Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unexpectedly beautiful noise, if you know what I mean, 3 Sep 2006
Less of a concept album and more a series of poignant and nostalgic reflections on a songwriter's life in the NYC of the early sixties, `Beautiful Noise' is one of those albums you should ensure you have with you if anyone offers you a trip to a desert island (take along '12 Songs' as well). What it shares with '12 Songs' is an unlikely collaborator - in this case, producer Robbie Robertson. Neither Rick Rubin (who produced '12 Songs') nor Robbie Robertson would seem at first glance to have much affinity with Neil Diamond, yet these unlikely collaborators helped produce two barnstormingly brilliant albums. There may be a message in this: is you want to produce your best work, choose the least likely partner to help you do it.
Neil Diamond writes in the liner notes to the album that the 1960s was `a period which some have called a renaissance of the American spirit, others, the beginnings of a new age of decadence'. Perhaps the song which best reflects this is the evocative `Dry Your Eyes' (co-written with Robertson). I could be wrong here, but I take it as being a hymn to all the things we lost in the 1960s (JFK, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King - to name but three). The opening drum beat and the concluding bugle call give the song the feel of some great military marching song and lend the song an anthemic quality. It's the perfect way to conclude the album. The opening track, `Beautiful Noise' is a stroke of genius (although I have to confess it's not my own personal favourite). Composers are well known for writing lyrically (and at length) about everything from fields to fjords, but not many take as their inspiration the sounds of the city. There are numerous songs about New York, but few celebrate the way the city actually sounds as well as this one.
If `Beautiful Noise' represents the bright, breezy upside of the city, `Street Life' portrays the seamier, sleazy downside. Surprisingly hard-edged for a Neil Diamond song, it's deceptively simple (if you play the vocal line on the piano it doesn't seem to go anywhere at all) but somehow, with the right arrangement, it works perfectly. `Stargazer', the second track on the album, is a great upbeat horn-filled ode to the perils of fame which sounds as thought it could have strayed right out of New Orleans rather than NYC - "Moon dreamer, I've been around and I've seen it; the higher you get, the harder they let you down". The song sums up the futility of offering advice to anyone intent on pursuing a career in the entertainment business - they've got to learn the hard way, by experience.
`Home is a Wounded Heart' is about the price of success and the impact of fame on family life. "Home is a wounded heart, haven't you heard the story? He's out for love and for glory and she's waitin' home by the fire" - heartfelt without being mawkish. The song features a great string arrangement, proving that there's nothing intrinsically wrong with an orchestral approach. There's also a pretty nifty keyboard arrangement, although it can't quite match the absolutely perfect introduction to `If You Know What I Mean'. This is just one of those classic songs which, if I'm not much mistaken, somebody somewhere will be singing in 100 years time. It's got a great sing-along chorus - although you need to take a deep breath before you start, or you won't get through it. It's a nostalgic and world-weary look back at lost innocence: "Here's to the songs we used to sing, and here's to the times we used to know. It's hard to hold them in our arms again and hard to let them go."
Two of the most life-affirming tracks on the album are the reggae-inspired `Don't Think Feel' and the gospel infused `Surviving the Life', which (although I could be quite wrong here) sum up the composer's approach to life and art. "Don't think feel; ain't no big deal. Just make it real and don't think feel." This is how you're meant to respond to the song and how most people actually respond to music - by feeling, not thinking. Of course, the art of composition is an intellectual endeavour, but most people respond to music on an emotional, not an intellectual level. Beware the person whose response to a piece of music is to say: `I particularly liked his use of the diminished seventh in the third bar of the second movement'. `Surviving the Life' tells a similar story: "Life ain't easy, but it ain't that bad. Sing the song that tells it, praise the man that sells it; you're alive, you might as well be glad" - bang on, enough said.
`Lady-oh' is one of those songs which is just crying out to be sung late at night in some smoke-filled jazz club. It's a hymn to unrequited, unattainable, unreachable love: "I've been waitin' around such a long, long time, believin' I could make you mine, just wanting you, Lady-oh."
The only two songs on the album which I just can't bring myself to like (which probably means they were both humungous hits) are `Signs' and `Jungletime'. With `Signs' we seem to have strayed into easy listening territory, while `Jungletime' doesn't sound menacing enough for a song about gang warfare.
Hopefully, if you've read this far, you'll be convinced that life won't be complete until you've ordered, purchased, downloaded or otherwise obtained of a copy of `Beautiful Noise'. Enjoy.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Sound of True Class, 10 Oct 2007
During the early to mid 70s, Diamond was at a peak when it came to writing and performing in concert. He had so many creative juices flowing through him at this time that some of his best original work began to pour out of him in an almost effortless stream.
He had stunned everybody with his "Hot August Night" concerts, already written an award winning soundtrack "JLS" and was about to have another stunning series of concerts filmed and recorded on "Love at the Greek".
Much of the new material for this show was to be taken from this CD...........an excellent package of songs that covers a wide range of musical areas.
The title track became a hit single and although not as successful in the charts, "If You Know What I Mean" was a massive radio hit.............still is.
The quality of the songs, voice, arrangements and production are Diamond at his best, with a great directional assist from Robbie Robertson of The Band.
He covers strong ballads, pure pop, gospel and even a stab at trad. jazz on "Stargazer". There's a genuine thread running through the whole album, covering his early days in "Tin Pan Alley". Having lived it he conveys the feeling of the era superbly.
It's testament to this release that there are a number of tracks on it that are still regarded as "Diamond Standards" even today. Personally, I have a very soft spot for "Signs". A great track that just like "Stones" on a previous album of the same name, hardly ever gets a mention or a play when he is in concert, but is one of my favourites nevertheless.
This is one of the albums that portray Diamond at his best. He was almost reaching a peak at this time and later there was to be a lot of below par work released by the man. However, buy this in the safe knowledge it's a classic.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A mid-seventies classic, 27 May 2009
Neil describes this album as a series of recollections of New York in the early sixties. At that time, he was a struggling songwriter struggling to make a living. Of course, he eventually succeed as a songwriter, following up with success as a singer. By the time that this album appeared, he was an international megastar. As if to prove that he was no longer struggling, he wrote all but one of the songs here and co-wrote the other (Dry your eyes).
The outstanding song here is the title track, which might well sum up the music coming out of New York in the early sixties, although some might argue that the music coming out of Liverpool (led by the Beatles) and Detroit (headquarters of Motown) was an even more beautiful noise. Let's not argue about that but just agree that a lot of great music was made in the sixties.
There are many other great songs here, especially If you know what I mean, Signs, Surviving the life and Don't think - feel. This is a brilliant album by a master at the peak of his craft.
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