"Turn Around" by Neil Diamond

Song#:  2016
Date:  08/18/1984
Debut:  92
Peak:  62
Weeks:  8
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Diamond got his final Pop Top 10 hit with the title track to his 1982 album Heartlight. Although he would remain a fixture at AC for years to come, his easy listening style of music was not going to fit well into the synthpop/new wave 80s. This lead single from his next album, Primitive, certainly demonstrated that when it couldn't even crack the top half of the Pop chart. As usual, he got a lot of support at AC and the song made it to #4. But his main fan base and AC radio were not going to be enough to continue his platinum album streak and Primitive became his first regular studio LP to miss that mark since 1971. After this, Diamond would mainly have to settle for being a gold-selling artist. Certainly not a bad thing, but it showed that his days as a Pop chart icon were over.

ReduxReview:  Diamond chose to work with Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager again on a few songs for Primitive and the results were not that good. Previously, the trio wrote one terrific song ("Heartlight") for the previous album along with a handful of mediocre ones. They probably should have stopped while they were ahead. While the song is not bad at all, it just doesn't even come close to Diamond's other hits or even better album tracks. It's a nice AC ballad capably done by Diamond, but that's not enough to make it a hit. The 80s and beyond were not a good period for Diamond. The material just wasn't there. However, he'd finally get his mojo back when 12 Songs came out in 2005.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  Oddly, Diamond's album contained a Christmas-themed song. He wrote the tune "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" as his response to how the holiday had become mostly about gifts and parties. With Primitive being released in the summer, the timing worked out so that this song could be released as the LP's third single in December. The seasonal song wouldn't reach the Pop chart, but it did make an appearance at AC reaching #28. The song would also appear on Diamond's 1992 holiday record, The Christmas Album.

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