Music Capsule Review

Three Chord Opera (2008)

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Credits

Lead Performance: Neil Diamond

By David Browne

David Browne

David Browne is EW's music critic and author of ''Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley'' (HarperCollins)

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.

Posted Jul 27, 2001

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