Three Chord Opera
The title ofThree Chord Operais a close analog to that  ofBeautiful Noise, Neil  Diamond's 1976 concept album about the pre-BeatlesBrill Buildingpop-rock  era. Lacking much of that record's bombast,Operainstead finds  the veteran singer-songwriter and megastar in a ruminative mood. While  no single song here equals the best of Diamond's '60s and '70s work,  the disc is often touching in its sincerity and impressive in the  subtlety of its orchestral arrangements. Diamond clearly continues to  identify with many of the classic rock themes he and his write-to-order  role models helped shape; he celebrates nights spent at the movies and  driving past the city limits. But the record's real heart and best  melodies lie in its final songs, which include a thumping lullaby for a  Diamond grandchild ("Elijah's Song"), a near-Springsteenian ode  to romance ("A Mission of Love"), and the genuinely sweet "Turn Down  the Lights," which quotesAlan Freed's old  signoff: "It's good night and not goodbye."--Rickey Wright