Hi there, B'stone. "Arizona" (I'm just demeaning the song, not the state) seems to me just another piece of pop drivel; certainly not the worst song of its genre, but...
It's also badly dated; a song about trying to get some tripped-out hippy girl (with her "rainbow shades/Indian braids, hobo shoes") to come back to society doesn't exactly resonate nowadays.
I'm sort of a lukewarm fan of Neil Diamond; he's certainly lost his way over the years, but I liked him in H.S. and college--that is, his earlier stuff--and "Brother Love" is an interesting little piece, and his voice is really at its zenith here. The only thing I never understood is how this song, about a Christian revival out in the country, came out of a Jewish boy from New York. Still, it's well-done, quirky, and not the syrupy love stuff that he'd overdo later on. It gets my vote.
Regards,
DQ
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