He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond

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He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond (eBook) Pub. Date: 10/6/2009 Publisher: Da Capo Press
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He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond Pub. Date: 10/6/2009 Publisher: Da Capo Press

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He Is ... I Say Pub. Date: 8/10/2010 Publisher: ReadHowYouWant, LLC
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He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond (None) Pub. Date: 10/20/2008 Publisher: Da Capo Press

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Overview

He Is...I Say examines Neil Diamond’s singular place in the pantheon of popular music. David Wild—who has written about Diamond for Rolling Stone, penned the liner notes to a number of Diamond’s anthologies, and produced Diamond’s scandal-free episode of Behind the Music. Now he dares to turn on his "Heartlight,” offering a moving and hilarious salute to his own Jewish Elvis based on his past interviews with the Solitary Man himself.

An illuminating snapshot of a beloved American icon, He Is...I Say endearingly speaks to the condition of being a Diamondhead in a hipper-than-thou world, while fully illustrating exactly what it is that makes the man and the artist so special.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Wild, who's written companion books to the sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld, doesn't pretend to any objectivity on the subject of Neil Diamond-over the years, he's interviewed the singer-songwriter for Rolling Stone, written liner notes for a retrospective box set, even produced an episode of Behind the Music. So this isn't so much a biography as a book-length case of pure, unapologetic fandom that traces every step of Diamond's life, from his childhood in Brooklyn and his rise to fame in the 1960s and '70s to his most recent comeback albums. (Wild is not, however, critically blind; an attempt to watch the film of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, for which Diamond wrote the soundtrack, ends in frustration.) The cutesy references to song titles can get annoying-Wild runs the phrase "I'm a Believer" as a self-description into the ground-but perceptive insights into the biographical circumstances of Diamond's artistry abound. If you are not a Neil Diamond fan already, this book is not likely to change your mind, but Wild knows he's preaching to the converted: "If you hate Neil Diamond," he jokes, "then you may actually hate yourself." (Nov.)

Library Journal

Neil Diamond is one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the last few decades. Spanning many music genres, Diamond's career has endured since the 1960s. However, it was not until the last ten years that Diamond has received the recognition he deserves. Wild, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and a TV critic, pens a tribute to Diamond. While partly autobiographical, the book also addresses Diamond's life, primarily focused on his professional career, i.e., songs, albums, and performances. Over the years, at least six biographies have been written on Diamond; this book fails to offer a new or a unique slant. Wild's inclusion of his own experiences and overzealous praising of Diamond do little to enhance the dull text. All in all, this biography is not a necessary purchase, especially for libraries with other studies of Diamond, like Laura Jackson's Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion or Diana Karanikas Harvey and Jackson Harvey's Neil Diamond. Not recommended.
—Rosalind Dayen

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780306817847
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Publication date: 10/20/2008
Edition description: None
Pages: 224
Sales rank: 1,213,040
Product dimensions: 8.54 (w) x 5.58 (h) x 0.85 (d)

Meet the Author

David Wild, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, is a music, film, and television journalist, and an Emmy-nominated television writer. Wild lives in Los Angeles.

Opening Act, Coming to America, More Specifically North Jersey ix

Song Sung 1 I'm a Believer 1

Song Sung 2 Brooklyn Roads, and a Few Other Side Streets 27

Song Sung 3 Street Life 41

Song Sung 4 Solitary Man Seeks Office Work 53

Song Sung 5 Cherry, Cherry and Twenty-four Other Ways to Move Me 67

Song Sung 6 A Song Sung Blue on Glory Road 85

Song Sung 7 Lost Between Two Shores and Found on a Hot August Night 99

Song Sung 8 Of Being and Bird Droppings 113

Song Sung 9 Hello Again 127

Song Sung 10 Amazed and Confused 145

Song Sung 11 Gold Don't Rust 163

Song Sung 12 Hell Yeah 179

Encore: I Believe in Happy Endings 193

Acknowledgments 203

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ANONWZAWMN

Posted December 19, 2008

"I AM I SAID" IS TRANSMOGRIFIED INTO "HE IS ... I SAY"

No matter where you are, once the first few notes of a Neil Diamond song is in the air, people from teen-agers to senior citizens begin to hum, tap a foot or break into song. In David Wild's homage to Neil Diamond he brings a tremendous amount of gravitas and information. All Neil Diamond fans will simply immerse themselves in the narrative of this biography, that really is an adjunct to the singer, song-writer, actor and concert performer's lyrics and music. This book is as delightful as any of Mr. Diamond's songs. REVIEWER BARBARA LIPKIEN GERSHENBAUM

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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DLB2

Posted May 25, 2010

Diamond Continues To Shine

To begin,... reading the "Opening Act" of this book will likely require a good Yiddish dictionary close at hand. Even my husband, who is Jewish, was lost on some of the "Yiddishisms" in the first pages of the book but we muddled through and I was actually proud that I knew some of them without his help. For those of the non-Yiddish persuasion though, rest assure, these terms become fewer in the remaining chapters of the book.

Now to the content...the author, David Wild, openly admits that he is an adoring fan of Mr. Diamond and as one reads on one has no doubt in believing that. He glorifies Diamond to such an extent that you almost begin to think he has a stalker mentality. How funny it was then to see on page 99 that Mr. Wild even made reference to stalking, but clearly denied that he was, in fact, stalking Neil when he re-located to the west coast, as Neil had done previously himself.

In spite of Wild's zealous enthusiasm this was a good read, but then, I am a fan of Mr. Diamond myself. I, too, have been a fan of Diamond way back to the days of "Thank The Lord For The Night Time", "I Am, I Said", and "Shiloh", then on through the days of "Love On The Rocks", "Summer Love", "Heartlight" and beyond. As much as I have loved these songs and felt the rhythms and lyrics this book made me want to pull out the old vinyls and discs in my collection and discover the lyrics of Diamond anew; to examine them with a new set of eyes. People of so many ages love Diamond but I think too many get caught up in the melodies and blindly sing along without listening to the heart of his words. The man has heart and soul and Mr. Wild was able to spark an interest in me to find the deeper meaning to the songs I have loved for so long.

As Wild closed his book he writes "They say you should never meet your childhood heros. They are wrong." I was glad to hear that the man he believed Diamond to be, and the man I felt I had come to know in my own casual love for him over the years, is, in fact, the man that exists. There's a certain comfort in that.

DLB2
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