Search - Neil Diamond :: His 12 Greatest Hits

Classic

Bill Your 'Free Form FM Handi Cyber | Mahwah, NJ USA | 11/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neil Dimomd may have not had the melodic magic of the Beatles or the classical grandure of Jim Webb or Burt Bacharach. But Neil's edge was that he sounded like no one else, and no one else has ever sounded like Neil.



"Sweet Caroline," "Cracklin' Rosie," "Holly Holy," all these were fantastic songs made for late 1960s AM radio. But Neil had a sense of phrasing in his chords that made his music uniquely, almost eccentrically, his. Even songs like he handed off to the Monkee's, "I'm A Beliver," had a different sense to them then most top 40 of the era.



And Neil was a master at getting the exact arrangements for the nuances he wanted, and then getting the best session people to execute his vision. Listen to the chior on "Brother Love's Travalin' Salvation Show" or the rainy horns on "Brooklyn Roads." Weird songs about wierd subjects, but Dimond brings it off with complete sinceraty. You were not going to hear pop like this on a Gary Pucket album.



Or any other. Becuase no one sounds like Neil Diamond, and Neil Diamond will never sound like anyone else."

Only Mildly Disappointed

Veronica Garrett | 12/10/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This version of the Greatest Hits, which is an import, is a pretty good version of the American pressing. Holly Holy is a complete studio rendition that is different than the American pressing, lacking depth of emotion. Most of the rest of the CD is identical to the American pressing of the LP that I grew up listening to. Overall, it is the best of the greatest hits albums that I have heard or own by Neil Diamond. As for the service by the dealer, it was flawless. I have no complaints about the handling of the transaction."