12 Songs From Neil Diamond Who would of thought Neil Diamond's latest release would be of interest to the alternative music world? The composer of some of the pop world's most familiar hit songs, that include not only arena favorites like "Sweet Caroline" and "America", but legendary classics like "I'm A Believer", "Cherry, Cherry", "Red, Red Wine" and my personal favorite--"Solitary Man", recorded by Chris Isaak, Crooked Fingers, and Johnny Cash in a version produced by Rick Rubin, with whom, Diamond has found a new alternative direction. Besides producing the "American Recordings" sessions that redefined the Man In Black, Rubin was ...
Published November 15, 2005 Album Review | Don't call it a comeback Neil Diamond's "12 Songs" explores the heart of pop By Gregory Connor Daily Editorial Board Rick Rubin had it easy producing Johnny Cash's last records. Even after making unremarkable albums for twenty years, he was still The Man in Black, a rock prototype. All Rubin had to do to bring Cash back into the mainstream musical landscape was put him in a room with a guitar and recommend a few songs to cover. Johnny Cash was just that cool. Neil Diamond is not cool. Over the past several decades he has become something of a joke, appreciated ironically by hipsters and wi...
Neil Diamond's '12 Songs' Makes Chart History as Artist's First-Ever Top 10 Debut & First Top 10 Album in 13 Years Wednesday November 16, 2:45 pm ET Critically Acclaimed '12 Songs,' Produced by Rick Rubin, With Music & Lyrics by Neil Diamond, Debuts at #4 on Billboard Top 200 NEW YORK, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Neil Diamond's critically-acclaimed new album, 12 Songs, has debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and is the artist's first album to debut in the Top 10. Released on November 8, with first true week's sales of 92,705, according to SoundScan, 12 Songs is providing the strongest opening week's numbers of Neil's career. His ...
• Neil Diamond, "12 Songs," Columbia Records. Diamond seemed to have a real spring in his step when he played the Alliant Energy Center in September. And while part of the reason may have been that he was in the middle of one of the top-grossing tours of the year, I'd like to think that having this album in the can was also re-energizing him. "12 Songs," quite simply, is one of the best things Diamond has done in a long, long time. It completely rejects the spangle and glitz that have defined Diamond's image in recent years, instead returning him to the low-key, well-worn romanticism of his finest work. Producer Rick Rubin has wor...
Diamond, Sparkling In a Vintage Setting By Allison Stewart Special to The Washington Post Wednesday, November 16, 2005; Page C01 It seems strange to think of it now, but Johnny Cash spent years wandering in the New Nashville wilderness before producer Rick Rubin revived his career with the spare, sepulchral "American Recordings" in 1994. Rubin outfits his latest restoration project, Neil Diamond, in much the same way on Diamond's new record, "12 Songs," using minimal instrumentation and grizzled, manly songs of woe in search of the same lion-in-winter vibe. But "12 Songs" can't help but feel less weighty than Cash's album did. A...
Neil Diamond & Burt Bacharach Reviewed by Noel Murray November 16th, 2005 Neil Diamond 12 Songs [Buy It!] (Columbia) Burt Bacharach At This Time [Buy It!] (Columbia) Johnny Cash's place in popular-music history was already secure before producer Rick Rubin midwifed a late-career resurgence, but Rubin's latest reclamation project stands on slipperier ground. Neil Diamond is responsible for some of the snappiest hits of the late '60s, like "Cherry Cherry," "Solitary Man," and "Sweet Caroline," but he's never been a slave to quality control, and his catalog is littered with rhinestones. More people think of him as an adul...
KENNY CHESNEY IS A COWBOY-HAT WEARIN’ WONDER AT #1! Other Major Debuts Include Fitty, Floetry and a Big Comeback from the "Jewish Elvis" November 15, 2005 Four debuts in this week’s Top 10, but BNA’s Kenny Chesney is by far this week’s big winner, taking the #1 spot with 457k. And it should be the beginning of a long run, with the cowboy-hat wearin’ wonder set to open the CMAs this week, performing on the AMAs and the Radio Music Awards later this month, not to mention his own ABC-TV special on the 23rd. In other words, this will continue to be a big seller throughout the holiday season. The Shady/Aftermath/Interscope so...
New Music Tuesday by Collegian Staff November 15, 2005 By Tim McCall, Collegian Staff Neil Diamond "12 Songs" Columbia Records 8.7/10 Call off the race, it's been officially decided that Myspace is cooler than Facebook. Facebook may have more members, but at the end of the day it's the quality of their members that lost the battle. On Myspace you can friend Neil Diamond and hear his entire new album, his first in four years, for free. If that doesn't kick Facebook's butt, what does? Kidding aside, the new Neil Diamond album "12 Songs" is a good album and perhaps could be the best album he's ever made. Diamond use...
Album Review: Neil Diamond, "12 Songs" (Columbia) November 14, 2005 01:13 PM by Rob Evans liveDaily Editor Though he long ago proved his ability to write first-class pop songs, Neil Diamond (music) has, for the last couple of decades, mostly seemed content to rest on his previous accomplishments. On "12 Songs," Diamond finally puts in another effort that's worthy of his always-passionate live shows. By now, the story is well known: After a long courtship, producer Rick Rubin--credited with resurrecting Johnny Cash's recording career in the '90s--finally convinced Diamond to work with him to strip away the layers of glitter th...
'Songs': Diamond in the rough By Daniel Wattenberg November 15, 2005 Neil Diamond 12 Songs Sony Thanks to Rick Rubin, "has-been" is now a career stage a recording artist can look forward to. In 1994, the cutting-edge producer-minimogul rescued the recording career of a neglected and increasingly apathetic Johnny Cash. The pared-to-the-bone sound of their "American Recordings" album was everything Garth Brooks' mushy middle-of-the-road Nashville wasn't. A midnight masterpiece, it won a Grammy, captured new, younger rock fans for Mr. Cash -- without losing his country base -- and created th...
Album Review Calling 12 Songs Neil Diamond's best album in three decades may be a little misleading: truth be told, it doesn't have much competition in his discography. While Diamond never stopped making albums, he did seem progressively less interested in recording sometime after the Robbie Robertson-produced 1976 album Beautiful Noise. Following that weird, ambitious album, he pursued a slicker, streamlined course and started writing less original material. For a while, this paid off great commercial dividends, culminating in his 1980 remake of the Al Jolson film The Jazz Singer, but after 1982's Heartlight he slowly drifted off the pop...
Pop / Rock (2005-11-14) Neil Diamond Releases New Album '12 Songs' This Sunday Sydney, AU (SONY BMG Music Entertainment) - One of the most anticipated albums of the year is almost here - Neil Diamond's groundbreaking new record '12 Songs' drops on Sunday, and it's going to be huge! The latest achievement from the legendary performer is one of his most ambitious records yet, and sees him team up with another music icon - legendary producer Rick Rubin. Neil Diamond returns with his brand new stripped-back album '12 Songs' this weekend, and it's already scored rave reviews from critics overseas. Produced by Rick Rubin, who has w...
Neil Diamond Fans Wait for Tickets Monday, November 14, 11:21 a.m. By Andy Palumbo Our area apparently has a lot of Neil Diamond fans. The singer is due to perform at the Wachovia arena in Wilkes-Barre Township next month and some people spent hours in line Monday morning, hoping for tickets. Jason Reiss was the first one in line. Not only did he get there at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, he drove all the way from Hawley. He said he did it all for mom. "My mother is a huge Neil Diamond fan. This is her Christmas gift. This is for her," he explained. Reiss passed the time by watching Star Wars on a portable DVE player. He also ...
Beach Boy special guest By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun A new polish on Diamond Neil Diamond goes back for more On a special digipack version of Neil Diamond's new album, 12 Songs, Brian Wilson is a special guest on an alternate version of the new song, Delirious Love. Diamond says he had met the former Beach Boy a few times over the years but had never worked with him before when producer Rick Rubin asked Wilson to appear on the track. "That was a spectacular moment for all of us," says Diamond. "We were listening to a semi-complete version of Delirious Love, which we liked a lot. It rocked, it had everything we...
Neil Diamond - '12 Songs' By Steve Brown Published: Monday, November 14, 2005 4.5 I'll be the first to admit it, I was never a Neil Diamond fan. My most memorable Neil Diamond experience was his cameo in the movie "Saving Silverman." Now, after listening to his highly anticipated release, "12 Songs", I can now proudly say, "I am a Neil Diamond fan." "12 Songs" is seriously the CD that could turn anyone into a Neil Diamond fan. With help from well-known producer, Rick Rubin, Diamond has created a 12-Song masterpiece that really needs to be heard to be appreciated fully. Diamond's classic vocal style and guitar playing still ...
Neil Diamond goes back for more By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun A new polish on Diamond Beach Boy special guest Neil Diamond was so pleased about working on his acclaimed new album, 12 Songs, with producer Rick Rubin that he's already planning a sequel with him. "We've already started working on the next album," says Diamond. "There were a few songs that didn't make it into (12 Songs) because they were not completed or they didn't fit in with the mood of the album, but they're very strong songs that both Rick and I loved. They will be finished and probably find their way into the next album. "But for the most part, f...
A new polish on Diamond Pop icon returns with a new producer and a new album, 12 Songs By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun Beach Boy special guest Neil Diamond goes back for more Hands. Touching Hands. Reaching out. Touching Me. Touching you. Okay, so my phone interview with legendary singer-songwriter-performer Neil Diamond didn't quite go down like that. But the 64-year-old Brooklyn native, down the line from his home in Los Angeles, tried to make our 20 minute chat as cozy as possible. "I'm sitting here at my desk and I have the speaker phone on, if that's all right. I like to sit back and have a conversation...
STILL SHINING: With an assist from hip producer Rick Rubin, Neil Diamond digs deep on the stripped-down, emotional '12 Songs' November 6, 2005 BY BRIAN McCOLLUM FREE PRESS POP MUSIC CRITIC When irony-inclined Gen X got its turn at the controls of pop culture in the '90s, a few age-old rules of cool were promptly revised. The same era that turned "geek" into a badge of honor and "The Brady Bunch" into a valid dissertation topic also blurred musical boundaries. The stuff once quarantined for corniness -- Burt Bacharach, the Carpenters, lounge music, ABBA -- was given a new hip sheen. Neil Diamond "12 Songs" FOUR STARS ...
Nov. 11, 2005, 1:23PM Neil Diamond sparkles on latest effort By ANDREW DANSBY Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle 12 Songs Neil Diamond Columbia 3 1/2/ stars For the first time in a long time, the individual songs on a Neil Diamond album can be called instantly memorable. 12 Songs is an interesting album; it's stripped of the lacquer that has made his music shine for the past couple of decades, but it's not a raw rock 'n' roll record like his earliest work. Producer Rick Rubin has put that oaky voice front and center and refused to drown it in lavish arrangements. It's meditative Neil, bookish Neil, flannel Neil - not boisterou...
Posted on Sun, Nov. 13, 2005 M O R E N E W S F R O M • Pop/Rock • Phish • The Jam • Trey Anastasio • Blizzard • Run DMC • Neil Diamond • Rap New Recordings Pop Neil Diamond 12 Songs (Columbia **) The hype has it that this is Neil Diamond's best album in 30 years, and now that Johnny Cash is dead, rock-rap producer Rick Rubin has moved on to lead another storied American icon to a return to glory. But what worked so well on the four albums Cash recorded with Rubin lands with a thud on 12 Songs. The Rubin strategy of stripping the material down to its intimate essence merel...
Saturday, November 12, 2005 Album Review The magic is back Neil Diamond pulls off a stunner By Jeffrey Lee Puckett jpuckett@courier-journal.com Courier-Journal Critic Neil Diamond came of age as a songwriter during the classic Brill Building era of the 1950s and '60s, a time that blurs the battle lines that many insist on drawing between art and commerce. Manhattan's Brill Building was filled with people in the business of making hit singles, but they also created some of the finest art in pop music history -- "This Magic Moment," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Be My Baby" and many, many more. Diamond sought cou...
What's new to listen to Neil Diamond "12 Songs" Columbia ***** out of five As he points out so powerfully on "Hell Yeah," arguably the strongest of the titular 12 songs that make up his new, much-anticipated collaboration with producer Rick Rubin, Neil Diamond "found the life that he was after, filled it up with love and laughter, finally got it right and made it fit." In other words, after 40 years of platinum hits and perpetually sold-out concert appearances around the globe, Diamond had nothing left to prove to anyone - except perhaps to himself. So he sequestered himself in a recording studio for the better part of a ...
Neil Diamond 12 Songs Columbia, 2005 Attempting to accomplish for Neil Diamond what he accomplished for Johnny Cash with 1994's landmark American Recordings, producer Rick Rubin applies a similar aesthetic to 12 Songs, building an album from the ground up and using only Diamond and his guitar for its foundation. When considering the breadth of Rubin's production experience with everyone from Donovan to Jay-Z, this stripped-bare approach is one that he's employed only with the utmost discrimination, when he has the highest degree of confidence in the artist and when that approach serves a broader purpose within the artist's career. Wha...
Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia): Looking to garner a little critical respect for an impressive career, the Jewish Elvis turns to producer Rick Rubin, who managed to reposition Johnny Cash for the hipsters with his stark, no-frills approach, which focused attention on the gravitas of his iconic voice, and his ability to interpret other people's material. Rubin places Diamond's own distinctive voice (and songwriting) at the center, surrounding it with subtle, unobtrusive arrangements featuring Neil himself on acoustic guitar, along with Mike Campbell, Smokey Hormel, Billy Preston, Pat McLaughlin, Jonny Polonsky and Benmont Tench. Self-penn...
If it's kinda, sorta music-related, we'll review it. This week: Rick Rubin's moxie. By Rossiter Drake Published: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Neil Diamond hasn't touched a guitar in three decades. But for the surprisingly moving 12 Songs, released this week, the legendary songwriter and Caesar's Lake Tahoe veteran is completely dialed in, finger-picking his six-string and singing as if he actually means it, not as if he's crooning for a convention center's worth of Shriners. Who do we have to thank for this? You guessed it: the man who gave us Run D.M.C., Weezer II, and Jay-Z's "99 Problems," that bearded audio alchemist, producer R...
Friday, November 11, 2005 Neil Diamond easy on ears, hard on PCs By BEN WENER The Orange County Register Kudos from stunned critics have been cropping up everywhere this week, and you can add my name to the list of those offering unexpected hosannas to Neil Diamond and his new album, "12 Songs," a plain title for a brilliantly scaled-back return to form. The master songwriter who grew up to be an overdramatic schlock king - the beloved performer who has spent the better part of three decades peddling good vibes at nostalgic concerts while watching middling-themed albums sink unnoticed into oblivion - well, he finally got back...
Toned-down Neil Diamond sparkles anew Friday, November 11, 2005 Neil Diamond, "12 Songs" (Columbia) *** Before we go any further, let us admit that not everything Rick Rubin touches turns to gold. For every Johnny Cash "American" recording Rubin produced, there were the likes of Slayer and Danzig along with forgettable albums from Mick Jagger and Donovan. With that out of the way, let us now praise Rick Rubin for doing the impossible: taking what would be Neil Diamond's standard overwrought songs and adding a semblance of poignancy to them. Gone is the bombastic showmanship, the satin outfits and that distu...
The solitary man sparkles with `12 Songs' hcohen@herald.com • POP NEIL DIAMOND 12 Songs Columbia **** During a season in which veterans like the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder have won over many critics with new offerings, Neil Diamond's 12 Songs towers over them all and resets the bar for his peers. This is not quite your mom's Neil Diamond. The initial push for his new CD will be to college radio, according to Billboard. Yes, college radio, that bastion of hipness, getting new Neil Diamond music ahead of easy listening stations. Credit producer Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers...
Posted on Thu, Nov. 10, 2005 Wisconsin Weekend Package JENNIFER McBRIDE Baraboo News Republic BARABOO, Wis. - Don't adjust your set - look beyond the sequins on the lead singer's shirt - that really is the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County music professor playing in Neil Diamond's band. Claude Cailliet leaves this weekend to prepare for performances with the band on the "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live." The 46-year-old has played trombone since he was in grade school and is not shy about playing in front of a camera with megastars. "TV is interesting but it's a long day," Cailliet sai...
Neil Diamond Cheer up. Neil Diamond is back. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. Where: ipayOne Center at the San Diego Sports Arena 3500 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego, CA When: 8 pm Wed, Dec 21, 2005 Price: $42.50-$75. Info: (619) 220-TIXS. Event Profile The Skinny People who say they can't stand Neil Diamond are lying. Who can't stand that sonorous growl, that heartbreaking sincerity, that bitchin' hair? Neil rocks, baby -- and he has, from 1966's "Cherry, Cherry," to 1996's triple-disc, 71-track boxed retrospective, "In My Lifetime." Along the way...
A New Neil Diamond For Old And New Fans November 9, 2005 6:00 p.m. EST Andrea Moore - All Headline News Staff Reporter Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Pop-rock hitmaker of the 60's, 70's and 80's, Neil Diamond, has teamed up with producer Rick Rubin for his newest album, "12 Songs," released from Columbia Records says Billboard. The album is Diamond's return to the early, stripped-down rock singer/songwriter sound of his pre-superstar years. It's also a chance to reach new fans and awaken old fans. For Rubin, it represents another opportunity to help a musical giant reinvent himself, as he did with the acclaimed "American Recordings"...
The new, old Neil Diamond Singer-songwriter back with Rick Rubin-produced CD Wednesday, November 9, 2005; Posted: 9:55 a.m. EST (14:55 GMT) Neil Diamond's musical career stretches back more than 40 years. FACT BOX The Neil Diamond file Born: January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York Early career: After scuffling around New York songwriting scene, was signed by Brill Building writers/producers Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich; hits included "Sunday and Me" (Jay and the Americans), "I'm a Believer" (Monkees), "The Boat That I Row" (Lulu), "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" (Monkees). Diamond's songs have been covered by a...