Love Songs [2002 MCA]

Performer: Neil Diamond
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Producers: Tommy Cogbill, Tom Catalano, Neil Diamond, Chips Moman. Compilation producer: Mike Ragogna. Includes liner notes by Robyn Flans. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Liner Note Author: Robyn Flans. Produced by the Band's Robbie Robertson, who had produced the previous year's BEAUTIFUL NOISE, 1977's LOVE AT THE GREEK is a document of Neil Diamond at the height of his fame, performing hits like "Kentucky Woman" and "Sweet Caroline" before an audibly awestruck crowd. The musicianship is impeccable throughout, while the arrangements update and in some cases improve on the originals, injecting freshness and vitality into Diamond classics like "Holly Holy" and "Song Sung Blue." The medley from the songwriter's "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" opus is a particular highlight. Featuring a larger and different track listing than the 2002 or 1984 Neil Diamond collections of the same name, Spectrum's 1995 Love Songs includes live tracks, a few of his classic songs, and several covers. The concert versions of "Sweet Caroline" and "Thank the Lord for the Night-Time" are decent, and "Sunday Sun," "Juliet," and "Red Red Wine" are always welcome. The covers range from Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Until It's Time for You to Go" to Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now," and while Diamond does a fairly successful job with them, his voice and songwriting are so much of a piece that the covers sound less convincing than his own lesser-known songs, like "Deep in the Morning," "A Modern Day Version of Love," or "Done Too Soon." Overall, this is a fair collection, gathering enough interesting Neil Diamond performances that it can almost be forgiven its lack of his definitive love songs. ~ Heather Phares Neil Diamond didn't stay long on MCA's Uni label, but it was a time when recording artists were expected to release at least two LPs a year, and he pumped out eight albums between 1969 and 1972, sometimes by covering songs written by others, giving MCA a substantial catalog it has used in years since to create many compilations. In 1981, there was one called Love Songs that never made the charts but achieved perennial sales that eventually resulted in a gold record certification. In time for Valentine's Day 2002, MCA revamped the album as a midline-priced CD. Four tracks have been jettisoned and replaced by two of the singer's biggest Uni hits, "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Sweet Caroline," and live versions of two songs from before the Uni era that achieved renewed success in the '80s and '90s, "Red, Red Wine" (revived for a number one hit by UB40 in 1988) and "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon" (featured in a recording by Urge Overkill on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack in 1994). And a 14th track, "If I Never Knew Your Name" from the 1969 album Brother Love's Traveling Show, has been added. The revised, expended lineup strengthens the album, giving it greater variety. Diamond is more convincing when he is singing his own compositions than when he is interpreting those of others. His version of Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind" sounds like a run-through, and Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" is given an odd string coda. But Diamond really throws himself into a minor song of his own like "Modern Day Version of Love." So, perhaps the collection would be better if it consisted entirely of originals. Still, the album remains a good choice of Valentine's Day present for the Neil Diamond fan. ~ William Ruhlmann

Q (4/02, p.131) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...A fairly strong collection..."

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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