Classics: The Early Years is a compilation album by American musician Neil Diamond released in 1983 featuring the early recordings he made for Bang Records in 1966 and 1967. After CBS acquired the Bang Records catalogue, the twelve best recordings were reissued on this album. Columbia gave Diamond control of the Bang masters of his recordings. The original copyright notice of this album read "(C) and (P)1983 Neil Diamond and CBS Inc." This compilation has a different track lineup compared to the 1968 Bang compilation album titled Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits which contains two cover songs. All the songs in this album are original Diamond compositions and substitutes "I'm A Believer" (which The Monkees covered) and "Shilo" in place of the Gary U.S. Bonds hit "New Orleans" and the Tommy James and the Shondells hit "Hanky Panky."
| Classics: The Early Years | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1966–1967 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 33:04 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich | |||
| Neil Diamond chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
Only a few tracks are in true stereo. Later Neil Diamond compilations contained the mono versions, which makes this album the only source for the stereo versions of his Bang Records releases. The only true stereo version of "Kentucky Woman" was released in 1978 by Frog King records on the album Early Classics.
Cash Box said of the single "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No)" that "the gutsy sound of the infectious track backs Diamond’s multi-level, emotion-packed vocal."[2]
Track listing
editAll songs composed by Neil Diamond.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kentucky Woman" | 2:24 |
| 2. | "Cherry, Cherry" (single version) | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Solitary Man" (with overdubs) | 2:34 |
| 4. | "You Got to Me" (original stereo mix) | 2:45 |
| 5. | "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No)" | 2:09 |
| 6. | "Thank the Lord for the Night Time" (original stereo mix) | 3:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm a Believer" (with orchestral overdubs of brass and strings) | 2:38 |
| 2. | "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Shilo" | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Do It" | 2:22 |
| 5. | "Red Red Wine" | 2:39 |
| 6. | "The Boat That I Row" | 2:41 |
References
edit- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Classics: The Early Years at AllMusic
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 22, 1966. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-01-12.