Search - Neil Diamond :: Three Chord Opera

The title of Three Chord Opera is a close analog to that of Beautiful Noise, Neil Diamond's 1976 concept album about the pre-Beatles Brill Building pop-rock era. Lacking much of that record's bombast, Opera instead finds the veteran singer-songwriter and megastar in a ruminative mood. While no single song here equals the best of Diamond's '60s and '70s work, the disc is often touching in its sincerity and impressive in the subtlety of its orchestral arrangements. Diamond clearly continues to identify with many of the classic rock themes he and his write-to-order role models helped shape; he celebrates nights spent at the movies and driving past the city limits. But the record's real heart and best melodies lie in its final songs, which include a thumping lullaby for a Diamond grandchild ("Elijah's Song"), a near-Springsteenian ode to romance ("A Mission of Love"), and the genuinely sweet "Turn Down the Lights," which quotes Alan Freed's old signoff: "It's good night and not goodbye." --Rickey Wright