“Do you want to go see Neil Diamond tonight?” asked Perth’s most practical publicist.
“Sure”, I said.
After accepting the invitation I wondered why I’d jumped at the chance to see the 74 year old singer live.
Maybe it was because he’s 74 and there many not be many more chances to see him perform live.
Maybe it was because even though I might only be able to name a handful of his tunes, I know that he’s had a long career and usually people with long careers are damn good entertainers.
Maybe it’s because deep down I have harboured a secret love of his song ‘Crunchy Granola Suite’. I must have been about nine years old when I first pondered why this song on the radio was about breakfast cereal.
After seeing Diamond perform last night I’m surprised to report that while I may have only been able to name a handful of Diamond’s tunes, I actually knew nearly every song he played. His music triggering memories of growing up in remote WA with a soundtrack from AM radio.
A friend had mentioned he was taking his Dad to the show, so I thought the best person to take would be my Mum. I’m pretty sure my Mum doesn’t own a single Neil Diamond record, but she likes a good night out. As I scrolled through social media waiting for the show to start it became clear that a lot of people I knew were here with a Mum or a Dad.
The show opened up with one of several songs that Diamond wrote for The Monkees, the sing-a-long ‘I’m a Believer’. In the ’90s it was a hit for English band EMF and more recently Smashmouth delivered a version for the ‘Shrek’ soundtrack. The crowd were enthusiastic from the start, standing up to dance, clapping along and singing loudly.
Diamond and his amazing fourteen piece band launched straight into ‘Desiree’ and the more somber ‘Love on the Rocks’ before the singer paused to chat with the audience. Diamond recalled that he’d been to Perth several times, his first trip being in 1976; “There was only one building in the entire city back then,” he joked, before promising an evening filled with as much music as you can stand.
The band launched into ‘Hello Again’ before Diamond picked up a guitar to play one of his biggest hits ‘Solitary Man’. The Perth Arena was filled with warm organ sounds and Diamond sang his debut song from 1966. I couldn’t help but think how wonderful Johnny Cash’s take on the song is.
A few songs later came another great Neil Diamond tune ‘Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon’, another one which for the younger people in the audience was more likely to trigger memories of the film ‘Pulp Fiction’ – grunge band Urge Overkill covered the song for the film’s soundtrack – than the swinging ’60s.
‘Play Me’ with it’s lyrics “You are the sun, I am the moon,You are the words, I am the tune” was another opportunity for the audience to sing along before the night’s biggest dance moves broke out as Diamond sang ‘Red Red Wine’. The singer opting to present it in reggae mode, name checking UB40. Diamond’s rendition came complete with him taking on Astro’s toasting of “Red red wine, you make me feel so fine”.
Next up was ‘Beautiful Noise’ and it struck me that Diamonds tunes always make me think of people riding horses over hills in Montana – his songs conjurer up quintessential American images. Maybe it’s the symphonic style of his music, the slower beats per minute or the wonderful way his songs slow down, then speed up, how his voice gets deeper and slower. Neil Diamond really nails the concept of ‘light and shade’.
A video montage accompanied ‘Brooklyn Roads’ showing Diamond’s youth in NYC, while ‘The Art of Love’ from his latest album had a great animated backdrop.
Then it was back to the hits; ‘Shilo’, ‘Forever in Blue Jean’, ‘Cherry Cherry’ and finally we came to ‘Crunchy Granola Suite’ and tracks from his legendary album ‘Hot August Night’.
As the band played played, and the people danced, there was a real sense of anticipation as Diamond reached the point in the song where he yells out “Good Lordy!”. The cry out echoing around the arena.
The encore brought us ‘Cracklin’ Rosie’ and the massive sing-a-long of ‘Sweet Caroline’ before things took an unexpected gospel turn with ‘Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show’ as Diamond said it didn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, gay or straight, you should raise your hand sing “Halle, Halle”.
After an long standing ovation, cheers and applause Diamond sang a final song, signing off with ‘I’ve Been This Way Before’. Singing “I’ll be this way again” – we can only hope so.
24 songs in a two hour show was an impressive feat. As the myriad of sons and daughters escorted Mums and Dads out of the arena a big band version of ‘Song Sung Blue’ played, reminding us that Diamond had even more hits to his name.
Graeme Watson, Image: YayMicro – Editorial of Celebrities
