The modern world can’t change Neil Diamond. Dressed up in a smart, rose-embroidered vest or bedazzled button-down, he still sings songs blue, immune to our culture of irony, sarcasm and cynicism.
Diamond’s first album in four years, “Melody Road,” out today, doesn’t resemble one of his ’70s classics. The collection of 12 songs seems more like Rodgers and Hammerstein compositions written specifically for Pat Boone and Robert Goulet. Some would call the tunes corny, others would avoid the pejorative and label them earnest.
The best example of this antiquated aesthetic comes in “Seongah and Jimmy.” A love story about a Korean immigrant and a Long Island boy, the song lapses into such lyrics as “She wants her master’s/He helps her study/He has a toothache/She finds a dentist/He says I love you.”
Those are the actual words crooned over jaunty horns and swelling strings.
Diamond may be a cornball, but he’s true to himself. And when he’s not writing about interracial couples and dental surgery, he hits on a few tremendous melodies.
The simple, sweet “Ooo Do I Wanna Be Yours” could be the thirteenth track on “His 12 Greatest Hits”; the hope and intensity of “Alone at the Ball” could buoy our whole dark, depressed, hipster-driven rock industry.
Diamond has opened the door to his world and invited you in. I recommend you step through the doorway for a quick visit, but I remind you no Arcade Fire, Paul Thomas Anderson films or “Girls” allowed.
