sang it, he brought the house down. 18,000 people cheering and singing! It gives lie to the MSM saying there is no support for this country!
During the song on the jumbo screens, a film ran showing scenes of immigrants - the legal ones - arriving to our shores. The end of the film was the Statue of Liberty with a panaramic background of NYC. The last scene showed the Twin Towers. Brought a lump to my throat.
All in all, a good night and a great concert. Makes you wonder why the media ignores guys like Diamond, he openly praises the United States, and concentrates on arseholes like Jagger and his ilk.
One more thing. While waiting to take the esculators, my wife and I spoke with an Army guy and his family. He was ramrod fit and straight. I asked if he was Army - suspected he was - and he said yes. Came back from Iraq back in February. Was not bitter or angry or anything like that. Very upbeat. Kept calling me sir until I finally said he did not have to do that. He was there with his wife and two kids. Asked later why I thought he was Army and not Marine, I told my wife its because he didn't have a slopping forehead. Just kidding. I respect all you Marines out there. I then seriously said that while his hair was cut short, it was not Marine style. Also, I said all the service branches carry themselves differently and he did not carry himself as a Marine.
Neil Diamond! Let's rock.
Isn't that horrible? He did a show in Nashville and when my neighbors told me they were going and they were pretty excited about it, I realized how different we were. We only have about 7 years difference between us but I wouldn't be caught dead at one of his shows or listening to him. Which movie was it with Jack Black and his band of ND impersonators?
Saving Silverman.
Hooah.
That's it! Thanks!
Yes it is. Neil Diamond has written a dozen or so very hummable pop melodies, but though the lyrics aren't always excruciating, they are often so. That said, he is a consumate professional. He has taken a limited vocal range, marginal looks, and a handful of pop songs and made zillions. He accomplished this great feat (no sarcasm here, many others tried and failed, right?) mainly by keeping out of the public eye except when he can control all aspects of his presentation for maximum saleability. I'll bet his mother is/was extremely proud of him!
Best Neil Diamond songs?
Brooklyn Roads
Shiloh
Girl,You'll be a Woman Soon
Solitary Man
Longfellows Serenade
"Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" is downright creepy.
It's right up there with "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap.
However, the Urge Overkill cover of "Girl" rocks. (Find it on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.)
I liked him fine before he took up with Barbra Streisand. "You Don't Send Me Flowers Anymore" makes me gag. His attempts at acting kinda sucked as well.
Will somebody PLEASE post the cover of "Hot August Night?" DNDMSB did the honors a few months ago.
You forgot to add "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" by Maurice Chevalier.
Ah, memories of dad blasting that out of the car radio in his Riviera as we drove to Lido Beach.
As a commentator in "I Love the 70s" noted: "Neil Diamond was sexy in a sense that he makes you think of your teachers having sex."
I always thought Cracklin' Rosie was a song about S&M, but that shows that I have a dirty mind.
"Mr. Diamond, your Barcalounger is on line one."
- Dave Barry, in his column on amazingly insipid songs
Neil is no Olivier (his co-star in Jazz Singer), but the movie wasn't all that bad.
Diamond is great, and make a lot of good songs. However, he isn't the Rolling Stones either. It's not the media alone that made the Stones. It was their music that made them the best rock band ever. If not the best, at least in the top two or three.
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