Neil Diamond

Greatest Hits 1966-92

5 stars for the songs, less one for the lame live recordings

Review Score:

(8/10)
You know, I was raised on Neil Diamond. He and John Denver (and Handel's Messiah at Christmas) were about the extent of recorded music in my parents' house until I discovered pop music (and Duran Duran) at age 10. For quite a while, I rebelled and went the other direction. Didn't we all?

My loss. This 2 CD set contains 33 wonderful songs -- and not even all of Neil's gems. I could go on and on about the greatness of Neil's songs, but other reviewers have done that already, and most of you who visit this page know already. But consider the list: America, Sweet Caroline, Cracklin Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, Be, I Am I Said, Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show, Desiree, September Morn, Hello Again, Red Red Wine, Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon, Kentucky Woman. They're all here, and then some. I was particularly pleased with the inclusion of some of Neil's early stuff on these discs.

BUT (doesn't it seem there's always a BUT?) for some reason, the middle chunk of the set is made up of live recordings from the early 90s, rather than the original studio recordings. And in these live recordings, the Neil we know and love has been replaced by fat, bloated, old Vegas Neil. Bad choice. Not all of the live recordings are truly terrible, but some are -- Sweet Caroline and Red Red Wine in particular stick out as sore thumbs.

Still, until a better set comes along, this one is still far superior to the single-disc greatest hits. Unless you want to buy a bunch of albums (which, frankly, wouldn't be a bad choice), this set is an imperfect, but best available, choice.

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