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Classics: The Early Years

 
Album Review: Classics: The Early Years

  • Artist: Neil Diamond
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1983
  • Total Time: 33:04
  • Type: Compilation (best of)
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Classics: The Early Years rounds up 12 highlights from Neil Diamond's recordings for Bang Records. These, of course, were Diamond's earliest recordings, and for many fans they remain among his very best work, and it's easy to see why -- not only are these terrific songs, but the productions don't oversell the songs. Even when strings grace the productions, there's a dark, brooding vibe to the ballads, and a crisp feeling to the pop songs. And while some of the songs won't be instantly recognizable, most of them will, because these are the tunes that made Diamond's reputation as a songwriter and performer: "Kentucky Woman," "Cherry, Cherry," "Solitary Man," "Thank the Lord for the Night Time," "I"m a Believer," "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon," "Shilo," and "Red, Red Wine." Diamond occasionally matched these peaks later in his career, but never again did he deliver so many great songs at such a frequency -- and Classics conveniently collects them all in one place. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Kentucky Woman Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:24)
Cherry, Cherry Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:41)
Solitary Man Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:34)
You Got to Me Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:45)
I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No) Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:09)
Thank the Lord for the Night Time Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (3:02)
I'm a Believer Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:38)
Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (3:20)
Shilo Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (3:49)
Do It Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:22)
Red, Red Wine Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:39)
The Boat That I Row Neil Diamond Neil Diamond (2:41)

Credits

Neil Diamond (Main Performer), Neil Diamond (?), Brooks Arthur (Engineer), Ellie Greenwich (Producer), Jeff Barry (Producer), Jeff Barry (?), Neil Brody (Mixing), Phil Ramone (Engineer), David Kirschner (Art Direction), David Kirschner (Design), Leonard Rapoport (Photography)
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Wikipedia: Classics: The Early Years
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Classics: The Early Years
Compilation album by Neil Diamond
Released June 23, 1983
Recorded 1966 - 1967
Genre Rock
Length 33:04
Label Columbia Records
Producer Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich
Professional reviews
Neil Diamond chronology
Heartlight
(1982)
Classics: The Early Years
(1983)
Primitive
(1984)

Classics: The Early Years is a compilation album by Neil Diamond released in 1983 featuring the early recordings he made for Bang Records in 1966 and 1967. After Columbia Records acquired the Bang Records catalogue, the twelve best recordings were reissued on this album. Columbia gave Diamond, a longtime Columbia recording artist, control of the Bang masters of his recordings. The original copyright notice of this album read "(C) and (P)1983 Neil Diamond and CBS Inc." CBS owned Columbia at that time. This compilation has a different track lineup compared to the 1968 Bang compilation album titled Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits which contains two cover songs. All the songs in this album are original Diamond compositions and substitutes "I'm A Believer" (which The Monkees covered) and "Shilo" in place of the Gary U.S. Bonds hit "New Orleans" and the Tommy James and the Shondells hit "Hanky Panky."

All of the tracks, with the exception of "Kentucky Woman", are in true stereo. Later Neil Diamond contained the mono versions, which makes this album the only source for the stereo versions of his Bang Records releases. The only true stereo version of "Kentucky Woman" was released in 1978 by Frog King records on the album Early Classics.

Track listing

All songs composed by Neil Diamond

Side one

  1. "Kentucky Woman"
  2. "Cherry, Cherry"
  3. "Solitary Man"
  4. "You Got To Me"
  5. "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No)"
  6. "Thank the Lord for the Night Time"

Side Two

  1. "I'm a Believer"
  2. "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon"
  3. "Shilo"
  4. "Do It"
  5. "Red, Red Wine"
  6. "The Boat That I Row"

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Classics: The Early Years" Read more