The Essential Neil Diamond | 
 enlarge | Artist: Neil Diamond
Label: SonyBMG
Category: Music
List Price: £17.99
Buy New: £5.50
You Save: £12.49 (69%)
New (26) Used (3) from £4.99
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 723
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5 x 0.4
EAN: 5099750106662
ASIN: B000063BHL
Release Date: January 14, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: New/Sealed- 2 discs set- an amazing collection of great hits, just about all the favourites. Private collector will post immediately
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Solitary Man | | • | Cherry, Cherry | | • | I Got The Feeling (Oh No, No) | | • | Kentucky Woman | | • | Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon | | • | You Got To Me | | • | Red, Red Wine | | • | Thank The Lord For The Night Time | | • | I'm A Believer | | • | Sweet Caroline | | • | Song Sung Blue | | • | Holly Holy | | • | I Am... I Said | | • | Cracklin' Rosie | | • | Play Me (Live) | | • | Morningside (Live) | | • | Crunchy Granola Suite (Live) | | • | Brooklyn Roads (Live) | | • | Soolaimon (Live) |
Disc 2
| • | America | | • | Hello Again | | • | Love On The Rocks | | • | Captain Sunshine (Live) | | • | He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother (Live) | | • | Medley: Yes I Will/Lady Magdalene (Live) | | • | Shilo (Live) | | • | Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show (Live) | | • | If You Know What I Mean | | • | Beautiful Noise | | • | You Don't Bring Me Flowers (with Barbra Streisand) | | • | Desiree | | • | Forever In Blue Jeans | | • | September Morn | | • | I've Been This Way Before | | • | Yesterday's Songs | | • | Heartlight | | • | Headed For The Future | | • | You Are The Best Part Of Me |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Not Just Music Your Mum Listens To August 17, 2006
Pete
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
You've probably dismissed Diamond as music your mum listens to. You're wrong to think this because you'll be missing some great pompous rock songs. Some of it's cheesy, but a lot of what is on this best of is genuinely good stuff.
His name looks like an anomaly on my MP3 player's artist list. The thing is, I'm not ashamed as I love these big over the top (orchestra included on everything) songs. And you don't have to worry about good taste getting in the way of your listening experience.
Some of these songs even rock in their own way. Though it's best to skip the Streisand duet. And Brooklyn Road and Morningside don't stand up after a few listens. Otherwise it's great. And the live tracks are very energetic - I personally don't consider them to be a compromise in quality.
Diamond's version of "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" is just as heavy as the cover version by Urge Overkill (as heard in Pulp Fiction when Uma Thurman and John Travolta come back to her house after winning the dance contest).
 An essential compilation March 27, 2006
Greg Farefield-Rose (Hertfordshire United Kingdom)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
Following his success in reinventing and reviving the career of Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin has turned his attention to another bygone US icon, Neil Diamond. Their stripped down 2006 collaboration, 12 Songs has been a critical and commercial success. For any new (or old) fans wanting a compilation of the best of the bigger Diamond sound of yore, The Essential Neil Diamond is an excellent purchase.TEND is a double CD containing all Neil's hits and most famous compositions from his days as a songwriter in the legendary Brill Building in the early 60s right through to recordings made in the early noughties. Originally a writer for others, many may be surprised that he penned The Monkees' I'm A Believer and Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon, a song rediscovered in 1994 by the Urge Overkill recording for the classic Tarantino film Pulp Fiction. Both of Diamond's "originals" are excellent, perhaps surprisingly containing the full arrangements of the more famous later versions minus a few backing vocals and cheese. Other highlights of The Essential Neil Diamond from Neil's heyday in the 60s and early 70s include his most famous song Sweet Caroline, the call-and-response beat sound of Cherry Cherry and more introspective orchestrated pop of Solitary Man. Like Burt Bacharach, his songs often incorporate full brass and string arrangements to similarly, produce quality easy-listening music which it is OK to like. Occasionally his semi religious zeal gets the better of him with the resulting product being over bombastic though there are many excellent songs to like on TEND. Beyond his original purple period, Diamond had his first major comeback in the early 1980s following his appearance and songs in the updated film version of the Jazz Singer with Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz. Standout tracks from this period include the downbeat ballad Love On the Rocks and blue-collar country pride of Forever In Blue Jeans. All in all, the Essential Neil Diamond is an excellent introduction to one of the few easy-listening artists who it's OK to like. With his critical radar on the rise following the Rubin collaboration a deserved re-evaluation of Neil's body of work is now taking place. Lets hope this time that Diamond is forever...
Comprehensive collection July 7, 2005
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
This really is a good collection for Neil Diamond novices. It is a tall order to find a 'definative' Neil Diamond collection as there will always be so much left out of this prolific songwriters catalogue. Offering a mixture of recent 'live' recordings and the more familiar studio work, the former appealing more to those who have experienced Neil Diamond's live shows. This collection is unique in that it benefits from the additon of the sublime 'lady Magdelene' and 'Yes I will', which in my opinion, are probably two of his most outstanding musical contributions. ( For those wishing to hear these songs in their original format, then 'Serenade' is the album for you!)
It has, sadly become'uncool' to like Neil Diamond's music and he has never really received the critical acclaim that he is truly deserving of. This man's contribution to music and poetry is awesome and this collection stands as testament to that. Sheer genius.!
Slightly flawed diamond August 12, 2004
Oscillator (Carluke)
29 out of 37 found this review helpful
Anybody who’s been on an office night out in Scotland ( I don’t know if this happens elsewhere as well) will have experienced the strange cultural phenomenon that is Sweet Caroline mixed with women consuming alcohol. Even from a starting sitting position, they sing-along gently to the first verse, start singing more loudly with some arm waving at the hands touching hands bit, then get into the full all singing, all dancing mode at the chorus, not forgetting the coup de grace… the singing of the brass figure. How does that work? Meanwhile, the men either take solace in their own drinks or sheepishly mouth the words. But Sweet Caroline isn’t the first song I think of with regards to Neil Diamond, that honour goes to ‘I Am I Said’. That was the first Diamond song I was familiar with but it wasn’t even the original, it was on one of those sixties/seventies Top of The Pops Album which featured session musicians trying to recreate the hits of the day. In their lunchtimes. It still sounded like a good song at the time and it still does. These things coupled with the fact he’s written so many good songs such as ‘Daydream Believer’. ‘Girl, You’ll Me A Woman Soon’ etc. have led me to having a grudging admiration for Neil Diamond. All the crucial songs seem to be present and correct on this compilation and the sound is sparkling. It’s illuminating how close the version of ‘I’m A Believer’ is to the Monkees version whilst I prefer the version of 'Red, Red, Wine' here to the UB40 version (which apparently was derived from a version from reggae artist Tony Tribe). Overall this compilation is very good. I have to knock off a star though..The ‘Jazz Singer’ (there’s a misnomer if ever there was one) songs are brutally bad. I suppose though for a comprehensive overview they had to be included.
A must-have for Neil Diamond fans April 15, 2003
Suroor Alikhan (Geneva, Switzerland)
17 out of 21 found this review helpful
A trip down nostalgia lane! I grew up with Neil Diamond's music, and all the favourites are here--Cracklin' Rosie, Song Sung Blue, Kentucky Woman... and some of his later songs.
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