Home Before Dark

iTunes Review

For Neil Diamond’s 2005 album, 12 Songs, producer Rick Rubin offered him the same advice and guidance he gave to Johnny Cash for his American Recordings: strip down the arrangements to the core, reject anything frivolous, trust the songs and your innate talents, and focus on presenting a complete collection of songs that put forth a consistent message and tone. This gameplan continues for the 2008 follow-up Home Before Dark. With a core backing group featuring guitarist Mike Campbell and organist Benmont Tench from Tom Petty’s Heartnreakers, the arrangements are kept naturally lean on these long, probing songs. “If I Don’t See You Again” begins things at seven minutes, experiencing the cautious emotions of a man who’s learned to not look to close at the joy he’s experiencing. Many tunes expand over six minutes, including an ear-raising duet with Dixie Chick Natalie Maines for “Another Day (That Time Forgot),” and the well-past mid-life crisis excitement of “One More Bite of the Apple.” As a producer, Rubin prefers an autumnal dimming of the day and these sepia-toned visions sometimes feel closer to Rubin than Diamond, who mutes his natural showman dynamics to best serve these introspective songs.