"12 SONGS" (artist's cut)

2005
-by Neil Diamond
Not long ago, a friend of mine opined that no one over thirty has ever created a great rock album. To refute that claim, i need two words: Rubin and Rick. His production of Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, artists decades past their twenties, was nothing short of brilliant.
And then there's Neil Diamond. It would be hard to overstate Neil's Rick-directed rebirth. I won't take any cheap shots at the hardcore Neil fans who never lost the faith, either. In my own small way, i'm one of 'em. Even with limited knowledge of Neil's oeuvre, i can attest that our faith was well-earned. THE JAZZ SINGER is simply one of the greatest albums ever. The week he recorded THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM, he must have been elbowing into someone else's Wheaties bowl. And give "I am the Lion" a listen if you'd like to have your aural and lyrical senses put on happy overload.
Sure, Neil's been capable of being underwhelming. For any singer/songwriter given the opportunity to create albums for forty-plus years, the miracle would be if there weren't some limp daisies in the lot. THREE CHORD OPERA, his last offering before Rick, is a bit disconnected and uninspired.
Rick was having none of that. It's probably no coincidence that for the recording, Rick insisted Neil play the guitar, after leaving the instrumental work to other musicians for decades.
The first single, "Oh Mary" actually doesn't excite me as much as it does some. Oh, i love the feel of it, but it's almost too simplistic and repetitive. It's a statement of vitality that Neil hadn't demonstrated in a long time, but for me, it's just Neil clearing his throat for the wonderfulness to follow. Among 12 SONGS' thirteen songs, there's not one clunker. And there are three absolute gems (four if you count "Oh Mary", and five if you count the bonus track with Brian Wilson). "Hell Yeah" is an object lesson in a level of coolness that most artists, twentysomething or knockin' on heaven's door, never reach. It makes you stop and just live in a moment of gratitude that music exists. "Captain of a Shipwreck" is quietly towering, the seamless expression of an exquisite song. "Delirious Love" is what air guitars were built for.
In response to the success of 12 SONGS, a two-disc edition was released, the second disc an artist's cut of early and alternate takes. At first listen, it's underwhelming, because the versions of the best songs don't add anything to the original brilliance. But you soon realize that the artist's cut's greatness lies in the lesser songs. In particular, the sparse and intimate recordings of "We" and "Men Are So Easy" elevate them nearly to the level of the album's best.