Neil Diamond

While listening to Neil Diamond Gold, it is inconceivable that Diamond did not intend on becoming a singer or a pop artist. It is impossible to imagine that anyone else could or should perform his unique songs, seemingly structured for his unique vocals and presentation. From the Latin flavored “Two-Bit Manchild,” to the country tinged “Shilo,” the gospel spirited “Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show” and “Holly Holy,” a tribal treatment on “Soolaimen,” to the more pop oriented “Cherry Cherry” (all included on this collection), the thread remains Diamond’s signature vocal style. He has admitted that he never strived to conform to a set of writing rules, and thankfully so, for we would not have enjoyed the kind of diversity and genre crossing that Diamond employed in his pleasantly unconventional songwriting.