Just For You – NEIL DIAMOND*****

Girl You’ll Be A Woman Soon/The Long Way Home/Red Red Wine/You’ll Forget/The Boat That I Row/Cherry Cherry/I’m A Believer/Shilo/You Got To Me/Solitary Man/Thank The Lord For The Night Time

Neil Diamond emerged as a songwriter of note during this period but he was less appreciated as a performer. His second album Just For You contains many of his best compositions: Cherry Cherry, Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon and You Got To Me were all US top 20 hit singles. (US:80)

"I think Diamond's early years were his best and this LP presents an excellent selection of songs from that era. There's not a poor song on the disc."

"For anyone who dismisses Neil Diamond based on his overblown schlock from the 70s, this will remind you that he was once a great songwriter and recording artist when he first started out."

"Probably the best of his old stuff. This is the only one you can actually listen to without hitting skip or lifting the arm."

"In the world of top 40 pop, Diamond was a fixture in the late 1960s, and this album captures him at the high point. Even if Diamond's more middle-of-the-road pop of the 1970s and '80s makes you cringe, his 1960s output is well worth a listen."

"It's not just that these are Diamond's best songs but these are his best records. Crisp, lively, colourful pop tunes balanced by luxurious moody brooding ballads. Here at the beginning of his career he sounded hungry and knew how to have fun, giving these records a snap that still stings decades later."

"At the very beginning, Neil Diamond was a very appealing pop composer who had a terrific ear for melodic hooks and clever ways with lyrics. No wonder that for many this is his best work. Almost every single song here is jewel - and you probably know all of them already as they became staple of oldies radio stations."

"Good late 1960s pop songs. Not the 1970s Neil, which put us to sleep, but some of the best pop music anyone had to offer in the late 1960s. All the tracks are pretty radio friendly verse-chorus-verse tunes which will have you singing along in no time."