I love this album. In the 70's it was unusual because it stood by itself - Neil's record company was really bad for issuing songs 2 or 3 times over across various albums; but they didn't do that with "Serenade", which in itself makes it quite special. Recently I've learned that at least one track ("I've Been This Way Before") was an out-take from "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", and once I knew that, "Serenade" made a lot more sense. Not that it was ever nonsensical in the first place, but it did have this deep-seated spirituality that was not so completely present on his other albums. It is a marvellously uplifting but at the same time soothing album,it is embued with a kind of other-wordly spirit that is tremendously calming. For anyone whose only impression of Neil is the orchestra and the lurex jumpsuits of the early-mid 80's, I would strongly recommend this album. Rather like the latest "12 Songs" which has been so well-reviewed, this seems to be Neil peeled back to basics, in touch with his inner spirituality, and, with the possible exception of "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, it stands alone as a classic amongst a slightly varied catalogue of albums which, in the 80's, seemed to have degenerated into easy listening and the middle-aged housewife's dream. Those of us who have listened to and loved Neil since the 60's know that this was merely a passing phase, but too many people took on board that this was all that Neil Diamond consisted of. One listen to this album will convince you that this was really far from the case.

Neil Diamond has been a integral part of my life since I was around 12 years, at the time of writing this I'm in my 40's, after discovering "Johnathan Livingstone Seagull", I found "Serenade" and after all these years and all the great Diamond albums, I still come back to 33 minutes of good soul searching sound which I consider the best, I recently discovered the "Quadraphonic" version of this recording and was pleasently enlightened by the subtle differences, it would be nice to see a special "edition" release of the "Quadraphonic" recording on CD.

All my love to you Neil...

C.J

This CD and Moods are in my opinion the best Neil Diamond albums. We had this one on 8 track when I was growing up. I am glad to have this in my CD collection. An exceptional record!

I have seen neil diamond seven times in concert i am a 25 year fan.Any album released any time i will buy it.Greatest easy listening artist alive today.

This album preceded a 2 year hiatus by Neil and you can hear the tension and sadness in the music. I've been this way before is one of the most emotionally charged songs I've ever heard and it was an awesome encore on the love at the greek album. This album shows that neil was musically established by 1974 and had learned song structure to such a point that he could rival any writer/musician. Neil's work in the 70s is heavily undercredited