224 - Neil Diamond - The Neil Diamond Collection

Sure, it's another greatest hits, but this one falls into the "concise" category with this single disc worth of music from Neil's MCA days. This is a good time capsule of Neil's prime recording years and serves as a good introduction to the man's music.

While most of the songs are under 4 minutes, there is an epic quality to them that belies the relatively short duration. Many songs have a shift of tone that can turn a previously pensive track to building to anthemic proportions.

Oh, and that VOICE. Neil's baritone that growls and demands that you acknowledge his manhood. There's a seductiveness to his voice that some may scoff at because of the light pop music that it's paired with. And that may be the critical weakness of Neil's music. Despite the epic nature of many of these songs, the autobiographical aspect of many of the lyrics, and the quality of his singing voice, there is so much cheesy production and decisions to go the "easy listening" route that I found it hard to declare more than a few songs as solid gems. There are just too many times that I listen to a song and really love certain aspects but those are nullified or overridden by aspects that annoy me.

Songs I Knew I Liked: "Sweet Caroline" and "Song Sung Blue"

Songs I Now Like: "Crunchy Granola Suite" and "Brooklyn Roads"

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: "And the Grass Won't Pay Any Mind" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"