Release Date:
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Artist:
Various Artists
With Neil Diamond’s reputation recently resurrected from kitsch icon to underappreciated songwriting genius, the timing is right for this collection of previously-available-but-not-always-easy-to-find Diamond covers. With the exception of Urge Overkill and their already overkilled “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” most of the artists here (Deep Purple, Elvis Presley, Crooked Fingers) wisely avoid the kitsch route, reminding us why tunes like “Sweet Caroline” (given a soul infusion by Bobby Womack) and “Cracklin’ Rosie” (gorgeously slurred by Shane MacGowan) became barroom sing-alongs in the first place.