Long before he read about a frog who dreamed of being a king – and then became one – Neil Diamond was an up-and-coming songwriter in the waning days of the Brill Building.  After a few unsuccessful stabs at recording in the early part of the decade, Diamond was taken under the wing of Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Bert Berns.  In January 1966, the hits started coming: first “Sunday and Me” for Jay and the Americans, then “I’m A Believer” and “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” both for the Monkees. 

Riding this wave of success, Diamond resumed his own singing career, with his first session for Bang Records taking place on January 25, 1966, one day after his 25th birthday.  Berns’ Bang label was riding high: the McCoys’ “Hang On, Sloopy” had topped the Billboard chart, the Strangeloves had a Top 20 hit with “I Want Candy,” and a young Irishman named Van Morrison was waiting in the wings for his solo debut on the young label.  While at Bang, Diamond waxed his first hit singles, many of which became instant classics: “Solitary Man,” “Cherry, Cherry” and “Kentucky Woman” among them.  He also established solid credentials as both a bona fide rock-and-roller and a songwriter of some introspection, although both traits were somewhat underplayed when his music took a MOR turn in the seventies.  But I’m getting ahead of myself…

After two albums and Berns’ untimely death at only 38, Diamond’s relations with Bang grew sour.  He decamped amid lawsuits for Uni Records, California and greater stardom.  When the superstar gained control of his Bang master recordings in 1977, he subsequently licensed them to Columbia House on his own Frog King label, and later to Columbia proper.  Yet these seminal recordings have largely remained absent from his catalogue since then, despite the number of hit songs that remain in his repertoire from this era.  (The only official all-Bang release available is Classics: The Early Years (Columbia CK 38792); other tracks have surfaced on too many compilations to mention.)  For my first Reissue Theory, I present my dream project for Columbia/Legacy, and one which has been long-rumored but never confirmed:  Neil Diamond – The Bang Masters.  These are the tracks which have made Mr. Diamond a permanent resident of Little Steven’s Underground Garage, and which remain an important part of the sound of the 1960s New York rock and roll scene.

Due to Bang’s incessant repackaging in the years following Diamond’s ascent from shopping songwriter to worldwide music icon, multiple variations exist of virtually every one of the 25 songs recorded by Diamond for the label.  These variations include original mono and stereo mixes, remixes in both mono and stereo, and even “fake stereo” mixes and remixes!  Multiple edits exist of many of these titles, as well as alternate versions with radically different instrumentation and vocals, most notably “Solitary Man” and “Shilo.”  (The autobiographical “Shilo” would be recorded yet again for Uni.)  But any reissue should center on the two core albums in the Neil Diamond Bang catalog: The Feel of Neil Diamond (Bang LP 214, 1966) and Just For You (Bang LP 217, 1967).  Together, the LPs are a nice mix of big hits, largely unknown album tracks and even some surprising covers. 

I’ve included both albums in their familiar stereo mixes on Disc 1 and then rounded up the cream of the assorted singles and tracks which appeared on compilations only.  Disc 2 features both albums in mono, followed by the most interesting of the literally dozens of variant mixes.  On both discs, I’ve deleted “Solitary Man” from the original Just For You lineup, as it is essentially the same recording from The Feel of Neil Diamond.  I’ve substituted distinct alternate mixes of the song.  Read my hypothetical track listing after the jump, and then if you’re still interested in exploring these long-lost recordings, visit the definitive site Neil Diamond on Bang.  This site’s work in uncovering the multiple Bang variations has proven invaluable, and only a bona fide box set for the Diamond diehard could contain all of the material that has been unearthed.  Along with listening from my own collection, it proved a major resource in compiling this Reissue Theory.

Neil Diamond – The Bang Masters

Disc 1: Stereo and More

1. Solitary Man (Version 1)
2. Red Rubber Ball
3. La Bamba
4. Do It
5. Hanky Panky
6. Monday, Monday
7. New Orleans
8. Someday Baby
9. Oh No No
10. I’ll Come Running
11. Love to Love
12. Cherry, Cherry
13. Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon
14. The Long Way Home
15. Red Red Wine
16. You’ll Forget
17. The Boat That I Row
18. Cherry, Cherry
19. I’m a Believer
20. Shilo (Version 1)
21. You Got to Me
22. Thank The Lord for the Night Time
23. Solitary Man (Version 2)
24. Shilo (Version 2)
25. Shot Down
26. Crooked Street
27. Kentucky Woman (Original Mono Single Mix)
28. The Time is Now (Original Mono Single Mix)
29. Kentucky Woman (True Stereo Version)
30. Cherry, Cherry (Alternate Take)

Disc 1 Tracks 1-12 from The Feel of Neil Diamond (Bang LP 214, 1966) – Stereo Mix
Disc 1 Tracks 13-22 from Just for You (Bang LP 217, 1967) – Stereo Mix
Disc 1 Track 23-24 from Shilo (Bang LP 221, 1970) – Stereo Mix
Disc 1 Tracks 25-26 from Do It (Bang LP 224, 1971) – Stereo Mix
Disc 1 Tracks 27-28 from non-LP single Bang 551, 1967
Disc 1 Track 29 from Early Classics (Frog King LP AAR-001, 1978)
Disc 1 Track 30 from In My Lifetime (Columbia/Legacy CD C3K-65013, 1996)

Disc 2: Mono and More

1. Solitary Man (Version 1)
2. Red Rubber Ball
3. La Bamba
4. Do It
5. Hanky Panky
6. Monday, Monday
7. New Orleans
8. Someday Baby
9. Oh No No
10. I’ll Come Running
11. Love to Love
12. Cherry, Cherry
13. Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon
14. The Long Way Home
15. Red Red Wine
16. You’ll Forget
17. The Boat That I Row
18. Cherry, Cherry
19. I’m a Believer
20. Shilo (Version 1)
21. You Got to Me
22. Thank The Lord for the Night Time
23. Solitary Man (Version 2 – Remixed Stereo Single Version)
24. Do It (LP Version – additional instrumentation)
25. Do It (Mono Single – extended version)
26. Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon (extended version)
27. I Got The Feeling (additional vocals)
28. Red Red Wine (choir overdubs)
29. I’m a Believer (multiple overdubs)
30. Shilo (LP Version based on Version 2 – alternate vocals)
31. Solitary Man (Version 2 – additional overdubs)

Disc 2 Tracks 1-12 from The Feel of Neil Diamond (Bang LP 214, 1966) – Mono Mix
Disc 2 Tracks 13-22 from Just for You (Bang LP 217, 1967) – Mono Mix
Disc 2 Track 23 from Bang Single SG 108, 1973
Disc 2 Track 24 from Do It (Bang LP 224, 1971)
Disc 2 Track 25 from Bang Single 580, 1970
Disc 2 Tracks 26-27, 30-31 from Early Classics (Frog King LP AAR-001, 1978)
Disc 2 Track 28 from Bang Single 556, 1968
Disc 2 Track 29 from Bang Single 586, 1971