But this is not an emotionally oppressive album, despite all that. Neil the entertainer's still there, and he knows enough to lighten the mood when necessary, even if his more upbeat moments are usually "lessons in survival" like "Don't Go There" ("You're looking for love in the back of a limousine / You're looking for something that's missing inside to fill you / If you think you can run on the power of nicotine / They got a new drug for your mood that'll surely thrill you"), or the remarkable blues "Slow It Down," which musically practices what it preaches, yet manages somehow not to drag. There are a lot of broken hearts floating around this river, and that duet with Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks might prove to be the "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" of its time, but listen close to the lyrics and you'll see that Diamond, far from becoming despondent, finds beauty, and therefore, redemption in the everyday. That sort of quasi-sentimentality may brand this as the kind of record only an old master could make. But that makes it more, not less, necessary for those of us still halfway home and wondering how to get there.
Tracklisting
- If I Don't See You Again 7:12
- Pretty Amazing Grace 4:53
- Don't Go There 6:03
- Another Day (That Time Forgot) (featuring Natalie Maines) 6:12
- One More Bite of the Apple 6:39
- Forgotten 4:22
- Act Like a Man 4:04
- Whose Hands Are These 3:11
- No Words 4:48
- The Power of Two 4:35
- Slow It Down 4:55
- Home Before Dark 6:28
- Without Her (bonus track) 4:22
- Make You Feel My Love (bonus track) 4:38
