Three Chord Opera

Performer: Neil Diamond
Engineer: Bernie Becker
Producer: Alan Lindgren; Peter Asher
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Neil Diamond (vocals); Hadley Hockensmith (acoustic, electric & 12-string guitars); Doug Rhone (acoustic & electric guitars, tiple); Michael Thompson (electric guitar); Assa Drori, Shari Zippert (violin); Evan Wilson (viola); Susie Katayama (cello); Don Markese (clarinet, baritone saxophone); Dominic Ordinaire (accordion): Larry Kilmas, Everette Harp (tenor saxophone); Ralf Rickert, Dan Fornero (trumpet); Alan Lindgren (piano, Hammond organ, keyboards, programming); Tom Hensley (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Vince Charles (marimba, congas, steel drums, tambourine, percussion): Reinie Press (bass); Ron Tutt, Russ Kunkel (drums); Peter Asher (percussion); Jeff Turzo (programming); Linda Press (background vocals). Recorded at Archangel Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, California. Columbia records billed Neil Diamond's Three Chord Opera as his first album of all-original material in 27 years (since 1974's Serenade), which was true, but deceptive. Diamond wrote most of his songs for most of his career, but often included cover songs on his albums. It would be more accurate to describe Three Chord Opera as Diamond's first straightforward album in a decade, since he followed 1991's Lovescape with a series of all-covers albums, hits compilations, Christmas albums, and live recordings; his last album containing mostly (co-written) originals was 1996's country-oriented Tennessee Moon. However you date Diamond's songwriting lay-off, though, the expectation is that the result will be a more personal statement than his recent albums, and it is, at least in part. Diamond begins with "I Haven't Played This Song in Years," a melancholy breakup song, and he returns to the theme of romantic loss on "Midnight Dream" and "A Mission of Love," while even the songs of apparently contented love ("I Believe in Happy Endings," "You Are the Best Part of Me," "My Special Someone") are dark around the edges. But Diamond is too conscious of pop conventions to devote a whole record to one mood, and, unable to break through a tendency toward clich�, he isn't really capable of writing a sustained self-examination anyway. So, he varies the tone with novelty songs like "At the Movies" and "Baby Let's Drive," and turns to unabashed sentiment on the lullaby "Elijah's Song" and the religious "Leave a Little Room for God." When Diamond joined with songwriting collaborators in the early '80s, his compositions became more homogenous, but less embarrassing, while his '90s work fostered the impression of him as a non-writing performer. Three Chord Opera is the old Neil Diamond, a wildly uneven writer with a certain ingratiating style. ~ William Ruhlmann You've got to admire the consistency of Neil Diamond's vision. Another artist in his position--'60s/'70s pop icon putting out a new album in 2001--might pander to changing tastes by grafting trendy contemporary sounds onto the songs, or bringing in a raft of current stars for duets and photo-ops. Instead, Diamond remains true to his singer-songwriter stance and plays it straight; no drum loops or guest appearances, just twelve new songs in the classic Diamond style, presented with elegance and emotion. Thus, the album opens with possibly its least commercial song, the moody, minor-key ballad "I Haven't Played this Song in Years," which mightn't have sounded out on place on Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello's PAINTED FROM MEMORY album. Along the way, Diamond picks up the pace with the optimistic "Don't Look Down" and Bo Diddley-beat rocker "Baby Let's Drive." He also provided plenty of romantic moments bound to steal the hearts of his longtime fans, such as "My Special Someone" and the warm closer "Turn Down the Lights."

Entertainment Weekly (7/27/01, p.70) - "...His ruminative ballads come as naturally as ever..." - Rating: Ba Q (10/01, p.118) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Diamond is aging well, his voice still powerful, his songwriting still...masterful..."

With a career as a hitmaker stretching across the decades, Neil Diamond has purveyed catchy, three-chord pop/rock, progressive singer/songwriter material, middle-of-the-road balladry, and even traditional country. He started out as a Brill Building hitmaker; a songwriter for hire, he worked alongside the likes of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and penned hits for the Monkees and Jay & the Americans. His solo career took off in the mid 1960s and made him one of America's most successful recording artists and concert attractions for a long time to come. Even decades down the road, younger groups such as UB40 in the '80s, Urge Overkill in the '90s, and Smash Mouth in the 2000's were still scoring hits with Diamond's evergreen compositions.

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