Hot August Night/NYC Neil Diamond Columbia Records Sounds like: Billy Joel with a Johnny Cash attitude Grade: A-
Age is no factor to a veritable codger of a musician like Neil Diamond. After nearly half a century of belting out classic rock ballads, the Brooklyn native still lives up to his storied reputation in his live double-disc release performed at Madison Square Garden. If you — or maybe more appropriately, your dad — want to revisit the classics of the Jewish Elvis and have never attended one of his live performances, you’re sure to be satisfied and maybe even blissfully nostalgic.
Amid the din of a cheering, adoring crowd, Diamond starts with several toe-tappers like “Holly Holy” and “Street Life” from his chart-topping albums of the ‘70s. His vivacious personality is almost palpable when listening in on one of these performances, as he panders to the crowd by invoking the shameless overconfidence of his youthful era. He makes sarcastic remarks between songs, such as “Did you actually pay for these seats?” In fact, this boldness of his early career becomes a recurring theme of the album, as he very rarely plays more recent titles like “Hell Yeah.” Still, he spares no expense in production and gives his oldies new life, playing each song with a pitch-perfect grace and a bad-boy flair that’s both uncharacteristic and highly becoming for his old age.
The second disc also features live performances from his concerts in Philadelphia, London, Fresno, Rotterdam and Columbus. Diamond maintains a steely brilliance throughout it all, never tiring or even pausing for a breath, as if the stage is his life calling. Give this album a listen — if not for enjoyment, then for inspiration.
— STEPHAN CHO
Come What Will Patrick Park Badman Recording Company Sounds like: A lovesick Oasis Grade: A-
Like most budding musicians with an acoustic guitar and a MySpace page, Patrick Park lives on the periphery of making it big. He’s been writing songs since he was a teenager while working a number of odd jobs around the country to support himself. He received some national exposure when his “Life is a Song” was featured as the closer for the series finale of “The O.C.,” but that’s about it. And with the release of his latest album, it’s both a shame and a mystery why he’s been living in obscurity in the 10 years he’s been active.
As its name might suggest, the album has recurring themes of learning to appreciate life for what it is. “You’re Enough” and “You’ll Get Over” are country ballads about being thankful for the people that matter. Sure, they’re cloyingly sentimental with their minimal lyrics and mawkish melody, but it’s Park’s voice that really makes everything come together; it has an almost ominous quality about it. “The Long Night” and “Silence and Storm” are somber dirges compared to the rest of the album, evoking feelings of inadequacy and burden. Here, Park’s voice takes a noticeable shift in pitch that is beautifully understated. His ability to project emotions is heightened by his infectious tunes.
After his momentary successes in television soundtracks, perhaps Park would like to distance himself and become more of a stand-alone artist in the eyes of the public. And while this album isn’t much of a departure from that style, he’s certainly a humbled singer with a talent for songwriting. If life really is a song, then Patrick Park has done an excellent job of journaling his.
— S.C.
Shame, Shame Dr. Dog Anti- Records Sounds like: The Beach Boys gone hi-fi Grade: A-
Lately bands seem so tied down by the idea of innovation that they try to revoke the classics, as if blandness were the issue. Philadelphia band Dr. Dog on the other hand seems to fully embrace the undertones of the Beach Boys and the Beatles in every song they sing and their new album “Shame, Shame” is no exception. Lacking the effortless transitions that propelled their album “Fate,” this album instead gains momentum from the distinctive harmonies, steady beats and expressive lyrics.
The album presents all the qualities of an old friendship tied with the hope that it will last. Songs like “Jackie Wants a Black Eye” establish an intentionally saccharine manner with lines like “Could say that we’re alone, but we’re lonely together” that bring a lightness to the album. Dr. Dog also displays a sincerity that begins with the opening lines of “Twenty years of schooling/I just never learned the math” off “Stranger,” and continues with the melancholy of “Someday.” They boldly present a sound that’s hi-fi and raw with lyrics that deliver clear intentions.
Still each song is different. While “Mirror, Mirror” is full of images and musing, “I Only Wear Blue” uses pieces of conversations and random assertions. The rhythm and emotion of “Later” goes through the turmoil to finally decide “to sit around and wait for you.” The lyrics are honest and unapologetic. Dr. Dog shows in this album that they want to hold onto the things that came before this moment both in music and in life, and because of that, the album is an intriguing mix of old and new that’s sure to draw listeners.
— JILL WHEELER
