Diamond Offers Up Demos For '12 Songs' Reissue

Neil Diamond's 2005 album "12 Songs," which garnered some of the loftiest praise of his career, will be reissued as a double-disc set Dec. 12 via Columbia. The set will now include a second disc of previously unreleased demos and alternate takes dubbed "Artist's Cut -- 12 Sketches," the first such recordings Diamond has ever offered from his vault.

In addition, the original album will be appended with the bonus tracks "Men Are So Easy" and "Delirious Love" featuring Brian Wilson, which were included only on a limited-edition pressing of the project.

The Rick Rubin-produced "12 Songs," which has sold 517,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, debuted last November at No. 4 on The Billboard 200, Diamond's best opening frame ever.

"I'd have to say that this is one of my highlights out of the albums that I've done over the years," Diamond told Billboard last year. "Rick wanted that from the very beginning -- he wanted this to be one of my best albums, if not the best. I've made about 45 or 50 albums. How can I go in and say this would be the best one? But it was his goal, and surprise, he may have done it."

Here is the track list for "Artist's Cut -- 12 Sketches":

"Oh Mary" (demo)
"Hell Yeah" (early take)
"Captain of a Shipwreck" (alternate take)
"Evermore" (early take)
"Save Me a Saturday Night" (alternate take)
"Delirious Love" (early take)
"I'm On to You" (demo)
"What's It Gonna Be" (alternate take)
"Man of God" (early take)
"Create Me" (alternate take)
"Face Me" (demo)
"We" (early take)
"Men Are So Easy" (alternate mix)