The Essential Neil Diamond [Sony] [Box]

Performer: Neil Diamond
Artist: Barbra Streisand
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Neil Diamond (vocals, guitar); Barbara Streisand (vocals). Producers include: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwhich, Tommy Cogbill, Tom Catalano, Neil Diamond. Compilation producers: Neil Diamond, Al Quaglieri. Engineers include: Phil Ramone, Brooks Arthur, Armin Steiner. Recorded between February 1966 and October 2001. Includes liner notes by David Wild. Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York). Personnel: Neil Diamond (vocals, guitar); Barbra Streisand (vocals); Ellie Greenwich, Tommy Cogbill, John Barry. Columbia Records' series of two-disc, limited-edition Essential compilations of its major long-term stars -- Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, etc. -- has generally been a winner, so it is a shame to have to report that the Neil Diamond number is not. True, most of the singer/songwriter's best and most popular songs are included, but there are also significant omissions and enough inessential material to prevent this from being the sort of definitive collection it could and should have been. For once, the basic problem in assembling a Diamond best-of has been overcome, since Columbia has licensed the five Top Ten hits he scored for Uni Records in the late '60s and early '70s from Universal. Meanwhile, Columbia parent Sony controls the Bang Records catalog for which Diamond recorded from 1966 to 1968, and he has been signed to Columbia since 1973, so that puts his biggest hits at the compilers' disposal. But those compilers, Diamond himself and Al Quaglieri, have chosen oddly, shortchanging the Columbia material in favor of using more Bang recordings (nine) than necessary and employing ten live recordings, six of them newly made, nine of them songs from the Uni era, including versions of obscure album tracks like "Captain Sunshine." That leaves space for only 14 Columbia studio recordings from 1973-2001, and though most of them were chart singles, fans will miss the Top Five hit "Longfellow Serenade," while "I've Been This Way Before," another track from the Serenade album that barely made the Top 40, is included. This is the kind of idiosyncratic selection typical of a collection chosen by the artist himself, in this case one who is more interested in his new interpretations of half-forgotten songs from 30 years earlier than what a more objective observer might consider the "essential" recordings of his career. ~ William Ruhlmann 2001 gave Neil Diamond fans plenty to cheer about. A new album of all-original studio material (THREE CHORD OPERA), a speaking and singing cameo in the bawdy film SAVING SILVERMAN, and the hit-packed anthology THE ESSENTIAL NEIL DIAMOND. This two-disc set chronologically traces the Brooklyn native's career path over the span of four decades. Packed with mono versions of classic '60s hits, Disc One alone would be a considerable canon for the average musician, thanks to songs like "Solitary Man," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Song Sung Blue," "Kentucky Woman," "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," "Sweet Caroline," and "I'm A Believer." For Diamond, this was just a start, as he leapt to MOR god-like status via his duet with fellow Erasmus High alumnus Barbra Streisand ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers") and other sentimental sides including "Heartlight," "Love On The Rocks," "September Morn," and the patriotic anthem "America". A number of in-concert cuts quickly dispel any doubts that Diamond's skills are equally as impressive on stage as they are in the studio. One listen to live favorites like "He Aint' Heavy He's My Brother," "Shilo," and "Brooklyn Roads" cinches Diamond's legacy as an American musical treasure. This 2005 set repackages 2001's excellent 2-CD set, THE ESSENTIAL NEIL DIAMOND, and includes a bonus, hour-long DVD of Diamond live in concert. The two-disc set chronologically traces the Brooklyn native's career path over the span of four decades. Packed with mono versions of classic '60s hits, Disc One alone would be a considerable canon for the average musician, thanks to songs like "Solitary Man," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Song Sung Blue," "Kentucky Woman," "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon," "Sweet Caroline," and "I'm A Believer." For Diamond, this was just a start, as he leapt to MOR god-like status via his duet with fellow Erasmus High alumnus Barbra Streisand ("You Don't Bring Me Flowers") and other sentimental sides including "Heartlight," "Love On The Rocks," "September Morn," and the patriotic anthem "America". A number of in-concert cuts--especially the ones on the DVD--quickly dispel any doubts that Diamond's skills are equally as impressive on stage as they are in the studio. One listen to live favorites like "He Aint' Heavy He's My Brother," "Shilo," and "Brooklyn Roads" cinches Diamond's legacy as an American musical treasure.

With a career as a hitmaker stretching across the decades, Neil Diamond has purveyed catchy, three-chord pop/rock, progressive singer/songwriter material, middle-of-the-road balladry, and even traditional country. He started out as a Brill Building hitmaker; a songwriter for hire, he worked alongside the likes of Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and penned hits for the Monkees and Jay & the Americans. His solo career took off in the mid 1960s and made him one of America's most successful recording artists and concert attractions for a long time to come. Even decades down the road, younger groups such as UB40 in the '80s, Urge Overkill in the '90s, and Smash Mouth in the 2000's were still scoring hits with Diamond's evergreen compositions.

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