Bands We Love: Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond

You probably know more Neil Diamond songs then you think you do, he had many hits in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that are still played today

Scroll down past the album listings for a history of the Man .

This is my favorite Neil Diamond album, one of those rare live albums that you would rather listen to than the same songs thrown together on a greatest hits collection. Just listen to "Cherry Cherry" and you will see what I mean. I like to listen to the Prologue, where the strings slowly build unto the point where the guitar starts to play and Diamond launches into "Crunch Granola Suite." Likewise, I never get tired of hearing the sweeping string arrangement on "Play Me." More than you usually find on an album, the construction of this live performance is quite impressive. You have the big opening that comes down in the second half of "Done Too Soon" to set up a trio of his early hits: "Solitary Man," "Cherry Cherry" and "Sweet Caroline." Then you have a series of cute songs (e.g., "Soggy Pretzels") before an extended set of simpler numbers such as "Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon" and "Canta Libre." Then we have to endure "Song Sung Blue" (never liked it, never will) and then things perk up with "Cracklin' Rosie" setting up a powerhouse final trio. First "Holly Holy," my absolute favorite, and then a majestic version of "I Am...I Said." Following the Walk Off a rhythmic progression introduces the encore medley of "Soolaimon" and "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show." No wonder this was a legendary concert, richly deserving to be recorded for posterity. Nothing I have heard from Diamond, not even his later live stuff, has matched what I hear on this album. This is my recommendation for the "if you only own one Neil Diamond album" spot in your music collection. --Lawrance M. Bernabo

Neil Diamond is one of a rare breed. As a songwriter, his music has been covered successfully by artists as diverse as the Monkees, Deep Purple, UB40, and Smash Mouth. But Diamond used that three-chord alchemy to build an unparalleled career as a performer as well. The 38 tracks on these two discs address those interlocking legacies in the most comprehensive manner yet, gathering his material from Bang! Records (including such pop staples as "Solitary Man," "Cherry, Cherry," "Kentucky Woman," "Red, Red Wine," and "I'm a Believer"), Universal (highlighted by "Sweet Caroline," Song Sung Blue," "Holly Holy," and "I Am ... I Said"), and Columbia for the first time. And if Diamond has veered toward the middle of the road on those latter recordings (such as "September Morn," "Heartlight," and the Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers"), there remains a remarkable consistency throughout his work. As if to underscore the point, a number of mid-period hits (including "Shiloh," "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show," and "Soolaimon") are featured as live recordings from fall 2001. These performances show that the sweet roughness of his voice has only grown in power and drama; it's small wonder that Diamond remains one of the top live draws in the business. Even if it overlooks Diamond's unlikely late-'90s hit country album (Tennessee Moon), this set manages to be both concise and thorough, the best introduction yet to an American music legend. --Jerry McCulley

Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is a Jewish American singer/songwriter who had a number of hits in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, and who maintains a very loyal following with popular live performances to this day.

Diamond was born and raised in Brooklyn, attending high school with Barbara Streisand (and singing with her in the school choir). He learned to play guitar after receiving one as a gift on his 16th birthday.

He spent his early career as a writer in the Brill Building, and had an early success writing the song "I'm a Believer" for The Monkees.

Neil married school teacher Jaye Posner and they had two children, Marjorie and Elyn. They eventually divorced.
He signed a deal with Bang! Records, and had a string of singles as the primary performer, including "Kentucky Woman," "Cherry, Cherry," and "Solitary Man." Neil's Bang recordings were produced by legendary Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, both of whom can be heard singing backgrounds on many of the tracks.

He moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1970, and signed a deal with MCA Records (then called Uni Records). His sound mellowed, with such songs as "Cracklin' Rosie", "Sweet Caroline" and "Song Sung Blue". "Sweet Caroline" has since become a rallying cry of Red Sox Nation, however unlikely this may seem. Neil married Marcia Murphey, whom he had met while doing a television appearance. They had two sons, Jesse Michael Diamond born in 1970 and Micah Joseph Diamond, born February 14, 1978. Neil and Marcia divorced in 1995.
In 1972, Diamond played 10 sold out concerts at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The performance on Thursday August the 24th was recorded and released as the live double album "Hot August Night". This album demonstrates Diamond's skills as a performer and showman, as he reinvigorated his back catalogue of hits with new energy that make the original studio versions pale by comparison. The album has become a classic, and in Australia, spent a remarkable 29 weeks at number 1 on the music charts.

In 1973, Diamond hopped labels again, this time to Columbia Records, where he recorded the soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. In 1974, he released the album Serenade (songs: "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before"). In 1976, he released Beautiful Noise, produced by The Band's Robbie Robertson.
In 1977, he released an album I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight, which included the track "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". The song was covered by Barbara Streisand on her album Songbird, which led one disc jockey to combine the two in a virtual duet. The popularity of the virtual duet motivated Diamond and Streisand to record the real thing, which became a very large hit in 1978. A movie version of the song (starring Diamond and Streisand) was planned, but plans fell through when Diamond starred in a remake of the Al Jolson classic The Jazz Singer in 1980, opposite Sir Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz.

Though the movie was not a blockbuster hit at the box office, the soundtrack was a hugely successful album, spawning the singles "America," "Love On The Rocks," and "Hello Again." This would be the apex of his recording career.

In 2000, he was awarded the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In recent years, there has been a resurgence in Diamond's popularity. His songs have become nearly iconic. The 2001 comedy film Saving Silverman (starring Jack Black) plays up this theme. The main characters play in a Neil Diamond cover band, and Diamond made a cameo appearance. During this period, Will Ferrell did a recurring impersonation of Neil on Saturday Night Live.

As of May 2005 he has sold 120 million records worldwide (Source: NY Times), including 50 million records in U.S. (Source: RIAA).

Today, Diamond continues to tour and record. He recently completed and released a new album entitled 12 Songs with producer Rick Rubin. It was released on November 8, 2005 in two editions, one a standard 12-song release, and a special edition with two bonus tracks, including one featuring backing vocals by Brian Wilson. The album debuted at#4 on the Billboard album chart. 12 Songs also ended up being infamous for being one of the last albums to be pressed and released by Sony BMG with the infamous XCP digital rights management software embedded onto the disc.

On December 31, 2005 Diamond appeared on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve 2006.

Discography

Albums (incomplete list)
o 1967 Just for You
o 1968 Velvet Gloves and Spit
o 1969 Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
o 1969 Touching You, Touching Me
o 1970 Tap Root Manuscript
o 1970 Gold
o 1971 Stones
o 1972 Moods
o 1972 Hot August Night
o 1973 Jonathan Livingston Seagull
o 1974 Serenade
o 1976 Beautiful Noise
o 1977 I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight
o 1978 You Don't Bring Me Flower
o 1980 September Morn
o 2002 Three Chord Opera
o 2005 12 Songs
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Singles
o 1961: You Are My Love At Last/What Will I Do?
o 1962: I'm Afraid/Till You've Tried Love (above two by "Neil & Jack" - Neil Diamond and Jack Packer)
o 1963: At Night/Clown Town
o 1966: Solitary Man/Do It
o 1966: Cherry, Cherry/I'll Come Running
o 1966: I Got The Feelin' (Oh No, No)/The Boat That I Row
o 1967: You Got To Me/Someday Baby
o 1967: Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon/You'll Forget
o 1967: Thank The Lord For The Night Time/The Long Way Home
o 1967: Kentucky Woman/The Time Is Now
o 1968: New Orleans/Hanky Panky
o 1968: Red Red Wine/Red Rubber Ball
o 1968: Brooklyn Roads/Holiday Inn Blues
o 1969: Shilo/La Bamba
o 1968: Sunday Sun/Honey-Drippin' Times
o 1969: Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show/A Modern Day Version Of Love
o 1969: Sweet Caroline/Dig In
o 1969: Holly Holy/Hurting You Don't Come Easy
o 1970: Until It's Time For You To Go/And The Singer Sings His Song
o 1970: Soolaimon/And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind
o 1970: Cracklin' Rosie/Lordy
o 1970: He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother/Free Life
o 1970: Solitary Man (1966 version)/The Time Is Now
o 1970: Do It (new version)/Hanky Panky
o 1971: I Am...I Said/Done Too Soon
o 1971: Stones/Crunchy Granola Suite
o 1971: I'm A Believer (new version)/Crooked Street
o 1972: Song Sung Blue/Gitchy Goomy
o 1972: Play Me/Porcupine Pie
o 1972: Walk On Water/High Rolling Man
o 1973: Cherry, Cherry/Morningside
o 1973: The Last Thing On My Mind/Canta Libre
o 1973: Be/Flight Of The Gull (instrumental)
o 1973: The Long Way Home/Monday Monday
o 1974: Skybird/Lonely Looking Sky
o 1974: Longfellow Serenade/Rosemary's Wine
o 1975: I've Been This Way Before/Reggae Strut
o 1975: The Last Picasso/The Gift Of Song
o 1976: If You Know What I Mean/Street Life
o 1976: Don't Think...Feel/Home Is A Wounded Heart
o 1976: Beautiful Noise/Signs
o 1976: Song Sung Blue/Song Sung Blue (live version; promo only)
o 1977: Desiree/Once In A While
o 1978: You Don't Bring Me Flowers (w/Barbara Streisand)/You Don't Bring Me Flowers (instrumental)
o 1978: Forever In Blue Jeans/Remember Me
o 1979: Say Maybe/Diamond Girls
o 1979: September Morn/I'm A Believer (new version)
o 1979: September Morn/September Morn (alternate take; promo only)
o 1980: The Good Lord Loves You/Jazz Time
o 1981: Yesterday's Songs/Guitar Heaven
o 1982: On The Way To The Sky/Save Me
o 1982: Be Mine Tonight/Right By You
o 1982: Heartlight/You Don't Know Me
o 1983: I'm Alive/Lost Among The Stars
o 1983: Front Page Story/I'm Guilty
o 1984: Turn Around/Brooklyn On A Saturday Night
o 1984: Sleep With Me Tonight/One By One
o 1984: You Make It Feel Like Christmas/Crazy
o 1986: Headed For The Future/Angel
o 1986: The Story Of My Life/Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore
o 1987: I Dreamed A Dream/Sweet Caroline
o 1987: Cherry, Cherry/America
o 1988: This Time/If I Couldn't See You Again
o 1988: The Best Years Of Our Lives/Carmelita's Eyes
o 1996: One Good Love (duet w/Waylon Jennings)/Kentucky Woman
o 1988: Baby Can I Hold You
o 1991: Don't Turn Around
o 1991: Hooked On The Memory Of You (duet w/Kim Carnes)
o 1991: If There Were No Dreams
o 1992: All I Really Need Is You (studio version/live version)
o 1992: Morning Has Broken
o 1993: You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (duet w/Dolly Parton)
o 1993: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
o 1993: Play Me
o 1994: Marry Me (duet w/Buffy Lawson)
o 1996: One Good Love (duet w/Waylon Jennings)
o 1998: As Time Goes By (album version)

Trivia
o Diamond's hit song "Heartlight" was inspired by the blockbuster 1982 movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
o Is a fan of Australian Rules Football team The Brisbane Lions.
o In the 1991 film What About Bob?, the protagonist posits,"There are two types of people in the world: those who like Neil Diamond and those who don't". He attributes the failure of his marriage to his ex-wife's fondness for Neil Diamond.
o Diamond is one of a small number of performers such as Paul Simon and Johnny Rivers who have their name as the copyright owner on the phonograph records they perform. (Most phonorecords have the recording company as the named owner of the recording.)

---Wikipedia

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