Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There are many song writers/performers that are capable of bringing out such a range of complex emotions in the listener that at times it can be either a disquieting experience, one in which the fruitful, almost halcyon days come rushing up from behind or one in which humility reigns supreme and the quiet deftness of time allows a certain introspection of the artist’s work. After releasing music in which has shaped a certain section of society with its tuneful melodies and songs involving love, anguish, the beating heart of joy and life in general over six decades, Neil Diamond has more than earned his place in the hearts of music lovers the world over and his latest album, Melody Road, is no different.

There will always be those that are happy enough to stand in judgement, mocking, deriding, pouring more scorn onto a particular artist than any other, whether due to pre-conceived ideas about the person in question or down to the fact that to stand up and wave a flag in favour of them is detrimental to the revolutionary act of music as a whole but something about the way Neil Diamond can hold your attention with a well considered blast of emotion without you realising should have the dissenters roundly ignored.

The path is indeed a long one but music can be a great accompanier on the journey and occasionally songs pop up, introduce themselves from out of nowhere and give the listener, boots full of holes, the anger of dogs barking inside the feet and the swelling of impatience hanging over the soul and the sole, a new direction, a reason to whistle for a while. No matter the taste, your chosen musical bullet, occasionally to hear a legend is enough to keep on walking.

Melody Road has that effect, it is sweet, in a kind of butch don’t mess with me type of way, it is thoughtful, a joined effort in pathos and slightly muted joy at a life well lived and above all gives reason for hope in a world that seems hell bent at times for lauding a band or musician’s ability to last at least one album and creating merchandise monsters for the so called economy to gorge upon.

With songs such as Seongah and Jimmy, Nothing But A Heartache, Alone At The Ball and the truth found in The Art of Love, Neil Diamond, the commentator of a thousand broken hearts and unfettered emotions, has shown that to be timeless and classic is not a bad thing, it can be seen as just as revolutionary to survive than it is to be a blazing, fleeting asteroid.

Ian D. Hall