Neil Diamond wants to be the new cool

Did you know that Neil has been trying to launch a comeback a la Johnny Cash? Mr. Diamond even hooked up with Cash's producer Rick Rubin, producing 2 albums worth of mostly stripped down singer songwriter stuff. (Listen at http://www.myspace.com/neildiamond.) However, Neil doesn't do any Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, or Depeche Mode tunes, and he also doesn't have any of those iconic black and white album covers like Cash did. Maybe that's why it just doesn't cut it. Or maybe the heart and soul of The Man in Black just reverberates a million times more in his music. Instead, Mr. D's got a duet with Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks), who I don't mind - but this song goes straight to nowheresville and stays there. And I like old Neil Diamond hits as much as any old man. Perhaps I'm just disappointed because Crooked Fingers are creating perfect pop tunes with occasional Diamondlike flourishes and the man himself is not... (Check out Sleep All Summer at http://www.myspace.com/crookedfingers.)