Fact #148399
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Neil Diamond - Tap Root Manuscript, by Johnny Black
This extraordinary album, which Diamond described as “an attempt to convey my passion for the folk music of that black continent”, pre-dated Paul Simon’s African-inspired Graceland project by over fifteen years.
Diamond’s African Trilogy, which makes up one half of Tap Root Manuscript, was acknowledged on release as, “a stunning example of pop crossbreeding” by Time magazine, but because its creator had written hits for The Monkees, and spent most of his subsequent career in sequinned shirts crooning to moist housewives, it has been ignored by the rock cognoscenti.
“The Trilogy took eighteen months to write,” Diamond has said, “but it gave me far more satisfaction than anything I'd done before." It was also a nightmare for everyone involved in it with him at Western Sound in Los Angeles, California, USA. Engineer Armin Steiner described Diamond as, “The most incredible mass of self-torture I have ever seen”, and tales of his endless bickering over Marty Paich’s lovely orchestral arrangements are legend.
The end result, however, was an impressive six song suite based on African themes, featuring ambitious use of sound effects, exotic instruments and vocal textures unheard of in popular music at the time. Undeniably much more pop-oriented than Simon’s Graceland, it nevertheless explored similar issues with lyrics touching on poverty, natural disasters and the effects of Christianity on African culture.
The album, which went gold two months after release, also includes not just a classic No1 hit, Cracklin’ Rosie, but also Done Too Soon, which sounds uncannily like the inspiration for Billy Joel’s 1989 No1 smash We Didn’t Start The Fire.
(Source : Johnny Black, first published in the book Albums by Backbeat Press, 2007)
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This extraordinary album, which Diamond described as “an attempt to convey my passion for the folk music of that black continent”, pre-dated Paul Simon’s African-inspired Graceland project by over fifteen years.
Diamond’s African Trilogy, which makes up one half of Tap Root Manuscript, was acknowledged on release as, “a stunning example of pop crossbreeding” by Time magazine, but because its creator had written hits for The Monkees, and spent most of his subsequent career in sequinned shirts crooning to moist housewives, it has been ignored by the rock cognoscenti.
“The Trilogy took eighteen months to write,” Diamond has said, “but it gave me far more satisfaction than anything I'd done before." It was also a nightmare for everyone involved in it with him at Western Sound in Los Angeles, California, USA. Engineer Armin Steiner described Diamond as, “The most incredible mass of self-torture I have ever seen”, and tales of his endless bickering over Marty Paich’s lovely orchestral arrangements are legend.
The end result, however, was an impressive six song suite based on African themes, featuring ambitious use of sound effects, exotic instruments and vocal textures unheard of in popular music at the time. Undeniably much more pop-oriented than Simon’s Graceland, it nevertheless explored similar issues with lyrics touching on poverty, natural disasters and the effects of Christianity on African culture.
The album, which went gold two months after release, also includes not just a classic No1 hit, Cracklin’ Rosie, but also Done Too Soon, which sounds uncannily like the inspiration for Billy Joel’s 1989 No1 smash We Didn’t Start The Fire.
(Source : Johnny Black, first published in the book Albums by Backbeat Press, 2007)