Neil Diamond
Label: Universal
Released: 1969
Originally recorded for Diamond’s second Universal album, 1969’s Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show, “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind” is a soft-on-the-ears paean to young love in the great outdoors. Elvis cut it the same year at Memphis’ American Studios, and in 1970 Mark Lindsay, formerly of Paul Revere & The Raiders, took the song to #44 on the Billboard charts. While Diamond is hugely popular, it’s taken until fairly recently for subsequent generations of musicians to openly admit their love for his music, releasing it from their guilty-pleasure zones. In fact, Richard Patrick, of industrial metal band Filter, recommends today’s track. He came to Neil Diamond’s music in much the same way many artist’s of his age did: his parents’ record collection:
“My father played Neil Diamond records when I was growing up, and that is a huge reason why I make music today.”
—Richard Patrick of Filter
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April 7th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I like many things in american music, but nobody can know or appreciate everything ……. at least i am honest enough to say it and I will continue to do it ! Good continuation to Rhino of which I own many boxed sets ! very good job !
But……I hate this song !!!
PS : french love to be criticized……
April 7th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Neil Diamond has been an incrdible talent for decades. His newest album is an incredible testament to his ability as is this song. Don’t get me wrong, he’s done some crap also. There is NO excuse for the stuff with Barbara S., but then when you’ve done as much as he has and been around for that long, not everything can be stellar. Thanks DFD for the recognition of a great writer. As for Dark Ozzy, haven’t heard anything positive out of your whiney little butt, do you know the word….constructive?
April 7th, 2009 at 11:23 am
AN ICON…..FUCK YOU DARK OZZY!
April 7th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Neil’s never been my style, but I must say I like this song. Thanks for exposing me to what’s out there.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I like this one. I still have the vinyl album with this song on it. Great music from Neil; he does an excellent live show as well.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Mr. Hot August Nights is certainly a guilty pleasure, and I agree that he penned some really awful stuff (e.g., Longfellow Serenade, The Pot Smoker’s Song, etc.). However, you can’t argue that he also penned some of the catchiest tunes in pop music (look up anything in the Monkees’ catalogue for examples).
And WTF with this banter that has nothing to do with the tunes (but everything to do with hurling out personal insults)? Save it for Facebook or Twitter. This forum is for music lovers only!
April 7th, 2009 at 11:45 am
A great artist, especially his early songs but his stage show is too glitzy and boring.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:53 am
While mom was listening to Elvis, I was listening to Neal Diamond. I admitted it then and I’ll admit to it now. I liked Longfellow Serenade, the song I didn’t care for was Heartlight - which came out around the time as the movie E.T. I just got The Jazz Singer CD for Christmas - an album I had as a kid and was thrilled to get again. Thanks for sharing.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Neil has proven to be a great songwriter over his career. Mostly hits, but a few misses along the way. No one’s perfect.
I agree with Rael, let’s keep the language polite; and music, the subject.
April 7th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Gee…here’s a guy that’s been making music for well over 40 years and this is the tune DFD chooses to pick!? C’mon!
April 7th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Who was it that pened the phrase ‘jewish elvis’ a few years back . Elvis was nowhere near the song smith Neil is .
April 7th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
An OK song by Neil, but for a man with such a huge catalog of original work and cover songs, I can think of one or two or ten that would be more Representative.
A word to the Thread Crappers, grow up, you contribute nothing and sound like immature, shallow, ignorant whiners craving attention.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
hey dark ozzy, you friggin frog,no wonder the french suck if everybodies like you. why do you bother listening, you hate everything. this site is about music not ASSHOLES.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Some pretty sensitive folks ’round here. D@rk Ozzy can hate every song everyday. I find amusement in other’s reactions. Sure there are lots of better Neil Diamond songs but I’m glad you chose one I don’t already know.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I like that DFD doesn’t always choose the best or best known or most representative song by an artist. That’s not the goal of the site, as I understand it, and I find this approach makes my day more damn fine.
I liked Neil Diamond a lot when I was a kid. Some of the stuff he’s done over the years has made my skin crawl, but some of it I still enjoy. This one is nice.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I totally agree with The Misfit. This is great stuff, I look forward for my DFD email because I am going to hear either a “I have never heard that track and I have owned this CD for years, I like it” or a “I like this, going to have to add that CD to my collection, besides it has the hits…..” So keep up the good work and thanks for helping to start this out to be a DAMN FINE DAY.
Oh and armchaircritic, Can’t we all just get along? Dark Ozzy is entitled to his opinion.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I would have never thought Richard Patrick from Filter would be a fan of Neil Diamond. Not only do I get to hear a track I’m not familiar with but learn something new about an artist. Even if I’m not a Filter fan this is pretty cool. Thanks DFD!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Great Tune!
And BTW What DO you like Dark Ozzy?
April 7th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
French like to be griticized—well Ozzy got what he likes!! Neil Diamond—hummm how come all his songs sound the same? I like him but for some reason it all sounds the same to me. Some sounds were better than others, but that is life.
Oh yes Please keep language clean you never know when a young person might come on here and you sure dont want them picking it up from here– and a lot of other people dont like it either—Remember I said PLEASE!
April 7th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Great Song And A Great Artist Singing It. Love Both…..
April 7th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
O.K. This didn’t do much for me, but thanks for posting it! One thing I LOVE about these posts is the simple fact that I’m gonna hear some music that I’ve never been exposed to. Some of the tunes I’ve liked, some of them I didn’t. I’d say you’re batting about .750. Not bad. Not bad at all!
Please, Please, Please, NEVER stop being off the wall and adventurous; it’s what makes DFD as cool as it is.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
If all I wanted to hear was musicI know then I’d listen to what I have collected over the past 40 or so years. I don’t know this Neil Diamond song…it was OK. Sounded a lot like many of his songs. That’s OK — That’s Neil.
I like to to exposed to material that I have (for whatever reason) avoided in the past. Some I like, some maybe not, but at least I give it a listen. Keep up the good work DFD.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Oh, well - I have listened to Neil Diamond’s music for at least 40 years. Have most of his records including this one which I think is a pretty average song from his pen. That probably would be a comliment to many other song smiths. I think I’ll have to put one of his vinyls on my record player…
April 7th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
ND! My favorite singer/songwriter, and I believe I’ve been known to call Neil the greatest human being of all time. While I suppose one could argue against that (probably unsuccessfully) I will say that he is the greatest songwriter that has ever lived and has provided me with a soundtrack to my life since I was six years old.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I can’t remember when I didn’t like Neils’ voice. Some of his songs aren’t as good as others but it is good to hear something different every so often. The song today isn’t much but Neil Diamonds’ voice as always, sounds great.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I grew up when Diamond was on the radio a lot, some of it was great, and yeah, some of it made me cringe. In my late 20’s, a friend dragged me to a Neil Diamond concert at Indiana University against my better judgment; I thought I was beyond Neil’s brand of music, especially the schmaltzy stuff he was doing in the mid 80’s. I could not have been more wrong; it was awesome! People from 8 to 80 (including me) were singing along with Neil all night long. Didn’t know today’s song but enjoyed it. Keep up the good work.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
DFD: The combination of off-beat track selection and the commentary from your audience makes for a daily dose of good times. I hope your staff enjoys the banter as much as I do. Don’t change!
April 7th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I love this! Neils’ voice is so rich on this track; too bad that had to change as he’s aged. This is some of his best work and easy to fall in love to.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Neil Diamond has made many great records and many mediocre ones - thanks for the listen. Check out his LP Tap Root Manuscript (Cracklin’ Rosie, Sulaimon (spelling?), etc. Very good record.
Please forgive the French - they don’t have any real rock and roll, so they listen to the Yanks and the Brits.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:25 am
Neil is certainly a multifaceted writer and performer….
April 8th, 2009 at 5:46 am
I’ve always liked ND too, and this was a nice song; thanks. I’m now to the point where I wait a day to open the DFD email, so there’s a long thread to read…some days they are more entertaining than the music!!!
April 8th, 2009 at 9:16 am
After reading through this thread, I had to repost a comment I made a month ago on a Robyn Hitchcock song.
“Although I had seen his name for years, this was the first time I was able to listen to him and I’m glad I did…now my curiosity is satisfied. For me it will be the last time I listen to Robyn…but in my mind this is what this site is all about.”
“Damn Fine Day is a chance to try something you have never heard before OR dust off a memory of something you had forgotten OR maybe even see a favorite jewel of yours being displayed for others to listen to and maybe they will see what you see…then again maybe not.”
As far as ND goes, I was a big fan of his music until Heartlight. Hot August Night is an outstanding live album (one of the few live albums I really like…I typically prefer studio recordings). I still like to occasionally listen to his older stuff. This is a decent song from his early days. I’d be disappointed if Damn Fine Day started posting the hits…you can hear those all the time…these nuggets are a lot of fun and occasionally open a door for me that I didn’t realize existed. As always…thx for another Damn Fine Day.
P.S. Please edit out the messages not related to the music as noted by many others as well.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Neil Diamond has a wonderful sound!
April 8th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
thanks again DFD for finding an interesting track for us. I’ve found that things that everyone likes generally are not that interesting.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Right on .I liked it.
April 10th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Ahh, when Neil sounded and looked great. Nice song. He could do no wrong then from 1966-1972. Thanks !
April 10th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I’ve been listening to Neil for the past 30 years, and this is one of the few songs that is overlooked in the scope of things. He is one hell of a songwriter, though I much prefer his earlier work to his stuff now. Anyway, thanks DFW for bringing this back. Also, gang, this is a music site, not a social commentary site. Keep the frigging insults and other crap for My Space and sites of that ilk.
April 11th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Wow —Who knew Neil Diamond could stir up such strong emotions? I’ve never been a fan of his, but I enjoy being exposed to music that I’ve never heard before. Thanks, DFD.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
SORRY DARK OZZY FOR THE LEWD COMMENT…YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION AND I APPRECIATE DFD FOR GIVING US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOICE THEM. TRY LISTENING TO THE 2 ALBUMS PRODUCED BY RICK RUBIN AND SEE IF YOU CAN DIG ND AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT….I WILL REFRAIN FROM THE BAD COMMENTS AND KEEP IT TO THE MUSIC FOLKS…SORRY!
April 13th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
The live version off Hot August Night is much better (still one of the great live albums of all time). He does have his share of shlock (mostly after Beautiful Noise), but a ton of great songs, especially the early Bang stuff.
would love to hear one of those songs on this site - particularly Long Way Home very under appreciated!