2000 Great Songs #1404: Shilo

I suppose there will come a day when I can post a Neil Diamond song without adding the "Guilty Pleasure" caveat, but this surely ain't that day. Because writing a heartfelt song about a lonely boy and his imaginary friend? Not a convincing bid for rock & roll coolness (though props to Neil for pushing to record a more introspective song over the objections of his label, which wanted more bubblegum pop). But that's ok, because the melody here is an all-timer. There was a period of time back in the 90s/00s when I used to see a Neil tribute band called Super Diamond for shits & giggles, and they played a bang-up cover of this, and you'd be singing the damn thing to yourself for the next two weeks while hanging your head in shame.

Diamond recorded a sparse version of this in his early indie days when he was still mostly a songwriter-for-hire, but he re-recorded a far more polished version for the 1970 reissue of 1968's Velvet Gloves & Spit, and that one's the keeper.

Live 1967:

Live 2012:

Super Diamond tribute:

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