“The Last Waltz”- Actually a film of the last concert by the critically-respected group The Band, top-notch players who made their reputation backing Dylan in the 60’s. However, I’ve never been a connoisseur of The Band’s recordings- what critics seem to consider “incredible vocalizing” I consider to be “off-key”. Neil performs one song, the stunning, Phil Spector-ish “Dry Your Eyes” with his regular drummer, Dennis St. John and members of…
“Music Scene – The Best of 1979-1970 Volume One” – Now THIS is more like it! Neil does two songs, “Both Sides Now” and “Holly Holy”. Both seem to be using a pre-recorded backing track, with Neil singing live (Neil’s value-for-the-money again… excellent!). “Both Sides Now” has him sitting on some lighted stairs, looking handsome and brooding. “Holly Holy” is a little creepy- dark-lit stage, with Neil surrounded by people…
“Holiday Greetings From The Ed Sullivan Show” – Neil sings an abbreviated version of “Sweet Caroline.”
“Live from Greenwich Village”- You’d think that one of Neil’s 60’s appearances would be packed with screaming teenyboppers. But no, this audience (composed of young people) is surprisingly subdued. Neil sings at the folkie club, The Bitter End, dressed in a brown leather jacket, hair still greaser-styled. He sits alone onstage and sings “Solitary Man” live with a pre-recorded backing track. Although his vocal performance is good, the complete lack…
“Rock and Roll Call” – This title is both extremely entertaining and very frustrating at the same time. It’s packaged in a hysterically garish outer-sleeve, and has 21 songs jammed into approximately 50 minutes. This was made possible at the rather high cost of the tape’s entertainment value– the majority of the songs are edited, most containing about 2/3 of the song. Neil’s “Cherry Cherry” is this way. It’s in…
“Under a Tennessee Moon” – Taped in conjunction with the release of the 1996 Tennessee Moon album, the Columbia Music Video production of “Under A Tennessee Moon” shows us Neil Diamond as many have never seen him before–having real fun, and fully enjoying himself in an intimate setting! Multi-collaborations with Nashville’s finest songwriters give fans long-awaited-for new material, all with a country flair, which became increasingly popular in the 1990’s….
“Neil Diamond–The Roof Party” is the premiere of Neil Diamond’s tribute to the great songwriters of the 1960’s. So how appropriate that Neil takes us back to the 60’s not only with the music, but also with the all black attire that originated the Solitary Man. This is his shortest video, running only a half hour, but a delightful 30 minutes it is!! Neil does a very select set of…
“Greatest Hits Live”- For an old fart, Neil really has some great moves! 🙂 Anyway, “Greatest Hits Live” has quite a bit of similarity to Hot August Night II with its setlist, but everything that made HAN2 such a stinkeroo (THE SINGING, or more accurately, the SHOUTING) apparently was not a problem at all on “Greatest Hits Live”, which, by the way, has GOOD singing and shouting was kept to…
Neil’s best video, in my opinion, is the currently out-of-print “I’m Glad You’re Here With Me Tonight”. This was the thing that made me a believer– prior to buying this, I wasn’t even a fan of his. And of course, I’d never heard of the album or any of the songs on it. The IGYHWMT performances are all superb, though opinions of the quality of the songs themselves may vary….
