Neil Diamond is on a comeback. The ageless troubadour has been hard at work touring to promote his recent hit CD (“Home in the Dark – UK No. 1) and was scheduled to make a rare appearance here in Winnipeg. Being a long time fan, I was very excited about finally getting a chance to see this legendary performer live.
High ticket prices, and recent buzz about Neil being forced to offer refunds due to a raspy voice only two weeks prior in Columbus, Ohio caused me some apprehension. But the clock was ticking and Neil wasn’t getting any younger. Who’s to say if he’d ever get back to Winnipeg again? I bit the bullet and bought the tickets.
Clearly, a lot of people had made the same decision because the MTS Centre was packed and the excitement was palpable. There was a wide mixture of ages in the audience, though far more grey hair than I’d seen at any concert in recent times and a LOT of soccer moms.
The lights dimmed; the crowd roared; the band members filed in and struck up the opening refrain from Diamond’s 1969 hit “Holly Holy.” The entire building erupted as Neil took centre stage, looking fit and chicly attired in black from head to toe, pumping his black Gibson acoustic sensuously from side to side.
Any concerns about the quality of Diamond’s pipes vanished as that familiar melodious voice filled the arena. Nor had Neil’s age (67 years young) caused him to loose any of his sex appeal as evidenced by women, young and old, who continually rushed the stage throughout the evening (only to be politely herded up and sent back to their seats by security).
Neil’s 360 degree stage set up had a Vegas feel and it worked well to showcase his slick 14 piece band (real horns not the synthesized variety). The musicians sat on glowing risers that swivelled intermittently from one side of the stage to the other during the show, giving the entire audience a chance to see them strut their stuff.
Neil’s reputation as a consummate showman is well deserved. He served up a good cross-section of songs from his 40 year career, building the mood slowly with classics like “Beautiful Noise,” “Street Life,” “Love on the Rocks,” and “Play Me,” chatting amiably with the crowd between songs (to cries of “we love you Neil!”) before taking off the gloves and punching out rockers like “Cherry, Cherry,” and “Thank the Lord for the Night Time” which had the women rushing the stage (yet again) and dancing in the aisles.
About half way into the show, he took a chair and mellowed things out, performing “Home After Dark, ” and “Don’t Go There” followed by his new single “Pretty Amazing Grace.”
Neil began building the mood once again, pulling out “Crunch Granola Suite” from his 1972 live album “Hot August Night” along with “Done Too Soon” as well as the beautiful ode to his childhood “Brooklyn Roads.”
Given a back catalogue as extensive as Neil Diamond’s, I’m sure it’s difficult to decide which songs to use on tour. Personal favourites of mine that he did include were “Solitary Man,” “I Am, I Said” and “Kentucky Women.” Conspicuous by their absence were “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” “Soolaimon” and “Red, Red Wine.” But it’s a tribute to Diamond’s song writing prowess that he can get away with omitting such gems and still deliver a strong setlist.
But certain songs are a must! At this point, Neil pulled out all the stops and launched into back to back crowd favourites “Forever in Blue Jeans” and his 1969 summer anthem “Sweet Caroline” which he shouted more than sang his way through as he led the crowd in a jubilant singalong. Sheer pandemonium ensued! It received such a huge extended standing ovation, Neil obligingly had the band repeat the song!
Now for any other performer, these would have been the last two songs of the night. But not Neil Diamond. Instead, he stepped things down, and launched into his 1979 duet “You Don’t Send Me Flowers” with veteran Diamond backup singer Linda Press doing a serviceable job standing in for Barbara Streisand. He followed up with his 1972 No 1 smash “Song Sung Blue,” a rollicking rendition of “I’m A Believer,” and ”Man of God” before closing the night, surprisingly, with the sweeping power ballad “Hell Yeah” from his 2005 CD “Twelve Songs” - a bold move.
Did choosing to close the set with a lesser known ballad rather than a sure-fire upbeat hit dampen the crowd’s reaction to the show or hurt Diamond’s chances of receiving an encore? Not in the slightest! The crowd went ballistic!
Point proven, Neil made his triumphant return amid near deafening cheers and applause as the band launched into the immediately familiar opening bars of his 1970 No. 1 smash “Cracklin’ Rosie.” He completed his 2 hour tour de force by working the crowd into a near frenzy with an extended version of his 1969 spiritual barnburner “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show.”
40 years later, Neil Diamond still delivers and continues to make “Beautiful Noise.”
