The keeper here is ''I Haven't Played This Song in Years,'' a magnificently lugubrious Diamond gem a la ''September Morn'': Alone and brooding, he agonizes upon hearing his ex's loud laughter, vacillates between anger and melancholy, and avoids a favorite melody that brings it all back. The rest of his first completely self-penned album in decades rarely matches that peak. The ruminative ballads come as naturally as ever, but strained attempts at rock, doo-wop pop, and a peppy God song make you wish he'd stuck to depression.
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