As one reviewer already noted, there have been numerous variations of box sets containing the work of Neil Diamond's Uni/MCA years. But finally, with "Play Me...", they finally compiled it in the ideal way: complete, chronologically, and digitally remastered. The end result is an enjoyable, if slightly uneven, collection that really demonstrates Mr. Diamond's maturation into one of the seminal American singer-songwriters.

Mr. Diamond had already enjoyed success on the pop charts in the late 1960's with "Solitary Man", "Cherry Cherry" and other hits. But his move to the Uni label was not so much a move to "reinvent" himself as it was to expand and refine his musical horizons. Disc One of this set - containing the albums "Velvet Gloves and Spit", "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show", and part of "Touching You, Touching Me" - shows the first awkward steps. There are probably more misses here than hits, so you may find yourself skipping tracks. It does include a humorous look into the studio with "Broad Old Woman (6 AM Insanity)", but in listening to this disc, you can begin to hear the maturation and transition of Neil Diamond in the tunes and lyrics. By the time the CD hits "Sweet Caroline", most of the "Cherry Cherry" sound is gone and a different kind of pop sound - the unique "Neil Diamond sound" that doesn't fit in any particular musical genre - is starting to form.

Disc Two finishes off "Touching You Touching Me", then rolls into "Tap Root Manuscript" (an underrated album in the Diamond discography), and the beginning of "Stones". This disc shows the maturation nearly complete, as you listen to the awesome "Holly Holy", the hit and concert staple "Cracklin' Rosie", the African experimentation of the remainder of "Tap Root Manuscript", and the dynamic introspection of "I Am, I Said".

By the time the listener reaches Disc Three, the maturation is very much complete, and the new "Neil Diamond sound" is in full effect. The lyrics are as deep, powerful, and emotionally touching, as are the tunes, which are now including elegant acoustic guitars, pianos, and strings. As this disc rolls through the last part of "Stones" and the tracks from "Moods", the listener gets to hear the foundation for "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", which - while not included on this set - became one of the seminal albums in Mr. Diamond's career. The add-on live tracks at the end of this disc are largely unnecessary, and don't add anything particularly to the larger collection.

Throughout all three discs, the digital remastering of these songs is remarkable. It is a audio treasure to hear even more of the range of the rich music contained in this collection. This alone might draw the die-hard Neil Diamond fan to buying this set.

One reviewer notes this demonstrates Mr. Diamond as more of a singles artist than an album's artist. That is debatable; while you could make a case to that effect simply from this box set, the breadth of Mr. Diamond's career has shown many examples of his ability to create powerful albums (e.g., "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", "Beautiful Noise", and "The Jazz Singer"). What listeners should take from this collection is what I have described here: the maturation of Neil Diamond as a singer-songwriter. Additionally, there is the simpler fact that with this one inexpensive purchase, you'll get six albums in one package.

I wholeheartedly recommend this collection to Neil Diamond fans or those just discovering and/or becoming a fan of his music. The average listener may not appreciate it as much, despite the fact that there is some very good music to be found here.

Following his early success as a songwriter ("I'm a Believer") and recording artist for Bang Records ("Solitary Man" "Cherry Cherry" "Girl You'll Be a Woman Now" "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime" "Kentucky Woman") Diamond spent five fruitful years on the Uni label. MCA's triple-disc set collects all six studio albums from this 1968-72 period, plus non-LP singles and a handful of cuts from two contemporaneous live albums. It's an exhaustive (and, at times, exhausting) treatment that shows Diamond a superb singles artist and inconsistent album auteur.

His Uni debut, "Velvet Gloves and Spit" placed three singles onto the lower rungs of the chart (including the fine "Two-Bit Manchild" and autobiographical "Brooklyn Roads"), but was otherwise commercially stillborn. The title cut of the follow-up LP, "Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show" cracked the top-40, and subsequent chart-toppers, "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Song Sung Blue," led a successful run at the top-20.

Diamond's albums mix lower-charting singles, oddball experiments and, ironically for such a gifted songwriter, covers of contemporary composers. His originals are canny, hook-filled combinations of folk, rock, country, gospel and soul. In between the hits and misses are numerous little-known gems, including the blues of "Dig In," the shuffling soul of "Free Life," and a a surprisingly effective cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now."

The six albums draw an arc of growing sophistication, trading the free-spirited pop found on the earlier releases for increasingly consistent balladry. It's a compelling collection, augmented by live recordings of his Bang hits, handsome photos, a detailed discography and Robyn Flans' over-the-top liner notes ("His vocals stir the listeners' dormant emotions with his passionate delivery of a style that belongs only to him"). Perhaps not for beginners, but it's a bargain for anyone interested in getting beyond the well-worn hits.

4-1/2 stars, if Amazon allowed fractional ratings.

Recently, there have been various Neil Diamond collections released from his UNI/MCA years, that it's gotten to the point of confusion for many fans - which one should one buy? That question has now been answered - with this 3 CD set. All six of Neil Diamond's studio albums from MCA - every song. And the price is a bargain. If you were to buy all 6 separately, you'd probably spend twice as much, and not get every song that is here. Plus, the sound quality is much better here.

If you've followed Neil at all during this period, then you know the hits. I won't go into them, except rest assured you are getting the actual studio hits as you remember them, not some inferior live version that somehow seems to find its way onto these greatest hits compilations. You may also find some Diamond gems (no pun intended) here that's you'll call your favorites. Some of my favorites include "Sunday Sun", "Walk On Water", "New York Boy", "Memphis Streets" and "Free Life". Also, hear the many styles that Neil had performed at that time. Hear the rock & pop songs, the gospel side, the jazzy & bluesy side, the African rhythms, a few humorous songs, and even a hint of country. It's amazing when you think of how many different types of songs he recorded - and they're all here in this one package. You also get seven live "bonus" tracks, taken from either the Gold or Hot August Night album. One track, "Lordy", had never appeared on any studio album.

If you enjoy Neil Diamond's music, especially from the earlier time periods, then I strongly recommend this 3 CD set - even if you already own some of the original albums that make up this set. Neil Diamond - in my book, he's the greatest!

Excellent collection containing 2 songs never released on album or CD before. Broad old woman and Lordy. Both were flipsides to 45 releases. (remember those?) One problem though. The intro to the song "Stones" is abbreviated by a couple of bars of guitar. Too bad. Otherwise it would have been perfect.

Every now and then, unfortunately more often than not, there's a release that's so close to being done right and yet falls short due to obvious consumer ploys, leaving one with that dirty frustrating anticlimactic feeling. "Play Me" falls into this category I'm afraid. The upside of this release is that it contains all of Neil's Uni/MCA studio records on three handy cds. The downside is the layout of the records across the discs. A seemingly obvious way to do a release like this correctly would be to put two albums per disc, so a listener could listen to the albums complete without changing the disc. Instead, here the organizers have arranged the tracks to accommodate a handy consumer ploy at the end of disc three. So, in the end two of the records are spread across two discs: "Touching You, Touching Me" on discs 1 and 2, and "Stones" on discs 2 and 3. The live tracks come from "Gold" and "Hot August Night" and of course are tunes that Bang owns in their studio versions, so MCA figures throwing the live versions on here will make this set more appealing to the casual fan trying to get more of the "hits" in one package. The only upside is that the version of "Cherry, Cherry" is the single version, which the completists out there will want. I wish the producers of this set had a little more vision and respect for the flow of the original albums and instead of the bonus live tracks here had simply placed two albums per disc and otherwise focused on a remastered "Gold", or had just added that disc to this set as a fourth cd. Aside from this major flaw though this is still the best way to get these albums for a nice price. This set is almost done right... almost.