For some reason, Neil Diamonds's peers have not held him in the same high esteem his fans have. The fans are rigght and his peers are wrong. This CD has three top ten tunes in it, "America," "Hello Again," and "Love on the Rocks." All are great songs and all were hits 20 years ago. There were additional great rockers like "You Baby Baby" on this CD. Inexplicably the academy did not even so much as nominate the movie "The Jazz Singer" for the best score nor did any of the three mega hits get a nomination for best song. This was an unconscionable dump on a great star and songwriter. He deserved an Oscar and did not even get a nomination!

I recommend both the cd and a video of the movie. The cd has great studio versions of the songs whereas the movie has some great, energetic live performances, particularly of "You Baby," and "Amazed and Confused." This cd is abslolutely classic and as of the writing of this review, "America" is particularly uplifting so soon after the terrorist attack on New York & the Pentagon. Indeed, the night before this review was written, I saw Neil Diamond in concert at Madison Square Garden & he had the crowd on it's feet with "America." This is a cd that we as fans know is great regardless of what his peers may have thought. I hope in the future, some justice will be done and he will be inducted into the Rock n roll Hall of Fame.

It is always risky to say an album is a classic but I will take that chance happily here because this one is. It contains the highlights everyone knows - "Love on the Rocks" and the even stronger "Hello Again" which must rate as one of his best songs ever. The strength comes from the quality of the other songs - "America" with it's message of hope and infectious beat, "You Baby" and "Hey Louise" adding good up tempo backing, and the under rated "Amazed and Confused". It contains a couple of lesser tracks which set the scene for the film, otherwise it is pure Diamond at his best, writing and singing his songs like no one else can.

From the energetic sounds of America, to the smooth strains of Summerlove, music doesn't get any better than this! If you are a fan of Neil Diamond, or a fan of beautiful, powerful, and fun music, look no further! This album is for you!

"America' should have won the Oscar for the best song of 1980! Actually the year 1980 was a great one for pop music in the movies, unlike the stark crops of recent years. The official nominees included "Fame" and "Out There On My Own," both from FAME, "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, and "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. There was also one dud, "People Alone," from THE COMPETITION which hasn't stood the test of time.

If you ask me, "America" should have been nominated and could have won, even under such stiff competition. And I know some of you will say the same of "Hello Again" and "Love on the Rocks" two of Neil's softer tunes.

However, XANADU fans are still smarting over the total lack of Oscar recognition for the many great tracks in the movie--"Suddenly," "Magic," "Xanadu," "All Over the World" and "Suspended in Time." As for which soundtrack LP is the better bargain, I call it a draw!

PS, by the way, the award went to FAME which isn't a disgrace.

My mom had this cassette when I was a kid, and I don't know if it's nostalgia or what, but I love this soundtrack. Neil is *not* my normal kind of music, but there are days when the Jazz Singer just hits the spot for me. "On the Robert E. Lee" is just about one of my favorite perky good-mood songs. I can sing practically the entire album from memory.

So, yes, I don't know if I can recommend this album, I just wanted to say that I love it for personal reasons.

(and I once had "THAT AIN'T NO BROTHER! THAT'S A WHITE BOY!" on my answering machine)