12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2

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

Notes: Personnel includes: Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand (vocals). Producers: Robbie Robertson, Bob Gaudio, Tom Catalano, Neil Diamond, Dennis St. John. Personnel: Neil Diamond (vocals, guitar). Collecting a dozen of Neil Diamond's best late-1970s recordings, from 1975's "Longfellow Serenade" to 1981's "Yesterday's Songs," 12 GREATEST HITS VOL. II features the Robbie Robertson-produced "Beautiful Noise," as well as Diamond's infectious 1978 toe-tapper, "Forever in Blue Jeans," and his smash-hit duet with Barbra Streisand, "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." Keying off the title of an earlier hits collection on another label, Columbia's 12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 sums up Neil Diamond's first eight years with the label, 1973-1981, as well as his successful 1980 soundtrack for The Jazz Singer on Capitol Records. Five of the 12, "Longfellow Serenade," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Barbra Streisand), "Love on the Rocks," "Hello Again," and "America," were Top Ten hits. Another six, "Be," "If You Know What I Mean," "Desiree," "Forever in Blue Jeans," "September Morn," and "Yesterday's Songs," made the Top 40, and the last, "Beautiful Noise," was the title track of Diamond's best album of the period. The songs share a catchiness that belies Diamond's shallow philosophizing and thinly veiled lust, and they make for a consistent collection out of what had been a series of uneven albums. And, since Diamond only made the Top Ten one more time, the album caps his hit-making days. This is the record to buy instead of investing in the Columbia catalog. ~ William Ruhlmann

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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