Melody Road Neil Diamond

• 1Melody Road03:12
• 2First Time04:02
• 3Seongah And Jimmy05:45
• 4Something Blue04:03
• 5Nothing But A Heartache04:34
• 6In Better Days03:31
• 7(OOO) Do I Wanna Be Yours06:14
• 8Alone At The Ball02:57
• 9Sunny Disposition03:14
• 10Marry Me Now03:35
• 11The Art Of Love04:07
• 12Melody Road01:11
• Total Runtime46:25

Info for Melody Road

Neil Diamond, one of the world’s premiere recording artists, internationally renowned and record-breaking concert performer and revered songwriter releases his brand new studio album, Melody Road. The album, marks his first original studio release in six years and first since signing with Capitol Records. Acclaimed producers Don Was and Jacknife Lee co-produced the album.

“It takes tremendous vision, focus and determination – combined with a mega-dose of God-given talent, charisma and soul – to create music that becomes indelibly ingrained in the fabric of our culture,” shared Melody Road co-producer and Blue Note President Don Was. “For decade after decade, Neil’s songs have been such a major part of our lives. Making this record with him has served as a profound reminder of what a powerful and amazing artist he truly is,” he continued.

Throughout an illustrious and wide-ranging musical career, Neil Diamond has charted 37 Top 40 singles and 16 Top 10 albums in the U.S. His most recent original studio release, 2008’s Home Before Dark, debuted at #1 in both the U.S. and the UK album charts.

A Grammy Award-winning artist, Diamond is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honours bestowed upon songwriters.

Diamond’s many other achievements include a Golden Globe Award, 13 Grammy nominations and 2009’s NARAS’s MusicCares Person of the Year award. In 2011, Diamond received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture.

Neil Diamond
For Neil Diamond, it’s always started with a song. Over the course of his astonishing career, Neil has sold more than 128 million albums worldwide. He’s charted 56 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including 12 top 10 hits, and has released 16 Top 10 albums. He’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2011, he was honored by the Kennedy Center for his lifetime of contributions to American culture. Neil has been nominated for three Golden Globes, 13 Grammys, and was named NARAS’ MusiCares Person of the Year in 2009. His 2008 album, Home Before Dark, debuted in the US and UK at #1, and his songs have been covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Andrea Boccelli. But he never would have reached the world, from sold-out concerts to seventh-inning stretches, without his love for songwriting.

In June, after more than forty years as a Columbia recording artist, Neil signed with Capitol Records and moved his back catalogue to Universal, Capitol’s parent company. He has history with both: his earliest hits were on Bang, a Universal imprint, and Capitol released the multi-platinum soundtrack for The Jazz Singerin 1980, which earned Neil three Top 10 singles. Melody Road, his first new original studio album since Home Before Dark, is Neil’s debut as a Capitol artist, and while it represents a new chapter for him, it also reconnects him with his past.

Neil describes Melody Road as a homecoming. It brings him back to the start of his musical journey and the early influence of artists like the Weavers and Woody Guthrie. The songs on the album reflect his lifelong love of folk music. The vocals were recorded live, in much the same way they would have been if the album had been created decades ago, and while the instrumentation is lush, the arrangements are traditional. Like the best folk songs, each of the album’s tracks tells a story, most pointedly on “Seongah and Jimmy,” a song about Neil’s American brother-in-law and Korean sister-in-law, who met and fell in love before they had learned to speak each other’s languages. Despite the specificity of the song, it addresses a universal theme. Melody Road is largely autobiographical, but the stories Neil tells are not his alone.

Neil began working on Melody Road with several new songs, as well as a few that he’d struggled to complete for more than ten years. He couldn’t find the motivation, or the willingness to address the subject matter that initially inspired them, or – in Neil’s words – they weren’t yet ready to be born. With an emotional assist from his wife Katie, he completed those tracks. By the time he was ready to record he had an album’s worth of songs ready to go. The record unfolds story by story, and song by song – the final sequence is exactly the same as the order of Neil’s original demos for the album.

Co-Produced by Don Was (who’s worked with Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones) and Jacknife Lee (R.E.M., U2), Melody Road was made with a masterful group of musicians, including pedal steel player Greg Liesz, keyboardist Benmont Tench, guitarist Smoky Hormel, and vocalists the Waters Family. Built on guitars, it’s true to the origin of folk, but it’s not defined by it; it was recorded with keyboards, flutes, horns, and, on “Seongah and Jimmy,” “The Art of Love,” and “Nothing But A Heartache,” a full string section. Yet, for all of its expansiveness and rich production, Melody Road is ultimately all about the songs. Neil’s come full circle. He’s brought five decades of extraordinary craftsmanship with him, but he’s returned to where he started, propelled by the simple joy of translating life into song.

This album contains no booklet.