features in: Album Chart of 1967 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1960s |
Diamond’s second LP, released in September 1967, once again on Bang recordings (his final for the label) and once again produced by legendary Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Neil is now considered enough of a draw to have eleven new songs of his own, with no covers. Although, in typical 60s fashion, the label attempts to boost sales with the re-appearance of last years hit singles “Cherry Cherry” and “Solitary Man”, both of which had also been on last years debut LP. The then-current hit “Kentucky Woman” (#22) does not appear. A shoddy practice for the album buyer. Bang seem good at squeezing the cash out of the product - at some point or another, every single track on it was released either as an A-side or a B-side of a single, with many of them becoming big Billboard hits: “You Got To Me” (#18), “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” (#10), “Thank The Lord For The Night Time” (#13), “Red Red Wine” (#62), and “Shilo”. Despite my gripes, the set, with Neil’s originals, is an overall improvement on the debut, with the artist finding some middle ground between his own singer-songwriter ambitions and the catchy pop-rock demands of Bang Records’ head honcho, Bert Berns. Following Berns’ death from a heart attack at the end of 1967, Diamond would soon “move on” in an attempt to further nurture his artistic creativity…
The Jukebox Rebel
09–Nov–2008
Tracklist |
A1 | [02:48] Neil Diamond - Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon (Neil Diamond) Cerebral Pop |
A2 | [02:29] Neil Diamond - The Long Way Home (Neil Diamond) Pop |
A3 | [02:42] Neil Diamond - Red, Red Wine (Neil Diamond) Pop Ballad |
A4 | [02:50] Neil Diamond - You’ll Forget (Neil Diamond) Pop |
A5 | [02:40] Neil Diamond - The Boat That I Row (Neil Diamond) Pop |
A6 | [02:27] Neil Diamond - Cherry, Cherry (Neil Diamond) Pop |
B1 | [02:43] Neil Diamond - I’m A Believer (Neil Diamond) Pop |
B2 | [03:23] Neil Diamond - Shilo (Neil Diamond) Cerebral Pop |
B3 | [02:45] Neil Diamond - You Got To Me (Neil Diamond) Blues / Rhythm n Blues |
B4 | [02:33] Neil Diamond - Solitary Man (Neil Diamond) Cerebral Pop |
B5 | [02:55] Neil Diamond - Thank The Lord For The Night Time (Neil Diamond) Blues Rock / Soul Rock |