Before he hits the road to celebrate a half-century in the music biz, Neil Diamond will release a 50-song, three-disc career-spanning box set, Neil Diamond — The 50th Anniversary Collection, on March 31. According to Rolling Stone, Diamond oversaw the selection of the song on the set, which will drop on the 50th anniversary of the release of his first hit, 1966’s “Solitary Man.”
It will, of course, also including his three No. 1 Billboard hits, “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” as well as the trio of top 10 singles from his 1980 soundtrack to The Jazz Singer: “Love on the Rocks,” “Hello Again” and “America.” And don’t worry, “Cherry Cherry,” “I Am… I Said” and karaoke staple “Sweet Caroline” are on there as well.
Also included is Diamond’s 1982 homage to E.T., “Heartlight,” his 1967 hit “Red Red Wine” — which turned into a Hot 100-topping lite-reggae hit for UB40 in 1983 — as well as “Hell Yeah” and “We” from Diamond’s 2005 Rick Rubin-produced 12 Songs album and “Pretty Amazing Grace” from the 2008 Rubin-produced follow-up, Home Before Dark.
The set will drop just before Diamond kicks off a huge tour, which is slated to launch on Apr. 7 at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California, and is currently slated to keep the 75-year-old singer on the road through an Oct. 17 gig at the O2 Arena in London.
The 50th Anniversary Collection track list, via RS:
Neil Diamond 50 – The 50th Anniversary Collection Track List
Disc 1
1. “Solitary Man”
2. “Cherry, Cherry”
3. “I’ve Got The Feeling (Oh No No)”
4. “You Got To Me”
5. “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon”
6. “I’m A Believer”
7. “Thank The Lord For The Night Time”
8. “Red, Red Wine”
9. “Sunday Sun”
10. “Shilo”
11. “Kentucky Woman”
12. “Brooklyn Roads”
13. “Glory Road”
14. “Holly Holy”
15. “And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind”
16. “Sweet Caroline”
17. “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show”
Disc 2
1. “Done Too Soon”
2. “Soolaimon”
3. “Cracklin’ Rosie”
4. “Crunchy Granola Suite”
5. “I Am…I Said”
6. “Stones”
7. Morningside
8. “Song Sung Blue”
9. “Play Me”
10. “Be – Recapitulation And Farewell To Fletcher”
11. “Skybird”
12. “Lonely Looking Sky”
13. “I’ve Been This Way Before”
14. “Longfellow Serenade”
15. “Beautiful Noise”
16. “Street Life”
17. “If You Know What I Mean”
Disc 3
1. “Desirée – Single Version”
2. “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”
3. “Forever In Blue Jeans”
4. “September Morn”
5. “The Story Of My Life”
6. “Yesterday’s Songs”
7. “I Believe In Happy Endings”
8. “Hello Again”
9. “Love On The Rocks” (From The Jazz Singer Soundtrack)
10. “Heartlight”
11. “Lady-Oh”
12. “Pretty Amazing Grace”
13. “Hell Yeah”
14. “We”
15. “The Art Of Love”
16. “America (From The Jazz Singer Soundtrack)