Neil Diamond - The Essential Neil Diamond

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 Amazon.com

 Too many live cuts!
Probably the best collection of his music. Why do we have to settle for cuts that were not what we heard on the radio? Who makes these crapola decisions? Pefect set if not for someone's idea of what we should hear.
GLK May 2, 2008

 A good collection, but with a few shortcomings
Overall, this is a good collection for the price paid. It has more than 35 songs and has all of Neil's best known ones. It is hard to find a complete compilation like this one in a single package at a decent price.

The majority of the tracks are the originals as I remember them. I especially like Solitary Man, I Am, I Said, and, of course, America. There are a number of his lesser known songs included, like Beautiful Noise, which add a lot to the collection.

There are two areas of concern, however. First, I am not sure why about a quarter of the tracks are live when the studio recordings are certainly available, and the live recordings are not, in my opinion, of the same quality. Brooklyn Roads, one of my favorites, sounds much better on the studio recording, and Brother Love's Show is not good - I am thankful my CD player has a "skip track" button for this one! The other concern is the packaging. I actually had to break the case to get to the second CD. Unless they want to sell jewel boxes on the side, they could do better here. Still, this is a good collection,especially for the number of songs and the price. April 2, 2008

 Too Many Essential Songs Are Missing....
Although This album does contain several of Neil Diamond's biggest hits,it misses a few,it also has its share of odd choices...

"Headed For The Future" and "You Are The Best Part Of Me" should have been ommitted in favor of "Longfellow Serenade" and "Be" (actual hits!).I do enjoy the new live versions of "Captain Sunshine","He Ain't Heavy,He's My Brother" and especially "Yes I Will/Lady Magdalene"(the rare live version that surpasses its original).Whether or not these are truly essential is debatable,but at least it gives this collection something different.

The original versions of "Shilo",Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" and "Soolaimon" would have been better choices,the live versions are decent,they just lack the power of the studio recordings,and besides,this is just too much live material for a "hits collection".The original versions were used on the "In My Lifetime" box set,but columbia wouldn't shell out the exta cash to use them here,strangely enough,columbia has the rights to the original version of "Shilo",but used a live one instead.Even the "Love At The Greek" version of "Brother Love" would've been acceptable,that album isn't represented here at all.The same goes for "Hot August Night 2".The original "Hot August Night" is on MCA,so Columbia can't use it,but they could've at least used something from 2."The Essential" is produced by Neil Diamond,himself,so it was his choice not to ,I guess.

"Morningside" and "Brooklyn Roads" are the same versions found on "The Greatest Hits 1966-1992".No complaints here,these are my favorite versions of these songs."Play Me" and "Crunchy Granola Suite" are from "Live In America",possibly Neil's most ill-fated live recording,I've read several negative reviews for it,I like these versions,though.

The liner notes state that "Solitary Man" is the original 1966 version,it isn't.It is the 1967 "Just For You" version,the one that became a hit in 1970.Columbia gained control of Neil's early Bang material in the early eighties,but have only ever used 12 songs from this period,it would be nice to see "The Long Way Home" and "New Orleans" included.

Neil won his only grammy for "Jonathan Livingston Seagull",yet nothing from that album is included here."The Essential" actually skips 11 of Neil's Columbia albums,opting instead for live versions of his UNI period,there are already several great compilations available,dedicated to those years alone.It's up to Columbia to use what they have.

Overall,this is a pretty good collection,despite all of its flaws,it still manages to give new fans enough to get them hooked,while giving longtime Diamondheads a few exclusives.


The cd features a 12 page booklet with a few rare photos of Neil and a discography of his columbia years.sadly,the liner notes fall short,only 1 page,written by David Wild,who tends to talk more about himself,than Neil!


This cd has been digitally remastered for the ultimate sound!



ALBUM REPRESENTATION:

The Feel Of Neil:2
Just For You:6
Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits:1
Velvet Gloves And Spit:0
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show:1
Touching You,Touching Me:1
Gold:0
Tap Root Manuscript:1
Stones:1
Moods:1
Hot August Night:0
Jonathan Livingston Seagull:0
Serenade:1
Beautiful Noise:2
Love At The Greek:0
I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight:1
You Don't Bring Me Flowers:2
September Morn:1
The Jazz Singer:3
On The Way To The Sky:1
Heartlight:1
Primitive:0
Headed For The Future:1
Hot August Night II:0
The Best Years Of Our Lives:0
Lovescape:0
The Greatest Hits 1966-1992:2
The Christmas Album:0
Up On The Roof:0
Live In America:2
The Christmas Album Volume Two:0
Tennessee Moon:0
The Movie Album:0
Three Chord Opera:1


Recommended October 11, 2007

 Essential, alrighty!!
A great collection of Neil Diamond's greatest hits, although it does not have "Shiloh" or the original recording of "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" (I don't know why.) But it's got the rest of the greatest hits that you can sing along with or dance to for years to come! September 25, 2007

 The Essential Neil Diamond
Music preview helped sell the product, fast delivery and condition just as described. Great doing business A++
June 11, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...