Neil Diamond - The Very Best Of

[The Curmudgeon]

For a limited time only!  Things The Curmudgeon actually LIKES: Part Four!

Oh, I'm sorry, were you expecting something else? Were you, devoted readers of The Curmudgeon's Official Room 101 of Amazon expecting a scathing, no doubt slanderous 1 star attack? Well, not today, buddy. For we're giving nothing but love this time, and indeed four other times, as I fulfill my contractual obligation and give you five of my very favourite things, this being Part Four. Let the good times roll.

When you take a look at the career of Neil Diamond (31 studio albums from 1966 with over 75 million units sold), you do wonder just how you capture that astonishing career on one disc. And Columbia have done an admirable job, collecting those non-more famous hits and the cream of his later recordings that, while lacking the familiarity of his 70's peak, still share that same spark, the warmth of Diamond's voice and his masterful word play and pop hooks. The older hits have all been given a superb remaster and polish. Gone is that muddy, dull sound of previous hits collections, all is left now is crisp, clear pop gems.

Now let's talk about those gems. Anyone new or with a passing knowledge of Neil Diamond's music may be surprised by some of the songs on this collection because, wait, THAT was a Neil Diamond song? "I'm A Believer", the song that in one swoop created and perfected the boy band pop song template, was written by the man himself and passed onto the Monkees to become an untouchable classic. "Red Red Wine", made famous by two-bit reggae chancers and professional song stealers UB40, was a Diamond original, and his version really is all you need. And "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", brought back into public consciousness by the inclusion of Urge Overkill's (great) cover in Pulp Fiction sounds still as sexy, exciting (and kinda creepy) as it did in 1967.

The songs we all know, though, are the reason most people will buy this disc, and it's a cliche to say that, oh, "the remaster makes it sound like they were recorded yesterday", but the likes of "Sweet Caroline" and "I Am, I Said" have NEVER sounded better, and they could be in danger of sounding over familiar or tired due to lame karaoke versions and cabaret idiots, but they're actually a joy to just sit and LISTEN to.

Of course, idiots like to laugh at Neil Diamond songs, or wave their arms along in an "ironic" fashion, because they're considered not cool or "cheesy". They miss the point completely, and songs like "Kentucky Woman" and "Cracklin' Rosie" blow any potential misconceptions of lameness away. There is easy listening here, but solid gold songs like "Song Sung Blue" or "Hello Again" are just irresistible, brilliantly crafted pieces of pop music.

A reason to own this album on CD rather than through digital download are the excellent liner notes, written by Neil himself, as he talks about how and when the songs were created. He seems like a pretty humble guy, which when you consider he's responsible for some of the most played and performed songs of the 20th century is quite a feat. He gives major props and credit to his fellow musicians, whether it's his guitarist perfecting the sound of "Play Me" or producers for doing a "masterful job" on "If You Know What I Mean". He can be tongue in cheek flippant with the success of his own work. On "I'm a Believer", he casually mentions the song was just another one he'd written, but he does remember the Monkees taking it to #1 and it becoming the biggest selling song of the year. "It's hard to forget stuff like that." On "America", a great song from a, well, not great film, he writes the praise he got for the song helped "the reviews I got as an actor sting a little less."

It's a charming companion to an essential collection of songs, a document of almost 50 years of music. In that time, Diamond has went from a pop star to a figure of fun right back to a respected musician and songwriter. He harks back to a time when writing songs with the intention of them becoming hits, with the goal to sell units and get radio play, didn't have to sound weak, contrived or stolen from someone else. They were just great songs. When you consider who gets major radio play nowadays; be it X Factor morons or talentless charlatans like Will.I.Am it's pretty damn depressing.

No matter. Buy this record, turn it up loud and celebrate pop songwriting at its very finest.

And that's part four of the great and good in the life of The Curmudgeon. Part five is just around the corner. Join me, won't you?

[trashcanman]

Brave. Normally after destroying all of the stuff the kids are listening to, one such as yourself would attempt to wow them with some esoteric indie darling to prove how "with it" you are. Having the balls to look like an old man shaking his fist at Beiber while giving unironic props to Neil Diamond is rare. My mother-in-law became really uncomfortable when I was helping her move and I found one of his hits collections. I asked to borrow it and she totally clammed up and got all weird so I ended up getting no Neil that day. The only thing I could think of is that she thought I was making fun of her when I asked. But I was completely serious....
Diamond's stuff is pretty unassailable. I didn't know he wrote some of those tunes, either. Damn it, I may have to pick this up now.

[The Curmudgeon]

Ha. Let's see any of the little pop tarts try and mock Neil Diamond. I'll eat their fucking souls.

I think he's one of those artists where familiarity breeds contempt, like you go "oh, yeah. Neil Diamond. Sweet Caroline, bah bah bah, heard it." But when you actually listen to the songs themselves they blow you away.

I would heartily recommend this album, and ONLY this album. I've had a few ND hits records before (my Dad had one that I borrowed) and the sound quality on them were piss poor, especially if you're putting it on an iPod and going from something released last year to those tracks. Used to be I could hardly hear it. The remastered tracks on this disc really are something though.

Dive in, my friend. You won't regret it.