The Best Of Neil Diamond: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection) [Original recording remastered]

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (Series), Neil Diamond | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 1999)
• Original Release Date: March 16, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00000I8LG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,887 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Neil Diamond's entry in MCA's multivolume 20th Century Masters points up the essential flaw of the whole series. While the title suggests a sort of time capsule--something truly representative of an artist's best work--that turns out to be true only to the extent that the label controls that material. Thanks to the budget-minded nature of the project, no attempts were made to include any of Diamond's great hits recorded for the Bang label, or the wildly successful adult-contemporary fare he did later for Columbia. True, there are some great hits here from the second phase of his career--"Sweet Caroline," "Holly Holy," "Song Sung Blue," and "I Am... I Said"--but the set ignores three Top 20 hits from this period, so it's less than definitive. Still, if you pair it with another greatest-hits package, Classics: The Early Years, you've got a pretty good collection of Diamond's best stuff. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Owners of "Neil Diamond/His 12 Greatest Hits" - Rejoice!!!, May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of Neil Diamond: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection) (Audio CD)

If you own the above album and were highly disappointed because some of the songs were live versions instead of studio versions, then this CD is for you!!! This CD has the studio versions we are used to hearing on the radio AND it's remastered. Good job, MCA :-)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hits And Misses (And MIAs), April 25, 2000

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best Of Neil Diamond: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection) (Audio CD)

If you bought this and "Classics: The Early Years" you'd own practically everything you'd want from Neil Diamond. The problem is Diamond recorded for three different labels--four, if you count the three Top Ten singles released from the Capitol Records' soundtrack to "The Jazz Singer." So what you have here are his hits from the Uni years (1968-1972).

It's nice to have this package include his first Uni label single, the autobiographical "Brooklyn Bridge" (No. 58) and the B-side "Crunchy Granola Suite." However, why didn't they include his two other Uni singles: 1970's "He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" (No. 20) and 1972's "Walk on Water" (No. 17)? Because of licensing restrictions you aren't going to get the early Bang-era singles or his MOR hits from Columbia, but here was a chance for MCA to get one of its 20th Century Masters releases perfect, and they blew it.

That complaint aside, this is a smart (if brief) collection of Diamond's original version hits from his artistic peak. RECOMMENDED

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete, September 27, 2000

By 

"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of Neil Diamond: 20th Century Masters (Millennium Collection) (Audio CD)

If one is going to put out something with as definitive a title as Millenium Collection, how can they omit four of Diamond's greatest songs, Cherry Cherry, Kentucky Woman, Shilo and Solitary Man? I am sure there are other significant omissions too from later in his career (September Mornings?), and surely there is room on today's modern CDs to have included more than 12 songs. Don't get me wrong, the songs on here are great and they sound fine, but I am just very disappointed in the selection. A more appropriate title would be Some of Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits.