My Top 1000 Songs #956: If You Know What I Mean

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Neil Diamond has followed a complicated trajectory in my life--from guy-my-parents-liked-whose-music-I-was-compelled-to-hate; to guilty pleasure I could secretly enjoy as long as I maintained a sense of snarky irony; to respectable songwriter who, despite all the schlock, could craft some songs I couldn't help but respect and even appreciate.

That contradictory arc was best captured on 1976's Beautiful Noise. My dad had the 8-track tape, which came out not long after I'd started listening to music on the radio and, as I wrapped myself in bands like Sweet and Queen and Kiss, instantly signified everything I was trying to avoid. But it was given a sheen of respectability by its association with The Band's Robbie Robertson, who produced the record and, somewhat incongruously, included Diamond among the performers at The Last Waltz. So I begrudgingly came around on the album over time.

And "If You Know What I Mean" captures that dichotomy in a nutshell. It starts off with the sort of treacly, orchestrated balladry you'd expect, Neil emoting in the way that gets the old folks excited... yet slowly builds into something where you can almost understand why he had such adulating fans, a genuine fist-pumping, lighter-hoisting arena anthem. Sure, it's still unavoidably the work of my dorky uncle, complete with Neil's penchant for some clunky lyrics ("took a drink from a glass of old wine," anyone?). But set aside the shiny sequined shirts and the absurd drama and all the Diamond baggage, and there's a shared love of musical nostalgia, and a big boomy chorus, binding us together.

Live:

America's premier Neil Diamond tribute act, Super Diamond (used to see them all the time in San Francisco), live 2022: