This is more of a personal story than a musical review. Sometimes music can bridge a generation or two if you introduce your children to your music early enough. I did that with my daughter and son early in their life. In 1996 I took my sixteen year old daughter to a concert for more reasons than the music. I was trying to use music as a metaphor for life experiences. We also went to his final tour concert in Phillips Arena, Atlanta in 2017.

  Musicians and Entertainers – They are not the same

http://www.neildiamond.com/

   Every so often, a musician comes along who is the trifecta of the music industry. By that I mean a person who is possesses the talent to write, perform and regale the audience with their showman ship.  Generally, songwriters inhabit a world of self-imposed introspection. Performing artist are usually satisfied to perform other's compositions but with a nuance of their own interpretation of the music. Occasionally a writer is also a gifted performer. But seldom do we find a single person who is accomplished at all three legs of the stool.

   In my mind, the distinction rest almost exclusively in the combination of writing, execution and superiority of the presentation. I mean no disrespect to anyone who is accomplished in only one or two of these talents. But for me the magic is the blending of all three into a cohesive show that makes one wonder how that reservoir of talent ever came to be deposited in one person. 

   Quite often, we mistake entertainment for the stage theatrics of lighting, props or fireworks. All those and others put on a great presentation, but they are often used as a crutch for a weak performer. Some of the best performances I have ever seen were sometimes a simple as a person on a stool who could weave a narrative into a magical enactment.

   I submit that one of those entertainers who possess the trifecta is Neil Diamond.  I recently heard that he has retiree from touring after Parkinson's diagnosis.  He was on a tour that was billed as the "50^th Year Anniversary Tour"

   Neither of my children have any interest in expanding any musical talent they may have. Both took piano lessons but neither had the interest in spite of the fact that my whole family played concerts regularly in the house. I have made a point to take my daughter to several Neil Diamond Concerts.  I do this not because I love Neil Diamond, but because I love my daughter.  There are times when teaching life lessons are best done through someone else.  I believe that music is one of the best ways to convey a message that may stick with a person.

   For that reason, I think the width and breadth of Neil Diamond's song provide a fairly good smorgasbord of life. I will not belabor the point beyond pointing out that a quick look at any of his songs covers the waterfront of emotions as well as experiences.

   Life has an odd way of throwing curves to a fast ball hitter.  Neil's first recorded song was "Solitary Man."

Diamond was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family descended from Russian and Polish immigrants. His parents were Rose (née Rapaport) and Akeeba "Kieve" Diamond, a dry-goods merchant. He grew up in several homes in Brooklyn, having also spent four years in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where his father was stationed in the army. In Brooklyn he attended Erasmus Hall High School and was a member of the Freshman Chorus and Choral Club along with classmate Barbra Streisand. They were not close friends at the time, Diamond recalls: "We were two poor kids in Brooklyn. We hung out in the front of Erasmus High and smoked cigarettes." After his family moved he then attended Abraham Lincoln High School and was a member of the fencing team. For his 16th birthday, he received his first guitar.   Neil_Diamond -Wiki

1996 Omni Concert in Atlanta Georgia: Father and Daughter night out

   I appreciate him for allowing me to embed some good memories in my daughter's mind. Neil is not dead, I probably won't write an obituary post if I am alive when he dies. But I do know that my daughter will shed a tear when he passes.  Maybe not for him but for her memory of her father who tried to expose her to the wonderful journey that life can be with all its ups and downs and I was there through most of those ups and downs both in reality as well as in music.

2017 Final Tour concert