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Forever Neil Diamond(Shout! Factory) First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2006, Volume 13, #7 Written by Tracy M. Rogers
Neil Diamond began his career as a Brill Building songwriter whose material was covered by pop acts such as The Monkees and The Four Tops. Shout! Factory’s latest compilation Forever Neil Diamond is a celebration of his work. With tracks that range from early recordings by Lulu and Bobby Womack to covers by contemporary artists Shane McGowan and the Popes, UB40, and Urge Overkill, Forever Neil Diamond is an intriguing, if somewhat uneven, tribute. Soul and R&B flavors permeate the collection, and the best of these include The Four Tops’ I’m a Believer and Arthur Alexander’s Glory Road. Naturally, straightforward pop fare also is prevalent, and Lulu’s The Boat I Row is a powerful and poignant anthem, while The Monkees’ A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You is just good fun. Nevertheless, the more interesting pairings on Forever Neil Diamond
include Elvis Presley’s Memphis-imbued version of And the Grass Won’t Pay No
Mind, Deep Purple’s hard rock-meets-soul interpretation of Kentucky Woman,
and Diamond’s collaboration with The Band on the guitar-heavy Dry Your Eyes,
which was plucked from the concert featured in Martin Scorsese’s film The
Last Waltz. The highlight of the outing, however, is Crooked Fingers’ banjo
and horn rendition of Solitary Man, which evokes both loneliness and
desperation. Through other people’s interpretations of his songs, Forever
Neil Diamond captures the essence of Diamond as a songwriter, and although
its diverse, genre-jumping styles don’t always mesh, the product still serves as
an enjoyable history lesson. Forever Neil Diamond is available from Amazon.com. For Canadian orders, please Click Here! For UK orders, please Click Here!
Ratings 1 Star: Pitiful
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box
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