POP BEAT : Diamond in the Rough Still a Hit With Fans

LOS ANGELES — Like a Billy Graham with a melody, Neil Diamond thrives on giant-sized venues and overflowing crowds, his message rolling out with thundering resonance and grand gestures.

And so it was once again Thursday as the veteran easy-pop icon kicked off another holiday run of five concerts at the Forum.

The show--while including many of his familiar hits, from “Song Sung Blue” and “I Am . . . I Said” to “Sweet Caroline” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”--was devoted largely to selections from his current collection of ‘50s and ‘60s tunes, “Up on the Roof--Songs From the Brill Building” and a set of seasonally correct classics.

Predictably--and typically--the audience loved every minute, kept in thrall so completely that when the program ended and the lights came up they exited politely without having to be told that “Mr. Diamond has left the building.”

Viewed in a broader context, it was not an especially effective outing for Diamond, whose voice sounded hoarse at the start, and almost out of control at the close. At his best, he is as good as they come in the area of easy-listening, light pop music. But this time around, his vocal cords were clearly not providing much support.

To Diamond’s credit, he more than compensated with a vigorous, interactive performance, striding back and forth across the rotating circular stage, energizing his musicians and singers, and somehow creating intimate connections with his fans. It was an impressive example of show-biz professionalism.

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The “Brill Building” pieces were less convincing live than they are on the album. Instead of making numbers such as “River Deep, Mountain High,” “I Who Have Nothing” and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” his own, Diamond’s often slogging interpretations only managed to remind one of the greater impact of the originals.

The Christmas segment included an added group of singers and a large tree of lights that mysteriously appeared (and later disappeared) in the center of the stage. The chorus joined Diamond in pleasant readings of “Silent Night,” “O Come Emmanuel,” “O, Holy Night” and a peculiarly disjointed rendering of “White Christmas.” Diamond was most impressive on “The Little Drummer Boy,” perhaps because its rhythmically dramatic qualities are so well suited to his native style.

While the program’s audio was largely an aural blur (as it often is at the Forum), the lighting effects made a major contribution to the evening. Constantly supporting the music with snowflake-like projections, rotating spotlight circles that roved around the audience and suddenly shifting laser light grids, the lighting was, at the very least, an equal partner in the success of the easygoing performance.

Diamond continues at the Forum through Sunday and on Dec. 21.