Stones

Performer: Neil Diamond
Engineer: Armin Steiner
Producer: Tom Catalano
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Photographer: Ed Caraeff. Unknown Contributor Role: Neil Diamond. Arrangers: Lee Holdridge; Marty Paich; Larry Muhoberac. Something of an anomaly in the Neil Diamond catalog, STONES features half-a-dozen covers of songs by Diamond's contemporaries, including Randy Newman, Roger Miller, and Joni Mitchell. Diamond's version of Miller's "Husbands and Wives" is a tasteful masterpiece of country pastiche, and his version of Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away" is similarly restrained. The album's title track is a fine example of early-'70s L.A. pastoral pop, while the ache of homesickness in his existential classic hit "I Am...I Said" ('and no-one heard at all, not even the chair...") continues to resonate. Driven by the hit singles "I Am...I Said" and "Crunchy Granola Suite," Stones is a stronger album than most of Neil Diamond's late-'60s records. Instead of padding the album with mediocre originals, Diamond picked several fine covers to fill out the remainder of the album, including Roger Miller's "Husbands and Wives," Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning," Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne," Randy Newman's "I Think It's Gonna Rain," Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away," and Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind." There are still a few weak patches on Stones, but the record remains an engaging collection of mainstream pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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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