Neil Diamond 6-CD 50th Anniv. Edition: Listen

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On November 30, Capitol/UMe will celebrate a half-century of music-making with the release of Neil Diamond’s 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, a 6-CD retrospective that spans the singer/songwriter’s entire career. This collection contains 115 tracks overall, set in a hard-cover book, featuring scores of Diamond’s hits alongside demos, rarities and 15 previously unreleased tracks.

Says a October 12 press release: “Diamond’s unique connection with audiences the world over is evident all throughout the breadth of material presented on this box set. Witness the folk-rock reverie of ‘Solitary Man,’ the unbridled exuberance of ‘Cherry Cherry,’ the sweet acoustic twang of “Forever in Blue Jeans,” the pure Americana swing of ‘Kentucky Woman,’ the eternal sing-along sunshine of ‘Sweet Caroline,’ the raw emotionality of ‘I Am…I Said,’ the welcoming arms of ‘America,’ and the deeply expressive heartlight that’s on full display in his chart-topping duet with Barbra Streisand, ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, for just the tip of the iceberg of Diamond’s artistic achievements.”

Listen to the hit “Holly Holy”

A full disc contains 12 unreleased songs, including recently “Sunflower” (written and recently updated by Diamond, originally recorded by Glen Campbell), “Before I Had a Dime” and “C’est La Vie,” a song that Neil co-wrote with friend Gilbert Bécaud. Also included are the original demos of two of Diamond’s best known tracks, “I Am…I Said” and “America.”

Listen to the previously unreleased “The Ballad of Saving Silverman”

Neil Diamond (photo from his Facebook page)

The press release provides background on Diamond’s career: “Throughout his career, Neil Diamond has sold over 130 million albums worldwide and has dominated the charts for more than five decades with 38 Top 40 singles and 16 Top 10 albums. He has achieved record sales with 40 gold albums, 21 platinum albums, and 11 multi-platinum albums.

“A Grammy Award-winning artist, Diamond is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, and has recently received the Johnny Mercer Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, three of the highest honors bestowed upon songwriters and artists. Diamond’s many other achievements include a Golden Globe Award, 13 Grammy nominations, ASCAP Film and Television Award, Billboard Icon Award, American Music Award and 2009’s NARAS’s MusiCares Person of the Year Award. In 2011, Diamond received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture.”

Preorder Neil Diamond’s 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition here.

Listen to Diamond’s early hit “Solitary Man”