The Essential Neil Diamond

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The Essential Neil Diamond
Head shot of a man whose dark hair blends into the black background
Compilation album by Neil Diamond
Released December 4, 2001 (2001-12-04)
Recorded February, 1966 – October 28, 2001
Genre Pop, rock
Length 2:21:09
Label Columbia
Neil Diamond chronology
Three Chord Opera
(2001)Three Chord Opera2001		 The Essential Neil Diamond
(2001)		 Play Me: The Complete Uni Studio Recordings...Plus!
(2002)Play Me: The Complete Uni Studio Recordings...Plus!2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[1]

The Essential Neil Diamond is a two-disc compilation album by Neil Diamond. It was released by Columbia Records in 2001 as part of series of "Essential" collections which has each devoted to one of the record label's major long-term stars. Others in the series are Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, and Barbra Streisand.

Diamond and his collaborator Al Quaglieri personally chose the 38 tracks that appeared in the collection. Nine selections were from Diamond's early period with Bang Records (1966–68) while 14 were from his Columbia years, which began in 1973. The Bang recordings are now owned by Sony, Columbia's parent company. For the five top ten hits that Diamond record for Uni Records (1968–73) Columbia leased the right for their appearance on this collection. Nine recordings that were used for the album were not the original studio recordings but live renditions from concerts.[2] "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", Diamond's 1978 duet with Streisand is included in The Essential Barbra Streisand as well as this compilation.[3] The Essential Neil Diamond reached number 90 on the Billboard 200 chart and was award gold and plantinum status by the RIAA on, respectively, April 30, 2002 and January 31, 2005.[4][5]

In 2009 Columbia issued an expanded version of the album entitled The Essential Neil Diamond 3.0 which featured the original two discs and a bonus third disc containing eight more selections.[6]

Track listing (original release: The Essential Neil Diamond)

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Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Solitary Man"   Neil Diamond 2:32
2. "Cherry, Cherry"   Neil Diamond 2:42
3. "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No)"   Neil Diamond 2:13
4. "Kentucky Woman"   Neil Diamond 2:26
5. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"   Neil Diamond 2:55
6. "You Got to Me"   Neil Diamond 2:48
7. "Red Red Wine"   Neil Diamond 2:41
8. "Thank the Lord for the Night Time"   Neil Diamond 3:00
9. "I'm a Believer"   Neil Diamond 2:43
10. "Sweet Caroline"   Neil Diamond 3:21
11. "Song Sung Blue"   Neil Diamond 3:13
12. "Holly Holy"   Neil Diamond 4:30
13. "I Am... I Said"   Neil Diamond 3:33
14. "Cracklin' Rosie"   Neil Diamond 2:59
15. "Play Me" (live recording) Neil Diamond 4:21
16. "Morningside" (live recording) Neil Diamond 5:25
17. "Crunchy Granola Suite" (live recording) Neil Diamond 4:05
18. "Brooklyn Roads" (live recording) Neil Diamond 5:29
19. "Soolaimon" (live recording) Neil Diamond 5:06
Total length:
 1:06:02
Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "America"   Neil Diamond 4:19
2. "Hello Again"   Neil Diamond, Alan Lindgren 3:39
3. "Love on the Rocks"   Gilbert Bécaud, Neil Diamond 3:40
4. "Captain Sunshine" (live recording) Neil Diamond 3:20
5. "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (live recording) Bob Russell, Bobby Scott 3:46
6. "Yes I Will " / "Lady Magdalene" (live recording; medley) Neil Diamond 7:01
7. "Shilo" (live recording) Neil Diamond 3:57
8. "Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show" (live recording) Neil Diamond 5:02
9. "If You Know What I Mean"   Neil Diamond 3:43
10. "Beautiful Noise"   Neil Diamond 3:26
11. "You Don't Bring Me Flowers"   Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Neil Diamond 3:16
12. "Desiree"   Neil Diamond 3:17
13. "Forever in Blue Jeans"   Richard Bennett, Neil Diamond 3:39
14. "September Morn"   Gilbert Bécaud, Neil Diamond 3:52
15. "I've Been This Way Before"   Neil Diamond 3:48
16. "Yesterday's Songs"   Neil Diamond 2:51
17. "Heartlight"   Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager 4:26
18. "Headed for the Future"   Neil Diamond, Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren 4:06
19. "You Are the Best Part of Me"   Neil Diamond 3:59
Total length:
 1:15:07

Track listing (re-issue: The Essential Neil Diamond 3.0)

The Essential Neil Diamond 3.0
Sepia-tinted head shot of a man whose dark hair blends into the black background
Compilation album by Neil Diamond
Released December 15, 2009 (2009-12-15)
Recorded February, 1966 – October 28, 2001
Genre Pop, rock
Length 2:48:16
Label Columbia
Neil Diamond chronology
A Cherry Cherry Christmas
(2009)A Cherry Cherry Christmas2009		 The Essential Neil Diamond 3.0
(2009)		 Hot August Night/NYC
(2009)Hot August Night/NYC2009

Discs one and two are the same as the original release.

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Disc three
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Boat That I Row"   Neil Diamond 2:41
2. "Do It"   Neil Diamond 1:53
3. "Longfellow Serenade"   Neil Diamond 3:51
4. "And the Grass Won't Pay No Mind" (live recording) Neil Diamond 4:10
5. "Done Too Soon" (live recording) Neil Diamond 2:53
6. "Glory Road" (live recording) Neil Diamond 3:37
7. "Pretty Amazing Grace" (live recording) Neil Diamond 3:29
8. "Hell Yeah"   Neil Diamond 4:33
Total length:
 27:07

References

  1. ↑ The Essential Neil Diamond at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. The Essential Neil Diamond at AllMusic. Retrieved March 9, 2014..
  3. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. The Essential Barbra Streisand at AllMusic. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Note: Enter advanced album search for "The Essential Neil Diamond"
  6. ↑ The Essential Neil Diamond 3.0 at AllMusic
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