Neil Diamond mocked Father Time and dazzled tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. The 67-year-old crooner threw himself into every self-penned lyric, turning decades-old chestnuts into in-the-moment jolts of emotion that rocked a crowd of 13,000-plus — myself included.
Yeah, he had a band that numbered more than a dozen but they augmented rather than cushioned Diamond, who was in astonishingly strong voice throughout the 90-minute set. Sure, some of his songs are as sentimental as a greeting card salutation — but they're his words, as in he wrote ‘em, a rarity among crooners — and he sings each one with the passion of a true believer, closing his eyes, flailing his arms, making you believe. It might be histrionics, it might, but if so, Diamond is one of the greatest actors alive.
The Jewish Elvis crushed with time-tested gems like "Cherry, Cherry," "I Am…I Said" and "Sweet Caroline," the latter of which inspired a sing along/love-in that surely was worth the price of admission for thousands. But Diamond also stirred the crowd with newer material like the song "Hell Yeah," from his Rick Rubin-produced 2004 album 12 Songs. A showman, an ace songwriter, Diamond may have never been hip, but the man sure knows how to show folks a good time, something he has been doing for four decades, and damn, you can never have enough of that. Especially these days.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2008.