Concert review | Ageless and full of hits, Neil Diamond shines at the Key

Concert Review |

The world may be crumbling around us, but Neil Diamond is forever.

Wednesday night at KeyArena, the ageless pop icon sounded just like he did 40 years ago, as he reprised some of his earliest hits, including "Cherry, Cherry," "Holly Holy," "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Sweet Caroline," bringing cheers and standing ovations from a near-capacity crowd.

He cherry-picked other highlights from throughout his career, right up to several songs from his current "Home Before Dark" album, the first No. 1 of his career.

Diamond, 67, had to cancel some tour dates last month due to laryngitis, but he sounded fine at the Key. The smiling legend seemed hearty, dressed all in black, as usual, with a thick head of dark hair.

The singer-guitarist and his 14-piece band — 11 musicians and three female backup singers, most of whom have been with him 30 years or more — performed about two dozen songs in the two-hour set, including such fan favorites as "I Am ... I Said," "Solitary Man" and, one of the most rousing of the night, a singalong of "Forever in Blue Jeans."

He told the story of his rise from the streets of New York to Tin Pan Alley and worldwide stardom, singing the nostalgic "Brooklyn Roads" as black-and-white home movies from his childhood played on two big video screens.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna stop," he said.

The show was celebratory, but there was plenty of drama, too, in songs like "Love on the Rocks," "Pretty Amazing Grace," from the new album, and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," with Linda Press singing the Barbra Streisand part from the 1978 hit duet. As the song came to an end, Diamond slow-danced with Press as many women in the audience audibly sighed.

They danced on a small, slowly moving platform that was Diamond's perch for much of the night. Sometimes he sat on a stool as he sang and played guitar; at other times he stood and sang, or roamed the big stage.

The band and backup singers had moving platforms of their own, six in all. It was simple but effective staging. The emphasis was on songs, not spectacle.

As he has in past tours, he closed with two of his most dramatic numbers, the immigration-themed "America" and the hand-clapping crowd-pleaser "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show."

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com