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| Artist: Neil Diamond
Label: Sony
List Price: $22.97
Buy New: $12.95
You Save: $10.02 (44%)
New (43) Used (13) from $12.49
Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 1072
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.4 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 728078
UPC: 886972807829
EAN: 0886972807829
ASIN: B0015D3Z3U
Release Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All products brand new and factory sealed.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Pretty Amazing Diamond April 8, 2008
Ladyblue (Pennsylvania)
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
If "Pretty Amazing Grace" (which sounds like it's about Rick Rubin) is any indication of the songs on this new album, I can't WAIT to get it! I pre-ordered mine awhile ago, and I suggest this is THE album to have this year!
 Solid Improvement Over "12 Songs" May 6, 2008
R. Lingsweiler
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
When "12 Songs" came out, it was heralded as a major comeback and a chance to hear "relevant" Neil Diamond songs again. While Rick Rubin's name being attached to the album definitely gave it an extra bit of cool, I'll admit that the tunes took a long time to appreciate and I found myself wondering when I was going to latch onto a melody that I'd want to hear over and over (or even hum along with). There were a few, but it stil ended up being an album to appreciate more than enjoy. When I heard that Rubin was producing a follow-up, I had some concerns as to whether the new album would be more of the same. The good news is, the answer is yes and no. It's definitely a Rubin production...you can hear it in the clarity of the instruments and Neil's voice. BUT, there's definitely more tunefulness to the songs this time around, more a sense of a band playing so that you can appreciate their contributions (especally Mssrs. Campbell and Tench). All in all, if you think of "12 Songs" as a dress rehearsal, then "Home Before Dark" becomes the main attraction, and it's a darn good one. I'd give it 4 1/2 stars if I could. Enjoy!
Where the words are found by the poet's eye May 7, 2008
Phillip Livingstone
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
In the beginning there were the words and then the most imposing live act and now 45 years later after the joy and mastery of 12 Songs, comes the triumphant Home Before Dark. The words come from a rare and poetic place and touch the heart and mind in a refreshing and triumphant way. Like 12 songs, the words and voice tell a poignant story of live and love - in Home Before Dark - they come and touch you in many different ways and stay with you. The songs are longer and deserve to be with great words, a great story, beautiful arrangements and a beautiful and hauntingly real duet. These songs will stand the test of time from the master singer songwriter of my lifetime. There are songs on this album which the Neil Diamond band will make concert classics in the months ahead. I can't wait for the Diamond to sing them to us all live in concert. All the songs so far are favourites! Highly recommended 7 *******stars/5.
 Another disappointment May 7, 2008
Scott Garner
6 out of 21 found this review helpful
In Home Before Dark Neil Diamond may have written the first song in pop history to reference a bug stuck in a bowl trying to get out... hardly a poetic image. But he has done it here on his latest outing, once again produced by master producer Rick Rubin. There are some definite "cringe" moments in Home Before Dark, such as when Diamond utilizes the sophmoric commercial device of spelling out the title of one of his songs - Forgotten - letter by letter. He did the same thing in Mission of Love from Three Chord Opera, and also in the title cut from his In My Lifetime collection. When he falls prey to this silly device I think of Hall and Oates singing M-E-T-H-O-D O-F L-O-V-E in their 80's hit Method of Modern Love. I really don't want to think of Hall and Oates at all. Where is the the Neil DIamond who wrote the masterful Stones from 1971, I've Been This Way Before, Lady Magdalene, or Songs of Life. Diamond used to be a great poet, but now one can almost hear the awkward strain of Diamond trying to get a phrase to rhyme in some of these new compositions. Diamond's last several CD's have been billed by his PR as highly personal, intimate, and self revealing. I think most fans have had enough of the intimate, soft side of Diamond. How wonderful would it be if Diamond would release an album of bouncy rock tunes songs that were actually fun to listen to.
Possibly the finest recording of Diamond's career May 7, 2008
DalkeyPlayer (Ireland)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Diamond's second collaboration with Rick Rubin, following on from 12 Songs, sees him embrace, more fully, the stripped down production values that put a premium on songcraft and honesty of delivery. This is a very intimate, personal, lyrical and powerful piece of work. Where Diamond had been a little tentative in his approach to Rubin's uncluttered production values on 12 songs, here he is confident and authoritative and fully committed.
The opening track, If I Don't See You Again, sets the tone for the entire collection. Running to a full 7 minutes it is superbly crafted and lyrically engaging. It is one of those songs that engages fully on first hearing and then improves with every subsequent exposure.
Pretty Amazing Grace, the song Diamond performed recently on American Idol, draws you in, builds beautifully and stays in your head long after it is over.
The Duet with Natalie Maines, Another Day (That Time Forgot), is one of the highlights of this collection. The song is wistful and wonderful and the way their voices complement each other is exquisite.
Forgotten is almost a throwback to Diamond's Bang days, but here is a man who has lived a full life and is not pretending otherwise. The Power Of Two is a power love song in the best Diamond tradition.
I could go on, but you get the picture. This is a collection I would heartily recommend to anyone that enjoys pure songwriting, delivered simply, elegantly, eloquently and with integrity and passion. I thought 12 Songs was one of the records of 2005. This is superior in every way.
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