The Feel of Neil Diamond is Neil Diamond's debut album, released on Bang Records in the US, London Records in the UK, and Stateside Records in Australia. It includes his first three big hits, "Solitary Man" (#55), "Cherry, Cherry" (#6), and "Oh No No" (#16). Artie Butler was the arranger and conductor; Leonard Linton was the photographer; and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, continuing to work together although they had divorced the previous year, were the producers.
| The Feel of Neil Diamond | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 12, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1965–66 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 29:51 | |||
| Label | Bang | |||
| Producer | Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich | |||
| Neil Diamond chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Feel of Neil Diamond | ||||
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The photo for this album cover was taken under the Brooklyn Bridge by Diamond's first cousin Len Rapoport, who was only 17 years old when these photos were taken. The photo credit on this album shows photo by Leonard Linton, which was Rapoport's middle name. He wasn't sure if he should take a professional name at that time, but later photo credits reverted to his name Leonard Rapoport. His photo credits can be found on many of the Diamond Program Books, albums and other Diamond publications.
This album has never been released on CD, but the CD The Bang Years includes all the tracks from this album and from Diamond's second album, Just for You.
The Australian version has two additional tracks- "The Boat that I Row" and "Thank the Lord for the Night Time".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Track listing
editAll songs written by Neil Diamond, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Solitary Man" | 2:32 | |
| 2. | "Red Rubber Ball" | Bruce Woodley, Paul Simon | 2:18 |
| 3. | "La Bamba" | Ritchie Valens | 2:07 |
| 4. | "Do It" | 2:24 | |
| 5. | "Hanky Panky" | Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Monday, Monday" | John Phillips | 2:56 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "New Orleans" | Frank Guida, Joseph Royster | 2:24 |
| 2. | "Someday Baby" | 2:18 | |
| 3. | "Oh No No" | 2:13 | |
| 4. | "I'll Come Running" | 2:55 | |
| 5. | "Love to Love" | 2:18 | |
| 6. | "Cherry, Cherry" | 2:42 |
Charts
edit| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[1] | 137 |
References
edit- ^ "Neil Diamond Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2023.