Brooklyn Roads: Neil Diamond Looks Back with 50th Anniversary Box of Hits and Unreleased Songs

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Earlier this year, Neil Diamond was honored with the Grammys’ Lifetime Achievement Award. The superstar then made a triumphant return to the stage on July 14 at the Dolby Theatre, sharing a duet with Micky Dolenz on his immortal “I’m a Believer” for the Grammy Salute to Music Legends event. It was a rare and thrilling return to the stage for Diamond following his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Now, while he’s still promising to keep making music, the singer-songwriter is looking back on his remarkable 50+-year career with a new box set.

50th Anniversary: Collector’s Edition, due on November 30 from Capitol Records and UMe, expands upon last year’s 3-CD 50th Anniversary Collection, more than doubling its 50 tracks to 115, and premiering 15 previously unreleased tracks. These include 12 outtakes (including Diamond’s rendition of his own “Sunflower,” a chart-topping single for Glen Campbell in 1977; and “Before I Had a Dime” and “C’est La Vie,” co-authored with Gilbert Bécaud), a live version of “Baby Can I Hold You” (from 1988’s The Best Years of Our Lives), and the original demo recordings of “I Am…I Said” and “America.”

Like last year’s iteration, the Collector’s Edition features Diamond’s biggest hits along with B-sides and lesser-known tracks, and is presented in roughly chronological order with some notable alterations.  It begins with Diamond’s early Bang recordings and continues through his most recent studio album, 2014’s Capitol release Melody Road.  Whereas last year’s set used Diamond’s solo recording of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” the famous duet version with Barbra Streisand is here, as well as other collaborations with Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins, and The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines.  Every one of Diamond’s studio albums is represented here other than his albums of covers and Christmas music.  One of his live albums is represented, too: 1970’s raw Gold: Recorded Live at The Troubadour.  This marks the most expansive assessment of Diamond’s career since 1996’s 3-CD Columbia Records box In My Lifetime, which presented rare tracks among its 71 selections.

The box from one of America’s most enduring artists is presented in a hardcover book format. It’s due from Capitol/UMe on November 30. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below!

Neil Diamond, 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Capitol/UMe, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1 (Tracks 1-11 are mono)

  1. Solitary Man
  2. Cherry, Cherry
  3. I Got the Feelin’ (Oh No No)
  4. Do It
  5. The Boat That I Row
  6. You Got to Me
  7. Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon
  8. I’m a Believer
  9. Thank the Lord for the Night Time
  10. Kentucky Woman
  11. Red, Red Wine
  12. Brooklyn Roads
  13. Glory Road
  14. Holly Holy
  15. And the Grass Won’t Pay No Mind
  16. Shilo
  17. Sunday Sun
  18. Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show
  19. Dig In
  20. Sweet Caroline
  21. Cracklin’ Rosie
  22. Soolaimon
  23. Crunchy Granola Suite
  24. Lordy (Live)

CD 2

  1. I Am…I Said (Original Demo) (*)
  2. I Am…I Said
  3. Done Too Soon
  4. Stones
  5. Morningside
  6. Play Me
  7. Walk on Water
  8. Lonely Looking Sky
  9. Skybird
  10. Be
  11. I’ve Been This Way Before
  12. The Last Picasso
  13. Rosemary’s Wine
  14. Song Sung Blue
  15. Longfellow Serenade
  16. The Gift of Song
  17. Beautiful Noise
  18. Jungletime
  19. Lady-Oh
  20. Street Life
  21. Signs
  22. Surviving the Life
  23. Stargazer
  24. If You Know What I Mean

CD 3

  1. Dry Your Eyes
  2. Desiree
  3. Once in a While
  4. I’m Glad You’re Here with Me Tonight
  5. America (Original Demo) (*)
  6. America
  7. Hello Again
  8. Love on the Rocks
  9. Amazed and Confused
  10. Songs of Life
  11. Yesterday’s Songs
  12. I’m Alive
  13. Heartlight
  14. On the Way to the Sky
  15. Headed for the Future
  16. You Don’t Bring Me Flowers (with Barbra Streisand)
  17. Forever in Blue Jeans
  18. September Morn

CD 4

  1. The Story of My Life
  2. It’s a Trip (Go for the Moon)
  3. Hooked on the Memory of You
  4. Baby Can I Hold You (Live in Dublin R.D.S. 1989) (*)
  5. Hard Time for Lovers
  6. All I Really Need Is You
  7. If There Were No Dreams
  8. Someone Who Believes In You
  9. The Way
  10. One Good Love (with Waylon Jennings)
  11. Blue Highway (featuring Chet Atkins)
  12. Open Wide These Prison Doors
  13. Everybody
  14. No Limit
  15. I Haven’t Played This Song in Years
  16. You Are The Best Part of Me
  17. Delirious Love
  18. I Believe in Happy Endings
  19. Man of God
  20. We

CD 5

  1. I’m On to You
  2. What’s It Gonna Be
  3. Save Me a Saturday Night
  4. Captain of a Shipwreck
  5. Another Day (That Time Forgot) (with Natalie Maines)
  6. Don’t Go There
  7. Home Before Dark
  8. Forgotten
  9. Pretty Amazing Grace
  10. Melody Road
  11. Nothing But a Heartache
  12. Something Blue
  13. In Better Days
  14. Seongah and Jimmy
  15. Sunny Disposition
  16. The Art of Love
  17. Hell Yeah

CD 6

  1. Sunflower (*)
  2. C’est La Vie (*)
  3. Girls Go Fishin’ (*)
  4. Maybe (*)
  5. Caribbean Cruise (*)
  6. You Are (*)
  7. Easy (To Be in Love) (*)
  8. Before I Had a Dime (*)
  9. The Ballad of Saving Silverman (*)
  10. It Don’t Seem Likely (*)
  11. Long Nights, Hold On (*)
  12. Moonlight Rider (*)

(*) denotes previously unreleased track

CD 1, Tracks 1-4 from The Feel of Neil Diamond, Bang BLP 214, 1966
CD 1, Tracks 5-9, 11 from Just for You, Bang BLP 217, 1967
CD 1, Track 10 from Bang single B-551, 1967
CD 1, Tracks 12, 17 from Velvet Gloves and Spit, UNI 73030, 1968
CD 1, Tracks 13, 15, 18, 19 from Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show, UNI 73047, 1969
CD 1, Track 14 from Touching You, Touching Me, UNI 73071, 1969
CD 1, Track 16 from Velvet Gloves and Spit (second pressing), UNI 73030-N, 1970
CD 1, Track 20 added to Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show, repress of UNI 73047, 1969
CD 1, Tracks 21, 22 & CD 2, Track 3 from Tap Root Manuscript, UNI 73092, 1970
CD 1, Track 23 & CD 2, Tracks 2, 4 from Stones, UNI 93106, 1971
CD 1, Track 24 from Gold: Recorded Live at the Troubadour, UNI 93084, 1970
CD 2, Track 1 & CD 3, Track 5 & CD 4, Track 4 & CD 6, Tracks 1-12 previously unreleased
CD 2, Tracks 5-7, 14 from Moods, UNI 93136, 1972
CD 2, Tracks 8-10 from Jonathan Livingston Seagull: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Columbia KS 32550, 1973
CD 2, Tracks 11-13, 15, 16 from Serenade, Columbia PC 32919, 1974
CD 2, Tracks 17-24 & CD 3, Track 1 from Beautiful Noise, Columbia PC 33965, 1976
CD 3, Tracks 2-4 from I’m Glad You’re Here With Me Tonight, Columbia JC 34990, 1977
CD 3, Track 6-10 from The Jazz Singer: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Capitol SWAV-512120, 1980
CD 3, Tracks 11, 14 from On the Way to the Sky, Columbia TC 37628, 1981
CD 3, Tracks 12, 13 from Heartlight, Columbia TC 38359, 1982
CD 3, Track 15 & CD 4, Track 1 from Headed For the Future, Columbia CK 40368, 1986
CD 3, Tracks 16, 17 from You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Columbia FC 35625, 1978
CD 3, Track 18 from September Morn, Columbia FC 36121, 1979
CD 4, Track 2 from Primitive, Columbia QC 39199, 1984
CD 4, Tracks 3, 5 from The Best Years of Our Lives, Columbia CK 45025, 1988
CD 4, Tracks 6-9 from Lovescape, Columbia CK 48610, 1991
CD 4, Tracks 10-14 from Tennessee Moon, Columbia CK 67382, 1996
CD 4, Tracks 15, 16, 18 from Three Chord Opera, Columbia CK 85500, 2001
CD 4, Tracks 17, 19, 20 & CD 5 Tracks 1-4, 17 from 12 Songs, American/Columbia 8-2876-77508-2, 2005
CD 5, Tracks 5-9 from Home Before Dark, American/Columbia 88697 28078 2, 2008
CD 5, Tracks 10-16 from Melody Road, Capitol B002214902, 2014

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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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11 thoughts on “Brooklyn Roads: Neil Diamond Looks Back with 50th Anniversary Box of Hits and Unreleased Songs”

  1. What would be nice is a proper collection of all of Neil’s Bang output. The release of “The Bang Years” a few years back was okay but was in mono and missed out some recordings. Nearly all of the Bang tracks were originally released in true stereo but have never been issued on cd. Can’t see it happening tho.

    1. Yep – I have a nice homemade CD-R of his Bang recordngs in stereo; some from previous CD’s like “Classics The Early Years” and many from bootlegs. But they seem to think they need mono. Really LOUD mono.

  2. THIS SET IS VERY COOL, BUT ALSO VERY IRRITATINGLY CONFUSING!!!! What about the fact that the set last year was just a teaser and I already bought it on Amazon, can I return that set for an upgrade to this larger set?!!! STUFF LIKE THIS REALLY MAKES ME ANGRY!!!! 🙁

  3. Absolutely! I am more irritated by the number of singles that are still left off this compilation:

    * At Night/Clown Town
    * New Orleans
    * Two-Bit Manchild
    * Until It’s Time For You To Go
    * He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
    * Do It
    * The Long Way Home
    * Don’t Think…Feel
    * Say Maybe
    * The Good Lord Loves You
    * Be Mine Tonight
    * Front Page Story
    * Turn Around
    * Sleep With Me Tonight
    * You Make It Feel Like Christmas
    * I Dreamed A Dream
    * This Time
    * The Best Years Of Our Lives
    * Don’t Turn Around
    * A Mission Of Love
    * If I Don’t See You Again

    I’m sure I missed some. Admittedly not his biggest hits, but this collection includes other lesser hits. When will we ever get a true hits compilation from Neil?!?

    1. Totally agree. Good list. Unbelievable that ND or his label has yet to put his great non-album single “I Dreamed A Dream” (studio version 1987) on a CD after all these box sets and compilations. And the great 1984 “Primitive” album always gets ignored – with it’s singles “Turn Around” and “Sleep With Me Tonight”, and of course “This Time” from 1988, one of his best singles ever.

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