This 2004 compilation is a 2-CD set featuring some of the best work from the early part of Neil Diamond’s career. Disc 1 is the 1973 cover album Rainbow, featuring covers of Mr. Bojangles by Jerry Jeff Walker, Everybody’s Talkin’ by Fred Neil, Chelsea Morning and Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell, and He Ain’t Heavy…He’s My Brother by The Hollies. Disc 2 is none other than the 1968 album Velvet Gloves and Spit, which features the hits Brooklyn Roads, Shiloh, and Two-Bit Manchild.
WARNING: If you already have either Rainbow or Velvet Gloves and Spit, then this compilation is not for you. You will NOT gain anything by adding it to your collection. If you have one but not the other of those two albums, you will do better to simply purchase whichever one you do not have.
But if you do not have either of those albums and you wish to explore Neil Diamond’s early work, then Reflections is an excellent place to start.
Rainbow is the first album that I ever remember hearing. My parents had it on 8-track and would listen to it frequently in the car or around the house when I was a small child. (I am sure that they listened to other albums as well, but for some reason this one sticks out as being the first one that I ever remember hearing.) But somewhere along the line it got lost, and I never heard it again until this year when I happened to find Reflections.
The two songs that I remember from this album are Mr. Bojangles and Both Sides Now. But there are many other things on this album which came back to me when I heard it again this year, such as the peppy double-time feel of Everybody’s Talkin’, the strings on Chelsea Morning which creep in quietly and build in intensity and then drop out suddenly just before the last verse, and Neil Diamond’s trip up into the stratospheric regions of his vocal range on the final chorus of He Ain’t Heavy…He’s My Brother.
Love songs like If You Go Away and Until It’s Time For You To Go showcase Neil Diamond as a powerful operatic voice. The strings which appear on all the songs are a unifying element which brings consistency and continuity to the album. The only song where the strings seem out of place is Chelsea Morning, where the sudden absence of strings on the final verse leaves a large void which is inconsistent with the bright, springlike tone of the song.
For me, the high point of this album is Mr. Bojangles. This song tells the story of a man named Mr. Bojangles (hence the title of the song), who was known throughout the South as an expert dancer. He traveled throughout the region with his dog, performing at county fairs, minstrel shows, honky tonks, and other such venues. But then one day his dog died. He grieved the loss for several years, until it finally reduced him to the point where he didn’t want to dance anymore. At the end of the song, Neil Diamond’s scat-type vocals against a powerful string background give the image of an old man silhouetted against the setting sun, dancing as he disappears into the sunset.
Rainbow was one of my favorite albums as a child, and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to it and appreciate it as an adult.
Velvet Gloves and Spit doesn’t do as much for me. Much of this album has the raw, unpolished sound that was characteristic of many ’60s artists. In some places this album gets downright campy, such as Honey-Drippin’ Times, The Pot Smoker’s Song, and Knackelflerg.
Honey-Drippin’ Times is just a sappy little song about thinking back to good times. The Pot Smoker’s Song is a piece of anti-drug propaganda. As such it is quite effective, as the shiny happy jingle in the chorus set against the testimonials of people whose lives were devastated by the use of pot forms a stark contrast. But I still say it’s campy. In Knackelflerg, Neil Diamond makes up a nonsense word and writes a love song about it. I guess he was trying to do the same thing as Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but his attempt comes off as decidedly cheesy.
Two-Bit Manchild is a strong, upbeat beginning to the album. Holiday Inn Blues is an honest, humorous reflection of the not-so-romantic side of life as a traveling singer.
The high points of this album are the two hits Brooklyn Roads and Shiloh. Brooklyn Roads is a song about Neil Diamond’s growing-up years and his thoughts about possibly going back to the places where he grew up. Shiloh is a song about a faithful childhood friend, perhaps an imaginary friend from the sound of some of the lyrics.
All in all, Velvet Gloves and Spit is OK as a first major-label album (after all, it is the first album that Neil Diamond ever recorded with MCA). But he does get better on his later albums.
