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| Artist: Neil Diamond
Label: Bmg
Category: Music
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £10.98
You Save: £5.01 (31%)
New (34) Used (14) from £1.63
Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 3679
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 828767613123
EAN: 0828767613123
ASIN: B000DZV6IW
Release Date: February 20, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 12 Reasons to Buy!! June 11, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Anyone who has read my reviews will know that I have been a Neil Diamond fan for more years than I care to remember. You'll also be aware that I have been harsh and generous in equal measure when reviewing his albums. His earlier stuff I adore, the more recent stuff I have drawn a line through in the lost hope of ever buying another CD worthy of comparison to "Taproot Manuscript", "Moods" or "Hot August Night" to name just a few.
The schmaltz and leaden production of the vast amount of his output since the 80s has smothered any notable offerings that he might have given us. The phrase "can't see the wood for the trees" springs to mind.
What made Diamond so enjoyable in the early stages of his career was the clarity of the songs and the way he sang them. Latterly all his studio material sounded as if he was singing to a stadium of fans. The mystique and sincerity had long since headed west.
So it was with total exhilaration that I listened to this CD, having heard rumours in the press that it was a classic return to form. Thankfully, it wasn't another false dawn. This really is the real deal.
Stripped of his comfort blanket of so many years........and with a producer I suspect strong enough to tell even the biggest artists (why are they always the last to realise? Is it ego or a posse of yes men around them?)that they are producing rubbish and the time for straight talking has come. Rick Rubin comes with such a reputation and seems to have got across to Diamond what every true fan has been screaming out for years.
12 Songs is superb. Well written. Well produced. Superbly sung with some of the most tasteful accompaniments I have heard on a Diamond CD. Not a note is wasted therefore leaving the songs exposed in a way that they haven't been in years.
I won't name personal favourites this time because I think you have to applaud the whole package. Artists, producer and material. Everything about this is tremendous. Even more so when I for one thought it would never happen.
I recommend this to anyone who likes listening to quality "Singer/Songwriters".
As an aside...........what I would give for Rick Rubin to go back through Diamond's catalogue of the 80s onwards and pick out the hidden gems and strip them down and get him to re-record. Maybe then, all those years in the wilderness may not have been totally wasted!
 Excellent - Rick Rubin strikes again April 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
After playing a major role in the phenomenal comeback of Johnny Cash, producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin turns his attention to another icon of the past Neil Diamond. Can the talented Rubin pull off another major revival? Well as the second track on 12 Songs says...Hell Yeah!
12 Songs has some fine tunes and is Diamond's biggest commercial and critical success for many years. Like Cash's American Recordings series, the songs are stripped down affairs with prominent acoustic guitar and keyboards and virtually no electric guitar or drums. Despite these intimate arrangements though it`s good to see that Neil's characteristic bombast and over-the-top semi-religious zeal still come through on some of the tracks.
Religion is certainly present on the acoustic gospel which is Man Of God. Other highlights include the vibe-tastic I'm On To You, clever melody of What's It Gonna Be and aforementioned Hell Yeah which includes an excellent lyric broadly about the struggles of balancing a life on the musical road with being there for the ones you love. The listener assumes that the song is about Diamond himself till it turns, with a line towards the end, to a tribute to another recently departed musical legend...
The musicianship on 12 Songs is tasteful and economical with excellent contributions from many of the players on the Cash albums such as guitarists Mike Campbell and Smokey Hormel and organist Benmont Tench. There are also guest spots for the late Billy Preston and Brian Wilson with Wilson adding melodic bass and Beach Boys type harmonies to a second version of Delirious Love, one of two extra tracks on this special, edition of "12 + 2 Songs". Although the version with Wilson's overdubs is interesting and worthwhile, I prefer the original Delirious Love, which has all the dramatic hallmarks of a classic Neil Diamond song, even though it of course does not have one of Neil's usual grandiose arrangements.
12 songs is an excellent return to form for a recently overlooked artist with Diamond adapting to the Rick Rubin stripped-down sound without losing his singular quirkiness. Although some of the songs take a bit of listening, patience with the album is usually rewarded. The only question now is whose career will be revived next by Rubin's seemingly magical touch. I doubt if there's a shortage of volunteers...
The best album I've brought in years! October 20, 2006
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Put all you know (or thought you knew) about Diamond to one side. Forget any preconceived ideas about MOR and start again.
You should buy this album. You must buy this album. It's a beautiful piece of work with wonderfully crafted songs. "Delirious Love" is brilliant.
 Rubbish. October 19, 2006
3 out of 18 found this review helpful
If I could give this no stars, I would. It is such a disappointment. To be honest, I didn't get past the fourth song. I couldn't stand the cliche-ridden lyrics. Not something I would expect from someone of Neil Diamond's calibre. At least he had the wisdom not to include a lyric sheet.
Can't believe this is so good. September 18, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As I'm in my middle forties , my musical tastes were formed in the 70's and 80's, I loved glam rock, punk and the dance music of the late eighties . However I've always loved "new" music and tend follow a band for a couple of years only as I usually get bored of the sound by then. I've got an eclectic musical taste , my other current faves being White Stripes, Eminem, Joss Stone and Dusty Sprinfield I expecetd this albumn to be OK as it was recommended by a friend who knows my taste. However it blew my mind away , from the moment it starts to moment it finishes it's a masterpiece. Every track is beautifuuly crafted with fantastic lyrics, beautiful music ,chock full of emotion and gorgeously produced. Its so good I've been listening to it for months and it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and after a few beers I'm in tears. Fans of Neil will obviously love it but so should just about anyone else who love LISTENING to music.
There is passion and tenderness all the way through this albumn from a master who has obviously matured with age. A classic and the best albumn of the year so far.
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