still in kauai...it's been a wonderful trip, ending tomorrow. Far too soon. Every year, I come for 5 days, and every year I say "7 days next year." Well, maybe next year.

The discovery of the day: Neil Diamond's new CD "12 songs." This is not the las vegas neil diamond, nor the 20k seat arena neil diamond. Not even the brill building neil diamond. This is the rick rubin vision of neil diamond---and while that sounds like a strange pairing, it works.

This isn't exactly like the Johnny Cash projects produced so brilliantly by Rubin. This CD is 12 original songs, 12 new songs, stripped back to the basics. The "bonus disc" includes brian wilson singing on a reprise of "Delirious Love," one of the stronger tracks on the CD. It makes me wonder what Rick Rubin would do if he was able to get Brian Wilson in the studio for an entire project.

This is a very interesting disc, worth more than a casual listen. Diamond's brief liner notes explain Rubin's approach, and do a brilliant job of setting up the CD. Check this one out ---


add one a few hours later: i've had this disc on repeat in the suite, and I'm hearing more and more stuff I like. A casual listen won't get you into the songs here, you've got to give it a few spins.