We continue on our monthly spotlight of Neil Diamond, the featured artist of June, by diving deeper into the chronological history of his music. This time, I’m going to look at the rest of Neil’s early days of the 1960s and review the next four albums on the list. Much like Santana, the runtime on these albums are around 30 minutes, so we will run through them in order.
We start with his second studio album from 1966, Just for you. Right off the bat, looking at the track listing, we see two songs that were previously on his debut record, “Solitary Man” and “Cherry, Cherry.” The songs were Neil’s first big hits and he wanted to re-release them to further showcase his talents as a songwriter. That being said, there is a lot of historical pop culture material on this album. The record begins with “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon,” a song best known in the modern generation as the song from the 1994 blockbuster movie Pulp Fiction. While Neil composed and sang the song, an alternative band named Urge Overkill would revive it almost 30 years later making it a hit and and reaching #11 on the Billboard Modern Cock chart in 1994. Then there’s a little song called “Red Red Wine.” This one was a surprise to me because I basically know the song as a Regae 80s classic from the band UB40. I had no idea that this was a Neil Diamond original and that he himself wrote the fun lyrics that would become yet another all time signature song for a future group. With that being said, we get to I’m a Believer.” I do have another special deeper look into this song and its effect on the pop culture universe, but really quick, this, of course, would be a hit song for the Monkees who put their signature spin on this song and made it their own so yet another classic Neil Diamond hit. While these songs become smash hits for other artists, Neil wouldn’t get as much success with his vocal versions as the songs peaked around the middle of the Billboard 100 charts. Another notable song off this album was “Shilo,” a song about a childhood imaginary friend. This was a very heartfelt, upbeat song with a great lyrical story. This is definitely a hidden gem, and though I vaguely remember radio stations ever playing this one, this did become a top 10 hit for him. The other songs on the album are pretty good. I do get a sense of musicians like Johnny Rivers and some of those British Invasion bands not named the Beatles or the Monkees as it has that distinctive 1960s pop sound. It’s an 8/10 for sure. Again, there’s a lot of pop culture history in this album so it’s definitely fun to listen and hear some of the songs in its original form.
Next up on the chronology is the 1968 album, “Velvet Gloves And Spit.” This would be Neil’s first album under a new label, the MCA Uni record label. While there really isn’t much as far as hit songs or historical moments that come from this one, this does give us a taste of what the Neil Diamond sound would be. Unlike the first two albums which were more of a 60s pop sound, this was more kind of a serenade style and song qualities around the likes of “Cherry Cherry” and “Solitary Man,” which were still his biggest hits at this moment. Like the last album, he did re-release a previous song off his last record, “Shiloh,” but with a little faster tempo and with a heavier sounding drum line in the background. One of the notable songs from this album was “Two-Bit Manchild,” which has that upbeat “Cherry Cherry” song style with a catchy guitar riff. “Brooklyn Roads” is another good track that is a nice reminiscent song about returning to his childhood roots. He sings about his memories of school days, racing home for supper, and “building castles and fighting dragons.” It’s a well written song and probably my hidden gem from this album. On the flip side of things is a song called “The Pot Smoker’s Song,” and it is exactly what it says it is. It’s four minutes of people telling their stories about pot while Neil Diamond sings “Pot, pot. Give me some pot.* and “High high, I wanna get high.” The stories on the song actually came from testimonies from the Pheonix House in New York, a rehab center for addicts, and would inspire Neil to form the Performers Against Drugs (PAD), an organization that really didn’t get off the ground before ultimately folding. Needless to say, it’s a weird song and probably a forgettable one. All in all, this one was a drastic change and a grittier album that showed off more of his songwriting style. This album gets 5/10.
Welcome back to my review of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest album picks of all time. Last time I hit my first snag as an experimental album was a little too hard to review. This one however is the complete opposite of that. What is probably one of the biggest albums of all time from the band that is the cornerstone of the psychedelic rock and roll era. This time we are taking a look at the debut self titled album from the iconc band of the late 60s, The Doors.
Led by infamous front man Jim Morrison, The Doors would released their first album in 1967to great success. It peaked as high as #15 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard top 200 in the US in that year. It was also the influence for Paul McCartney and the Beatles for their St Pepper album. There was a lot of praise for Jim as his ability to write songs and his one of a kind sound and dramatic performances made him a true rock legend even after his untimely death in 1971. So how good was this album and does it still hold up today? Let’s take a look.
So I’m going to do this one a little bit different because there are obviously some well known songs that speak for themselves. It starts with Break on Through to the Other Side, a true classic, and ends with the very somber and eerie song The End which has been used in tv shows and in films most notably Apocalypse Now. Of the biggest song on the record is their first #1 smash Light My Fire. This one is probably a personal favorite next to Roadhouse Blues and the memorable guitar solo is probably one of the best of all time. Again the songs speak for themselves. The album is a good mix of punk rock and with the Jim Morrison sings kind of like a lounge rock style. You really get a good psychedelic feel with the Song Soul Kitchen. The keybord mixed with a simple drum beat has a sound that reminds of of shows from that time like the Banana Splits. It has that distinct sound of the 60s that if you close your eyes you can just see lava lamps a glowing. The B side of Light My Fire, a song called Crystal Ship is a mellow jam and a very deep song dealing with the pain of a love one and it shows off Jim’s poetic attributes. You have a song called Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) that a good ol fashioned fun drinking song that has a sound like you’re at a carnival. It’s also one of the only songs I’ve heard so far to use an instrument called the marxophone which is a sort of fretless music box. There really isn’t a bad song at all on this album. Even songs like Twentieth Century Fox and Back Door Man were good songs to keep you invested until the end of the record.
To sum it up, this album is a pop culture gem that many generations of music lovers will enjoy. The mellow tracks mixed with that psychedelic lounge/punk rock style mixed with great vocals and the sounds of the time (the organ, tambourines, etc.) makes this an enjoyable album. It’s a really nice sit back and relax kind of album that works on so many levels of awesome. Obviously this is a 10/10. Again another album in which every track keeps you wanting more.
That wraps up another album of the list. Thanks for joining me for this classic album review. Well I mentioned the Beatles next time on the 100 Classic Album Review we’re heading back to the 70s, again, to look at one of the fab four in solo form. Next time we look at an album from the one and only John Lennon. Thanks again for stopping by and as always keep on rockin!
So in the last review I said this might be a short review because this album is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. For the record, I have heard some Miles Davis songs from his ealry years, and he is one of the best Jazz trumpeters of all time. This album however is nothing like his Jazz years. This is #87 on Rolling Stone’s list of top albums of all time called Bitches Brew.
So the story behind the album is as follows: leading up to this album, the 27th of his long running discography, Miles Davis had decided to step away from the traditional Jazz that he was known for and just experiment with things similar to what Jimi Hendrix had done at the time. His quest was to try and build the biggest electric jazz ensemble complete with a saxophone, three keyboard players, an electric guitar, and two drunmers just to name a few. The idea was to have a sound like an inpromptu jam session. And that’s pretty much what this album is.
Sold originally as a two album set, after a few attempts at listening this just felt like a band rehearsal. The first four songs of this seven track super album were anywhere between 15-26 minutes of just noise. It wasn’t a bad sound it was just random jam sessions so unlike the other albums of the list, this one was hard to decipher. It’s jazz but it’s all over the place and that’s about all I have.
So personally for me I’d give it a 2 out of 10 although at best it’s a 4. I am a casual fan of jazz and love to listen to the traditional jazz sound but this just fell flat. It was an experiment so it did get mixed reactions which doesn’t mean it’s a bad album, it’s just not for me.
So that’s about it. Hopefully there’s another Miles Davis album on this list so I can do him justice. Next time on the Classic Album Review, we travel back a few years to the 60s and take a look at another iconic band that influenced rock n roll. We’re looking at The Doors. Thanks again for tuning in and remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Rock on 🤘.
Greetings once again and welcome to another classic album review as we have reached #88 on the list if Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of all time. This time we head back to 1971 and one of pop culture’s biggest icons. We we’ll be reviewing David Bowie’s Hunky Dory and again other than one song, this will be my first taste of a David Bowie album so this was interesting for sure. I will admit it took a couple different listens to to grasp it but I think I’ve got enough material to write tgus one.
Of course before we dive in, let’s take a little look on some facts about the production of Hunky Dory. This is Bowie’s 4th album and this one comes off the heels of his last album The Man Who Sold the World (a song in which Nirvana did an amazing cover but that’s for another time). This would be a lot different from his last album as not only did his contact expire with his music publisher, his bandmates split from him due to ongoing issues with Bowie. While his last album was hard rock driven, Hunky Dory would be a whole different sound for David as he and his newly ensembled band mates would produce a more softer, melodic sound. So how did it sound. Let’s check it out.
We start the album with Changes which is one of his most popular songs as it’s been used in commercials and is a mainstay on many 70s radio playlists. It does set the tone of the album. Oh You Pretty Thing is next and it has a nice sound reminiscing of Paul McCartney with a great piano melody. There’s a song titled 8 Line Poem and it is literally what it says, 8 bars of lyrics set to a western style guitar. The one thing I will say about David Bowie, much like British television, is that a lot of his lyrics have that sophisticated British style. Life on Mars is a good example and a great song with an epic piano ballad feel. From what I could make it was about “the girl with the mousey hair” and the “Mickey Mouse has grown a cow.” I know the song has a deeper meaning and story but as an average listener to music in general that’s all I came up with. Nonetheless it is a good song. You have a song called Kooks that was fun and upbeat with a folk music sound. Then there were the songs Andy Warhol and Song for Bob Dylan in which he wrote in homage to some of the American pop artists that he got inspired by on his tour of America. Queen Bitch is a good old fashioned rock and roll song that’s reminiscing of another fellow English man Elton John. The album ends with a good Space Odity like epic ballad The Belway Brothers which has a great strong acoustic guitar melody.
So after a couple of deep listens, I’ve concluded that this album is not that bad. Not being fully educated on the songs of David Bowie outside his greatest hits it took me a little bit but this was a decent introduction to his styles of music. There was definitely a lot of variety in sounds, melodies, and instruments and the lyrics as sophisticated as they sound and didn’t really made sense to me, the songs were still good. I do give it an 8 out of 10 because it really didn’t have a bad song on the list. This is something I may go back to one day to see how it ages on me but all in all a fun experience.
Well that concludes another classic review. There’s still so many more to come and I am definitely enjoying the sounds and songs I missed out on throughout the years both the good and the bad. Speaking of which spoiler alert my next review will definitely be a short one and I’ll explain next time. We’re staying in the 70s as we look at yet another interesting pick on the list as we look at Miles Davis. Thanks for dropping in and as always keep on rockin.
Hello again I’m back after a short break with the next installment of my reviews of Rolling Stone’s top 100 classic albums of all time. Many of these albums, with the exception of Metallica, I am listening to for the first time and the first 11 albums I’ve reviewed have been quite a mixed bag. Well that continues on as we have reached #89 on our list. This time we going back 25 years to another gem I missed out on when it was new. It’s the Grammy award winning Baduizm by Erykah Badu and let me tell you, I’m surprised I missed this one.
Ah yes 1997. The year I graduated high school. Where the funky fresh era and college rock of the early 90s was becoming more about boy bands and pop princesses. In that era, a fellow Texan by the name of Erykah Badu burst onto the music scene. Now looking into some of the background on her because I had always thought she was just another rapper along the likes of Lil Kim and another lady I had to chance to review earlier, Missy Elliott. Oh how I was wrong. Some like to compare her to Jazz legend Billie Holliday as well as musical masterminds like Stevie Wonder. Her signature head wrap was unlike any other at the time as it became one of her trademarks for many years. This album believe it or not was recorded in three different states (Pennsylvania, New York, and her hometown of Dallas here in Texas). So how was this album hearing it for the first time? Let’s jump in.
So ironically the first track on the album is called Rimshot which is just a short warm up track to kind of give you an understanding of what’s to come. The rimshot you hear would play a big role in a lot of the songs on the album. The first song we hear is the award winning smash hit On and On. Back in the 90s I was a Country fan which by this time I was transitioning into Rock and Metal. I’m sure I heard this song on mainstream radio but I just wasn’t into R&B like I’ve adapted to now but this song is good. It has a really nice coffee house vibe to it and her voice is really amazing. Now I am trying to listen to the songs and give you an idea of what the songs mean but ultimately a lot of these songs, much like a lot of the others are about relationships so if you’ve heard one story you’ve heard them all. Appletree is next and it has a very ealry 90s vibe to the song but again, there’s that rimshot in the background. This one was definitely a coffee house vibe and with lyrics like “I pick my friends like I pick my fruit.” and “If you don’t want to be down with me you don’t want to pick from my appletree.” the lyrics are very well written. Then there’s the song Other side of the game. This a very soulful song about a struggling relationship of a mother to be as her man hustles on the streets and she’s worried for their future. It is another nicely arranged jazzy tune with an excellent use of a feint trumpet in the background. Next Lifetime is another great song about wanting somebody so bad but realizing that she was already in a happy relationship and being torn but ultimately saying “See you next lifetime.”
Some other good songs on the album in 2 versions of Certainly, a song about turning down someone trying to make moves on her. Both songs have great piano sound and a great bass line as well as the song 4 Leaf Clover. There’s a great nostalgic feel about the song no love as they use the old needle on the record effect for the song. The album ends on the aforementioned Certainly as it’s the (flipped it) version which sampled music from the Legendary Kool and the Gang. It’s pretty much the same song but with a nice remixed beat to it.
Honestly I cannot put this album into words on how good this album really is. This one definitely gets a 10 out of 10. The jazzy upbeat tunes, the 90s style vibes, the soulfulness of her voice combined with the great lyrical presentation, this was definitely a good first time experience. Even her short freestyle skits in between tracks to showcase her flow has fun to listen to. Definitely check this one out if you haven’t even if you’re not really a jazz or soul fan, this one is good.
Well that wraps up this edition of the Classic 100 Review. Next time on the review we head back, yet again, to the 1970s and another intriguing album the Space Oddity himself, I’ll be listening to an album from David Bowie. Thanks for you support and hope to keep the train roiling all the way to #1. Until then rock n roll all night and party every day. Till next time.
Welcome back to another classic album review. This time we are going back to 1978…a time where Disco was in full swing. The Bee Gees were cranking out hit after hit, and a little duo by the names of Daryl Hall and John Oats were preparing to take the 80s by storm. All the while, another future 80s icon was trying to find his voice and a hit record, a guy by the name of Bruce Springsteen. Now granted he did have a hit a few years prior with Born to Run, but most of his hits many folks remember are from the 80s. However today I am taking a look at the album ranked #91 on Rolling Stone’s all time album list. This was his fourth album of his carrer. Let’s look at Darkness on the Edge of town.
Right off the bat I can tell this is early Bruce. While there are some decent songs on this album, some of the songs feel kind of eh. Don’t get me wrong he is a talented writer I think it’s just the style of singing on the album that kind of take me out of it. I think of Meatloaf when I listen to a few of the songs like the opening song Badlands. However the song Adam Raised a Cain was actually a nice little methodical blues rock song, even if the chorus was kind of irritating it’s not a bad song. The song Something in the Night reminds me of a song sung by a house band at a prom or something. It’s a nice song to slow dance to and that’s about it. There are some good in this album mainly towards the end of the album. Racing in the Street is one of the better songs as it’s a stripped down piano ballad accompanied with a nice organ. This is actually one of those songs you can close your eyes and see the story he tells about his love for his car. Thing pick up on the next song The Promised Land. Again a great organ sound adds to the song and the style of Bruce’s singing seems to have changed a little from the whining wanna be Meatloaf sound from the first half of the album. The other one of the better songs on this album is The Factory. Again another close your eyes and listen to the words and you can see the story unfold in front of you. It’s a nice nod to the blue collar workers who’s life revolces around punching that clock every day. The last couple of albums sound about the same. Nothing to special. The title track Darkness on the Edge of Town puts a decent end to the album as we kind of get that 80s Born in the U.S.A. sound that would catapult him in the next couple of years to come.
Overall this was an album of two sides. The first half was the whiny mumbling Born to Run sound he was already known for. The second half, really deep songs with great piano and organ arrangements as well as some saxophone and a little harmonica along with great lyrics and a great story. While some of the songs sounded kind of bad to me, I will not take away his ability to write great songs and songs like Racing in the Street and The Factory were wonderful examples of his talent. I give 6/10, it’s a tough call but I just wasn’t feeling this album. Again for being a top 100 album, and I know it’s tough to find the perfect albums for everyone, this one just fell flat.
Anyways, thanks agian for joining me for another 100 album review. Next time we’re going to go back 8 years to the end of a decade and the beginning of another. This next one might be another challenge because next time we’re going to take a look at Neil Young. I promise you guys things will get a lot easier to review once we get past the bottom. Thanks for reading and as always rock and roll all night and party every day 😎🤟
Well folks I decided to take a little break from the Classic Album Review to go back and listen to a classic album from my personal collection. In a way this is the idea that started Culture Personality and I’d thought it be fun to look at another record that is still one of my favorites and see if it still holds up today. Spoiler alert for a future review, I got this idea because I want to look at another album from the guys I’m about to review so there will be a second review coming. I talk of course of Green Day and the album that made them famous Dookie.
Released in 1994, Green Day opened the pop culture world with their brash fast paced Punk Rock/Punk Pop sound that would open the door for bands like Blink 182, Fallout Boy, No Doubt and of course the Princess of Punk Pop, Avril Lavigne. This album surprisingly didn’t make Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums but instead ranked #375 on their list. The album produced 5 top 10 hits on the Alternative Airplay charts #7 on the Billboard year end chart and #33 in the end of the decade top 200. So does this album hold up almost 30 years later? You bet it does.
Right off the bat you get a tone on what Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Trè Cool have to offer with Burnout. This has that classic hard nosed punk rock sound and has you banging your head from the start. A lot of these songs were written by Billie Joe and discusses many different subjects from relationship matters to loneliness and boredom and really fit the suburban emo teen culture of the 90s. Having a Blast is a great example with the teenage angst “you can’t stop me” lyrics as they still bring it fast and heavy. Next up is Chump, one of many songs that has a great bass line that makes the song stand out. Another great thing about this album is the great guitar stylings of Billy Joe and Mike and how they switch from guitar heavy to bass heavy from song to song. Chump another goo jam that nicely transitions into our first popular hit song, Longview. This was the one if the first songs I heard from Green Day and it’s just a fun song to sing about being bored and alone at home all day. Following Longview is another hit song Welcome to Paradise. This is that classic Green Day rock jam about the experience they had about moving out of their parent’s house to live in a warehouse on the bad side of town and learning to love it. Up next is Pulling Teeth and they slow it down a little bit. This song was a nice little harmonizing track for the group that has that 90s vibe. Great song. Then comes the most popular song of the album Basket Case, and if you haven’t heard this song there’s not too much to say, go listen it’s great. Next up we get another great bass riff in She. Not much behind this song another Billy Joe’s ex girlfriend inspired song. Such a great rhythm and a great song. When I Come Around is next and I know I said Basket Case was the most popular track but this is possibly thier biggest hit of the album. Just one of those nice calm pop sounding feel good songs. It would be their most successful song and top the Alternative charts for seven weeks. The album concludes with three quick songs, Coming Clean Emenius Sleepus In the End. They all were 2 minute tracks but were still great. The album concludes with the bonus track not listed on the album when the cassettes came out, All By Myself. It’s just another fun quick bit from Billy Joe that’s funny to listen to.
So no brainer this was a 10 out of 10 for me. I believe this was possibly the last cassette tape I owned before CDs took over (those were the days). This was one of the first albums I owned as I was transitioning from Country music to Rock and Metal. I’ve heard their other albums and while they’re alright they don’t have the same impact that Dookie delivers. The greay guitar riffs, the great drummer, and the lyrics that spoke for the teenage generation makes this album great.
I hope you enjoyed my take on this special review of one of my favorite albums. As I mentioned earlier I wanted to do this review so I can compare it to the other Green Day mega smash album that would turn them into icons. Stay tuned because soon I am going to take a look at the commercially successful American Idiot. Thanks for reading and rock on!
Continuing on with this month’s Spotlight Artist Neil Diamond, I’m am taking a look at his big screen movie review and one of his best music soundtracks in my personal opinion. From 1980, I am looking at The Jazz Singer. Now, this isn’t the first film under this title, but actually, the fourth adaptation of the 1925 play by Samson Raphaelson. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer, the son of the infamous for iconic cartoons such as Popeye the Sailor and Betty Boop. This movie stars Neil Diamond in the lead role, and he’s accompanied by the legendary English actor Laurence Olivier, who is one of three of the biggest names in British actors of that century. Neil was also cast alongside Lucie Arnaz, daughter of two more iconic figures in the acting world, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Most of the arrangements for this musical drama were written and performed by Neil Diamond himself. This movie is similar to another franchise “A Star is Born,” however, it focuses more on the internal struggles inside the family than just a romance. While trying to come up with talking points, I ended up describing the movie in full detail, so for anyone who wants to watch it and not get spoiled on Neil Diamond movie, you might not want to read on. This was actually a good movie.
A quick side story behind this movie. This was one of my father’s favorite movies as he was a big fan of Neul Diamond. Growing up myself and hearing Neil’s songs, I also became a big fan, and being a child of the 80s, these songs were the first ones I would hear thus being some of my all time favorites. My father and I shared a lot of common tastes in music, a lot of my inspiration came from the music he would listen to (Eagles, Doobie Brothers, Chicago, CCR, etc….). Over the last few years, I would make playlists and him and I would hang out and listen to the playlists. Whenever a song from The Jazz Singer would play, he would always ask me, “Have you seen the movie yet?” Now, this wasn’t a big movie on my watch list, so I hadn’t seen it , and he would go on to tell me.”I think you would like it.” For the next couple of years, we would have that same conversation every time that a song would play, and it became a fun little back and forth between us. He would always chuckle because he had already known I still hadn’t watched it until today. This one is a special review. This one’s for you dad.
The movie starts off with one of his big hit songs, “America,” as it shows the different sights and cultures of New York. We see the main actor, Yussel Rabinovitch, a Jewish cantor, leading a prayer sermon. We find out that alongside being a cantor, he secretly writes songs and accompanies a four man African American band with dreams to stike a record deal. As the ceremony is going on, we see one of Yussel’s bandmates come in to remind him that they have a gig getting underway shortly. Yussel rushes through the rest rest of the song and rushes out to get to his gig. When one of the band members gets arrested, he must fill in. The only catch is that they are playing a gig in an all black club, so when the people in the club discover he isn’t black, a riot issues and the band gets arrested. Before the show, Yussel gets his wife,Rivka, to be his backup, only for it to backfire as his father ends up being the one to bail Yussel and his friends out. His father, himself being a cantor, lectures Yussel about his purpose in life. We also find out that Yussel uses the stage name of Jess Robin. Yussel’s father believes there’s only one purpose from them, and that is the way of the family. He tells Yussel that his singing voice is for God’s purposes and not his own.
We see Yussel helping a young lad practicing for his barmitzva. Then he recieves a phone call from Bubba, one of the guys in the band. They had just received a backup singing gig in a big name singer, Keith Lennox, song as he had heard Yussel’s “Love On The Rocks” and wanted to release it as a song. This would require Yussel to fly out to Los Angeles for two weeks and help with the recording. This obviously doesn’t go well with his father or his wife, as they feel like it’s foolish and that they are happy the way things are. It’s revealed a few moments later that a lot of why his father is so hesitant is because of a traumatic event that happened, and quite possibly, Yussel mother died in the process. Reluctantly, fearing he may never see his son again, he gives Yussel his blessing, and it’s off to Los Angeles.
It’s here that we meet Molly Bell, a music agent that is overseeing everything as she waits for the now Jess Robin at the airport. The two meet, and they rush to the recording studio where we hear Keith Lennox’s butchering rendition of “Love on the Rocks.”” It’s a new wave early 80s British rock sound, and it’s not good. Jess doesn’t like the direction and tells them, “It’s supposed to be ballad. It’s not supposed to be sped up.” After teasing it in an earlier scene, we hear the original ballad of “Love on the Rocks” sung by Jess himself. Unimpressed, the band gets fired. So what do you do after you get fired? We party. They go back to Molly’s beach house and drink and sing songs, and we hear another fun little diddy, “On The Robert E Lee.” Molly then hears from a friend of where a booking agent named Eddie Gibbs is having lunch and with a recording of the song on cassette, she sneaks into Eddie’s car in and get him to listen. Eddie likes the song but doesn’t hire anyone just off of a cassette. As two weeks come to an end, we see Jess getting ready to head back to New York. Not willing to give up, Molly tries to convince Jess to stay and keep trying. She then Starts to play one of his songs on the piano before stumbling across an unfinished song that would ultimately become “Hello Again.” This song moves Molly a d we start to see that she has fallen in love with Jess. Then the phone rings and Bubba tells Molly that they got a gig at a club, and they have arranged Eddie to be there. It seems as it went poorly as Eddie leaves within minutes, but it turned out that he liked Jess but hated loud noises. With that, Jess was given a chance to open for comedian Zany Grey on his television special. As he’s performing on the show his wife Rivka shows up surprisingly after his father convinced her to be by her husband’s side regardless of what happens. Here, we get the awkward moment between Rivka and Molly as tensions are high. After a crowd pleasing performance, Jess heads back to his dressing room where record producers and agents are lined up to congratulate him and talk business. He steps aside and talks with Rivka, and she tells him that she will not follow him around while he becomes a star and that she had no problem being married to a cantor. She walks away as Jess heads back into the dressing room. The next day, Jess confronts Molly, who was heartbroken when Rivka shows up, but after Jess tells her that they split up and confesses his love for Molly, they become romantically involved.
As their love blossoms, Jess is surprised in Los Angeles by his father, who is still trying to convince Jess to stop chasing his dream as a rockstar and go back to his normal life. He then finds out about Molly as she unknowingly walks into the picture. Heartbroken, Jess’ father breaks down and disowns his own son as he leaves in tears. This takes a huge toll on Jess as he goes on a downward spiral, getting upset at his band mates and Molly as she tries to talk him down as he’s storms out of rehearsals a day before another television special. He hops in a car and heads east, eventually running out of gas and hitchhiking his way through the desert. This would start a year long montage where he ends up in the South, possibly Texas, and gets a job as a country singer in a bar. I’ll admit, seeing Cowboy Neil Diamond was pretty cool. While winding down after a performance, Bubba shows up, finally tracking Jess down after a year to let him know that Molly had given birth to his son. This was the comeback moment where Jess heads home to see Molly and his son as they reunite on the beach to the song Hello Again, which by the movie standards, was his special song for Molly. All that was left is to get back on stage.
After another sneaky encounter by Molly, Eddie scheduled another television special. This time, the show will be held in New York. As rehearsals were going on, the day before Yon Kippur, Jess is told his father was in the hospital for high blood pressure and will not be able to sing at the synagogue. After numerous attempts to convince Jess to sing to the surprise of his father. After the ceremony, Jess tries to make amends with his father, who still doesn’t want anything to do with him. After seeing a picture of his grandson, he breaks down and finally accepts Jess for who he is and wants to be. The movie ends with Jess performing America” for the Zany Grey television special, as his father and Molly sit in the crowd happily cheering on.
Needless to say, this was a great movie. There aren’t a lot of big budget films that had a Jewish culture like this one, and the representation in this film for the era was well done. It wasn’t preachy, but you get to a little bit about the Jewish community. The overall story of following your dreams and overcoming obstacles was thoroughly drawn out and never felt dull. Like many musician actors, Neil Diamond did good for his abilities, and though some parts were a little cheesy, he delivered a believable performance. I feel Lucie Arnaz was the star of the show. Her bubbly counterpart to Neil and the on-screen chemistry was a big factor in the success of this movie. Overall, the movie bombed in theaters grossing $27 million on a $13 million budget. Rodger Ebert gave it 1 star out of 4. This is definitely not a blockbuster classic. This might not even be a cult classic, but for any music lover, this film is actually better than what the critics will tell ya and for fans of this style of music, this is a really good movie. I give it 8 out of 10. I’d definitely watch it again down the road for sure.
Ah, the joys of baseball. The roar of the crowds, the cracks of the bats, and sounds of Sweet Caroline? Yes, one of the many hits from this month’s spotlight musician, Neil Diamond, the short little 3 minute diddy about his love for a girl named Caroline, somehow made its way into the sports universe. Well, actually, the song was inspired by a little girl at the time, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, Caroline, but written for his then wife Marcia. He said he wanted to use a name with three syllables and went with Caroline.
Now, when you think of sports anthems, you think of songs that get you and the athletes hyped up. You think of classics like Queens’ We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You, Guns N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle, pretty much any AC/DC song ever made, and the list goes on. So why Sweet Caroline? It’s pretty much an upbeat love song. Well, the answer lies in the chorus. After the title lyrics are sung, there’s a three note horn melody that plays. Throughout the many plays of that familiar tune, fans started to have fun with it and decided to sing the notes out “Ba ba ba,” and it caught on. Soon, you had hundreds of thousands of fans nationwide, and perhaps worldwide, singing along with the happy tune as it was getting more airplay in stadiums and ballparks all over. So, what is the origin of the viral sensation?
It looks like the story has two distinct origins. The Carolina Panthers of the NFL would be technically the first team to use the song routinely back in 1996. They played Sweet Caroline as a victory song after every home game won. The origin story then turns to the MLB and the Boston Redsox, whom, much like the Yankees, have one of the biggest fan bases in baseball. From touching the Green Monster for good luck to eating a Fenway Frank to even singing along to Joy to the World and Dirty Water, Fenway fans are truly one of a kind. One day in 1996, a Fenway employee who was in charge of the music for the day decided to honor her friends’ newborn baby girl, who just happened to be named Caroline by playing what else but Sweet Caroline. The song would be played on occasion until it was made a permanent staple of the Red Sox tradition by their executive vice president, Charles Steinberg. He had seen the gradual effect it had on the fans as they began to sing along and ultimately add the “ba ba ba” in the chorus that would catch on all over the sports world.Now, every middle of the eight inning of every home game, Sweet Caroline is belted out loudly and proudly. Then on Opening Night 2010, Neil Diamond himself led the fans in singing his catchy now immortalized hit tune.Soon, you begin to hear it in New York, in Chicago, Arlington, and every stadium in the country.
From there, the lore grows on. Many colleges begin to adopt the song as well as UFC fighters and boxers. Tyson Fury serenaded his fans in the ring shortly after knocking out his opponent in Las Vegas. It’s fascinating how a simple song about a girl named Caroline would become one of the biggest sports songs and traditions of all time. While the song has no sports like aspects like The Eye of the Tiger or We Are the Champions, the upbeat melody and the positive vibes the pours out makes it a feel good song every time you hear it. It’s like a little moment in time where you realize, win or lose, you’re enjoying the moment with good friends and fans and for a half inning or a timeout or whatever the case is, life is good. So where did this tradition start? I’m not quite sure. Honestly, it could’ve started at multiple places at the same time. Either way, it has become one of the biggest pop culture moments in the modern era, and it’s all thanks to Neil Diamond. Without a great song like his, this wouldn’t have been the craze it has become today.
This month is a special month for me. Much like April, the spotlight artist was another one of my father’s favorite musicians who has become a favorite of mine during the years. Since this month is the month we celebrate Fathers Day and in honor of my dad, I have chosen this month’s spotlight artist to be Neil Diamond. A man with a golden voice. Someone who I would describe as a cross between Barry Manilow and James Taylor. Considered by some to be the Jewish Elvis, he not only wrote some of the most infamous songs and ballads in music history, he always put his heart into all his recordings and on stage concert performances for decades. In this month ahead, we will look at a few songs that made that impact in pop culture as well as his big screen debut film that has a great soundtrack with some of my all time favorite songs from Neil. We start off, however, like we done since I’ve started the artist spotlight deep dives. We are going to look at his debut album to see how it all started. From 1966, this is The Feel of Neil Diamond.
I couldn’t find much of anything as far as a back story about the album, so let’s jump right in. This album is known for his first three hits. The opening track, Solitary Man, which is a popularly played oldie, surprisingly only hit #55 on the charts. His melodic voice combined with a great mix of guitars, tambourine, and horns give it that classic 60s sound. Another hit that’s a little more obscure, Oh No No, is another great example of highlighting Neil’s vocal talent and his style of music. The third hit and his biggest at the time is the ever popular Cherry, Cherry. This would be his first top 10 hit and the start of a great career spanning over 50 years, having 38 top 10s and 10 #1 singles. Most of the songs after that on this album were covers of hits from 50s and 60s up to the point of the recording. One song that caught my eye off the bat was the Richie Valens classic La Bamaba, which is an all Spanish song. Needless to say, it was no Richie Valens, or in later days Los Lobos, but you can’t fault a guy for trying. Other songs on the album include the song made a hit by The Cyrkle Red Rubber Ball, The Mamas and Papas hit Monday Monday, and The Raindrops hit Hanky Panky. It sounded like he had fun with Hanky Panky adding banter starting off the track saying “No I’m not going to sing this song. I don’t care who wrote it.” and then playfully mixing up the chorus for fun. Shout out to Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich of the Raindrops for making such a fun catchy tune.
Overall, this was a fun album to listen to. I think it was a nice presentation and introduction to the style and sound of Neil Diamond would be throughout his career. Even though about half this album is nothing but covers of 60 hits, Neil found a way to add a little of his own flashy spin on it to make it just as good as the original. As far as his original songs, his mix of perfectly crafted melodies combined with great lyrics and that golden, velvety voice of Neil Diamond makes this a good album. I’d give The Feel of Neil Diamond a 8/10.
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