it's good tos ee Neil getting appreciated here. This album is long overdue and I agree that this is what he should be doing. Good stuff.

I read a review of the album that talked about what a shame it was that Frank Sinatra died before he could have covered "Hell Yeah." I agree...it would have been a perfect Frank song. Great album...

Did anyone catch Neil Diamond (with Brian Wilson) on Jay Leno the other night? Excellent version of "Delirious Love". Man, at 64 that guy has still got it.

I'm hoping Neil will stick with Rubin and do the next step Cash did... and that's record great songs with a band. It's cool to hear Neil attempting this, and I do like it, but I'll almost always prefer a bit of kick snuck in there instead of 12 acoustic songs. Hear me... I LIKE this album! When Cash released his first American Recordings album it was met with complete praise, which it deserved. But I liked what he did after that even more. Just personal preference.

Saw on Jimmy Kimmel that the album is debuting at #4 this week, the highest of any Neil Diamond album EVER. Great news, and well deserved.

I did and it pushed me over the edge on deciding to pick this up. I just got around to getting it tonight and I'll give it a spin tomorrow night.

Did you make sure you get the digipack with the two bonus songs? One of those is the Brian Wilson version of "Delirious Love". The version on the normal album is sans-Wilson.

Unfortunately, no I didn't.

I made a midnight run to our local Walmart last night and picked it up along with snacks and DVDs for this weekend.

I didn't see it at all in their new releases display or in their small Neil Diamond tab. There were only a couple of hits comps there. Just as I was about to give up I stumbled across it in an Easy Listening section. They only had the regular CD there and it was overpriced to boot. Our WM sucks but I wanted to play it this weekend so I got it anyway.

Looks like the disc has been pulled by Sony because of the rootkit issue. Amazon lists the disc as completely unavailable now. It's been recalled.

So....is it not okay to admit to liking the Jazz Singer?

"12 Songs" is a great disc.

From Amazon:Nice move, Sony. Idiots.

I admit to not really keeping up with the various anti-piracy tactics these corporate bone heads are using.

Is this Neil Diamond situation referring to the digipacks or the regular Columbia CD as well? We listened to it on our home system last night and loved it. I stuck it in my PC to enjoy it with my coffee this morning and up pops a window with a bunch of legal crap. I clicked 'disagree' and it spit the disc back out at me. I assume nothing got installed but it may also seem that had I 'agreed' I would have gotten this root kit?

Yes, had you agreed, you would have gotten this rootkit.

So, has anyone sent in for a replacement disc?

http://www.sonybmgcdtechsettlement.com/

I haven't (yet) because I purchased the deluxe edition and am worried about getting a standard replacement. Since I last checked the above website they've added that you get 1) $7.50 and one free album download or 2) three free album downloads, in addition to the replacement disc. I might as well do it.

Free albums: http://www.sonybmgcdtechsettlement.c...wnloadList.pdf (PDF)

After looking at the above list, I don't think there's three albums on it that I'd want that I don't already have.

A Deluxe Edition was recently released...



1. Oh Mary
2. Hell Yeah
3. Captain of a Shipwreck
4. Evermore
5. Save Me A Saturday Night
6. Delirious Love
7. I'm On To You
8. What's it Gonna Be
9. Man Of God
10. Create Me
11. Face Me
12. We Listen
13. Men Are So Easy (Bonus Track)
14. Delirious Love (with Brian Wilson) (Bonus Track)

Disc: 2
1. Oh Mary demo
2. Hell Yeah-early take
3. Captain of a Shipwreck-alternate take
4. Evermore-early take
5. Save Me A Saturday Night-alternate take
6. Delirious Love-early take
7. I'm On To You-demo
8. What's it Gonna Be-alternate take
9. Man Of God-early take
10. Create Me-alternate take
11. Face Me-demo
12. We-early take
13. Men Are So Easy-alternate mix

AMG gave it a great review:

One has to feel some empathy for the depression Neil Diamond underwent as a result of Sony's dreaded rootkit fiasco. (Rootkit was potentially malicious anti-piracy software Sony installed on a number of its compact disc titles.) Right at the crest of the press acclaim and rising sales-and the beginning of Diamond beginning to overcome the initial disbelief of aging hipsters that the album was one of his very best recording efforts and not one of his easy listening exercises-the outcries against Sony's folly caused them to yank the album from retail. Ugh! Thankfully Diamond gets a second chance just as he and Rubin get to work on a second offering. Along with the original 12 Songs comes a pair of bonus cuts including "Men Are So Easy," and "Delirious Love," the latter of which features Brian Wilson doing his Beach Boys best with rich multi-layered "ooh" harmonies, staggered chorus lines and handclaps. It's not stellar, and the original is better, but it's worth hearing certainly.In addition there is a second disc that contains alternates, demos and outtakes from the 12 Songs sessions. They are placed in the same order as the tracks on the finished recording, and therefore add dimension and information about how certain choices were made. This is especially true of the demos. The unadorned versions of "opener "Oh Mary," "I'm On To You," and "Face Me," offer an intimate and raw view of an artist whose work has been wildly polished since the middle of 1960s. Here are the songs as they emerge, and become clear to the songwriter; they become full bodied in his voice as he moves and struggles to come to grips with them and make them real. Likewise, "Save Me A Saturday Night," with its tentative voice expresses a vulnerability not often evident in Diamond's finished efforts. Likewise, an early take of "Man Of God," is chilling in its slowly wandering way, as if the singer is trying to convince himself more than the listener. The alternate take of "Create Me," is among the most moving and tenderly naked pieces the songwriter has ever offered us. Wit's a prayer, and there is no tentativeness in his delivery. It's perfectly convicted, confidently delivered sung poetry. Likewise, the demo of "Face Me," doesn't just contain the requisite drama of Diamond's best downer love songs, there is real anger here along with utterly believable pain-the realization that this is most assuredly the same songwriter who gave us "Solitary Man," 40 plus years on is a bit shocking at first, but it's a few steps down the road. This is what happens when we need and want, it seems to say, and unless the Beloved looks him straight in the eye and says the words he dreads, he refuses to accept that it's happened yet again. This is Neil Diamond not as a self satisfied musician looking through his past, but the sound of a songwriter hungry for the spark, with an editor -Rubin-who won't let hium veer from the path. If you missed this the first time around., get it. If you bought it the first time around, give your copy away and dig into this thing hard-you may find yourself playing the bonus disc more than the original. If you're merely a cynic, then try to pull yourself away from the Bright Eyes and Sufjian Stevens records and try not being cool for a change, you'll most likely be surpised and delighted.

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Usually, I can't stand when the Super Mega Deluxe Collector's Limited Edition of an album is released so soon after its initial release (although 1+ years is a little better than a lot of these type of offerings; I'm looking at you, Morrissey), but considering that I still have my XCP-addled copy - and that it's only $9.99 at Amazon - I may have to upgrade.

(Replacements for the old disc can still be sent in until 12/31, so I may yet do that too, just to stick it to Sony)

Good to hear that he and Rubin will be doing a second album.

Thanks for bumping this back up. It not only made me aware of the interesting Deluxe Edition but also the settlement link which I was unaware of. Looks like I'm in just before the deadline.