Touching You Touching Me – NEIL DIAMOND***

Everybody’s Talkin’/Mr Bojangles/Smokey Lady/Holly Holy/Both Sides Now/And The Singer Sings His Song/Ain’t No Way/New York Boy/Until Its Time For You to Go

Neil Diamond was a major creative songwriting talent from the mid 1960s to early 1970s so it is disappointing that here he was still relying heavily on covers. Touching You Touching Me includes the US No. 6 hit single Holly Holy. (US:30)

“There are a few decent numbers on here, like his cover of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, the single Holly Holy plus And The Singer Sings His Song. The rest of the tracks foreshadow the kind of fluff Diamond would soon pioneer, minus the powerhouse vocals.”

“It is hard to understand why Neil Diamond was doing so many cover versions on an album during a time when he was writing so many hits, he had songs to spare.”

“After the entirely self-composed Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show album, it appears that Diamond was almost written out. Certainly the five originals on offer here show either a sharp decline in ability or a songwriter in need of a break. By another artist Touching You Touching Me might be considered a fair stop-gap work. Coming from the author of the magnificent Just For You or Velvet Gloves & Spit albums, it must be considered a serious deterioration in judgement.”

“Let's face it, some of the songs Neil Diamond performs on Touching You Touching Me were written by other artists. But when he sings them he really makes them come to life. His own compositions are the best, like the up-tempo Smokey Lady, the religious Holly Holy, the touching And The Singer Sings His Song and the country bumpkin tones of New York Boy. Every song's a winner here, which makes this a must buy.”

“Touching You Touching Me is a very good LP with many covers performed by the awesome Neil Diamond. He can take a song and breathe new life into it in a way that very few other contemporary artists can, and he tackles many different types of songs which proves his versatility.”

“This is one of the best Neil Diamond albums. His Uni material was his strongest and best work. An outstanding album and one I would highly recommend.”