I've just popped in for a quick chat about Neil Diamond. I've been an admirer of some of this songs for a long time but lately a few events in my life have brought him back into my thoughts. Firstly, I've never seen a more effortless performer, that's not to say he isn't putting in effort but the effort applied is totally hidden from the audience. For thirty years it seems neil has paced back and forth, front of stage warbling out his top 20 enormous hits as though it could go on forever. Maybe that's his m.o? Pace yourself is his motto, and could Mr Diamond be the first rock star to have his 100th birthday onstage? I might be hard to find to find the right spot for him to sing happy birthday to himself but he could slip it in between 'September Morn' and 'I Am, I Said' and lose none of the atmosphere he's well known for.
I think with Neil's longevity and easy lifestyle he does run the risk of outliving his entire audience/band/management/children unless he releases tracks with Kanye West or the Scissor Sisters really soon which will give birth to a new wave of Neil freak out types and extending his career until his retirement in 2050. I often wonder if Neil strained and struggled angsting over every word and note when writing his songs? Therefore when performing them felt he was very much ''off the hook'' with regards to performance, I hope so.
Anyway, it was nice to see him hang up his Elvis impersonator outfits a few years ago, he was starting to get a lot of overflow from The King's fans at his concerts, especially in Las Vegas, which fills auditoriums but doesn't sell merch!
No comments:
Post a Comment