Quo Vadimus

Friday, September 16, 2005   Better than Reign in Blood? From the October 2005 issue of Esquire: Neil Diamond's New Album IS THE BEST ALBUM RICK RUBIN'S EVER MADE Tom Jones did it. So did Johnny Cash. Now it's Neil Diamond's turn for a second (or is it third?) coming. The 64-year-old entertainer's ditched the sequined shirts, reconnected with his inner tortured artist, and recorded his best album in 40 years with the help of legendary producer Rick Rubin (Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers). With the album still in production for a November release, we snuck a listen to eight songs. And they were enough to deem this the most brooding, deep, and drunk collection in recent memory—and Rubin's best work ever. The production is spare and intimate, and the songs, which range from broken-down and busted to defiant and redemptive, are indelible. The best pop number? "Saturday Night." It already sounds like a Diamond classic: "Save me a Saturday night/Leave me some room at your table/I wanna slip into your heart if I might/And stay as long as I'm able/Baby, save me, Saturday night." After this record, Neil deserves your whole weekend.—LORRAINE ALI posted by Linus | 5:27 PM		blog-o-rama Recidivism. Leoville. Clap Clap. Antidisingenuous. Me again. film Avary. Baaab. Boo Seh Mee. Charlie. Cheshire Christley. Crazy Look-em-ups. Cri. D'Angelo. Denby/Lane. Drew. Dupont. Ebert. Elvis. Erickson. Frazer. Gallo. Greencine Daily. Harry. Heilman. Henderson. Hoberman, et al. Jerk. Kelly. Kim. LAKS. MCN. Meta. Milk Plus. The Movie Blog. NYT. Overbeck. Paddock. Panayides. Private Joker. PTA. Release (DVD). Release (Theatrical). Rent. Rosenbaum. Rotten. Sapolin. Sarris. Sicinski. Snider. Stults. Terry. They Shoot Pictures. Tobias. Twitch. Wells. Wes. Wu. telly [SCREENING LOG] Ali G. Arrested Development. Barnhart. Borat. Carnivale. Chuck Rose. CYE. Deadwood. D45. DVD. Emo Boy log. 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