Neil Diamond, living legend?

Anyone who has ever explored Neil Diamond's work has to come away with the impression that he is a living legend of songwriting. I'm baffled as to why he is not mentioned more in these forums or has not received more attention from the 'audiophile remastering' companies. Apart from Hot August Night I have not seen any remastering of any of his other albums. What is the problem?

 

I consider him a living legend. And I would love to see more audiophile masters of his albums. That said, the original MCA CDs are quite good.

 

I love his 60s/early 70s material, he pretty much lost me after that, he could've been a contender.

 

Living legend yes. Wish he had better sounding CDs.

His Bang mono compilation is brickwalled to the max.

His Uni studio albums are terrible on CD for the most part. Some of those early ones are lifeless (Velvet Gloves and Spit, Touching You Touching Me) and the remasters (compiled in the 3-disc Play Me set) are horribly compressed and treble-boosted. You need original vinyl.

The Columbia albums sound good on CD. Not sure that a remaster is needed but of course I'd buy them.

 

I love his Bang and most of his Uni work. I also like the recent stuff with Rick Rubin, as he got back to basics and away from the schmaltz.

I just listened to the live Uni record Gold last night - one of the best live albums of the '60's, and I'll take it over Hot August Night (which I like a lot) in a heartbeat.

 

How is the quality of this generally assumed to be? It contains all 25 Bang cuts on vinyl. It is a 1975 British LP

 

Love Neil, took a bit of time for me but once I got it...well...I GOT IT! My wife loves him too! He still has it.

 

He does have his moments, one of those artists of whom nearly everyone likes at least one song even if we wouldn't call ourselves fans.

 

He had a nice run through his Bang and very early Uni material and that suffices for me.

 

I think he owns all of his post-Bang masters.

So it's either that he doesn't care (or no one's convinced him how much better they can sound) or he hasn't been offered enough to get him to agree to it.

I do know that he sits at his piano everyday writing songs, so he may be one of those "I-don't-dwell-on-my-past-I-just-look-to-the-future kinda artists.


On a related note, IIRC, in 1980 John Lennon said he didn't even have any Beatles records at his home.

He said if a Beatles song came on the radio he'd listen, but he never played them himself.

.

 

Anyone who owns this complete box set of his Uni studio recordings, and if so, how's the sound quality?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-Me-Com...&qid=1397906054&sr=1-33&keywords=neil+diamond

 

Dreadful - horribly compressed

 

Neil Diamond is defintitely a living legend. But, lots of them do not get their due today. And others get too much.

 

Part of the issue with Neil Diamond is that he took an oddball career path, for the US at least. Pop singer/songwriters in the post-Beatles era tended to position themselves as working outside of the old school entertainment-biz mainstream and being a part of the counter-culture, or at least worked to create that illusion. Neil, on the other hand, embraced the whole Vegas singer/entertainer persona that was renounced by the counter-culture crowd. It was an odd yet compelling approach, as if Bob Dylan and Jack Jones were the same person.

I suppose only Bobby Darin before him (in the US) tried something similar, but Darin kind of led dual careers in which his Sinatra and Elvis personas were kept separate for the most part. Neil, on the other had, seemed to integrate both into a cohesive presentation.

So I think that a certain demographic that likes "rock" and clings to its real or perceived conventions will never quite take Neil Diamond seriously.

This is simply my perspective, and I could be way off.

 

I think you summed it up quite nicely. Neil was never hip. Housewives loved him in a Tom Jones sort of way. People still moan he was part of The Last Waltz. I've always just considered him a great songwriter and an excellent entertainer.

 

An amazing sounding disc is "His 12 Greatest Hits".
Not sure if all pressings of this sound the same but I have a Canadian/Cinram CD.
The back tray card of mine reads ......

C.1974, 1985 MCA Records Inc. Manufactured by Cinram for MCA Records Canada.
DIDX-271 ...... in the bottom left corner
"Previously released as MCAMD-37252" ....... in the bottom right corner.

It's an absolute cracker, if you don't already have it ........ you need it !!

 

I think he owns the Bang and Columbia/Sony recordings but not the Uni/MCA.

 

His release from 2005, 12 Songs, was a fantastic album too.

 

I like the follow-up Home Before Dark even more. I'd rank it among my favorite ND albums.

 

I'd love to have an explanation of why I have at least three different mixes/recordings of "Shilo".

 

2 of my earliest purchases were the LP's Neil Diamond...the one with Sweet Caroline on it. Still love that Lp and the live at The Troubador LP Gold. Love early Neil Diamond. Up until about 1976. Beautiful Noise. Another favourite. I did purchase Home Before a Dark. I really liked that one.

 

I agree about the "living" part...

 

I never cared for him until I was in the USA for the first time and drove around California, there was a moment when "Cracklin' Rosie" came on the radio and suddenly he got me... A perfect moment.

 

Oh, no need to be so niggardly ... pretty much everyone's a legend these days, and the guy was one of the guest stars at The Last Waltz. That alone should be qualification.

For me, Neil is a better than average singer and a very decent songwriter indeed. Legend will cover it.

 

Yes. This thread title does not need a question mark.

And a hell of a nice guy too. His actions after the Boston bombing were pure class.