12 Songs is a rare treat this holiday season:Not another cynical

Best-Of cd to cash-in.Not another covers cd.And not cold studio-pop.12 Songs is music that goes for the heart in a very honest and natural way.And it does.

Neil's albums have lacked good production for a long time.Otherwise good rock songs softened into easy listening mush in the studio.But with Rubin,like with the 1976 Robbie Robertson-produced Beautiful Noise,a rock producer makes Neil shine! Neil's distinctive deep-bass of a voice and a natural way with hooks and melodies are not burried by orchestras and background singers.

also great are the lyrics.Neil Diamond hasn't run out of things to say at age 64.He has a whole life to reflect on.Lessons to share.Memories that are sometimes happy,sometimes heartbreakingly sad.And Neil is looking ahaid.If only more of his peers stuck in an elevator of pop standards would do the same.The lyrics are gutsy.

here is a track-by review rating of the 12 Songs

"Oh Marry"

a haunting death-ballad against a backdrop of creepy piano that gives me chills.I wonder who 'Mary' is.A metaphor?an angel?A lover from a long time ago?A pretend-lover in those lonely nights?the music?the song is so gentle yet so moving.

"Hell Yeah"

Reminds me of "Lady Magdalane" in that it starts with a guitar and brooding lyrcs,but grows into thunderous intenity and power.In a way,"Hell Yeah" is "I am I Said" over 30 years later.He found the self worth he was searching for.Found peace being lost between two shores.And even offers motivation and hope for listener to not be afraid to follow their dreams.Powerful!

"Captain of a Shipwreck"

"Fear no flood in stormy weather/Fear no fire if winds arise/

Flesh and blood, I'm yours forever/And forever,it never dies",a very poetic and pretty ballad.

"Evermore"

one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard.The way the intensity builds and builds as Neil reflects on how and why relationships die is so powerful.

"Save me A Saturday Night"

the only song that sounds like it could have been written in Neil's Bang days.Has the same kind of vibe as songs like "I Got The Feeling Oh No No" and "Shilo".The dreamy organ and bells.The

beautiful words.I just love this song!

"Delirious Love"

the albums big rocker.But this time Neil rocks with just an acoustic guitar and minimal back up.The melodies and hooks are addictive.The vocals and lyrics express an exciting and fresh relationship.

"I'm On To You"

my favorite song of 2005-just so cool and jazzed-up sexy,even if the lyrics have the "Every Breath You Take" kind of vibe.

"What's It Gonna Be"

"One way or another,You need a new direction/Make a new connection/Hey, what's it gonna be?"

this song has the late-night-only-the-lonely-at-a-jazz-club feel.It is Neil facing his fears and doubts,and making the listener do the same.I love it!

"Man of God"

"Man of God" has a simple beauty that is mesmorising.Like Neil stopping at a southern church singing and making the whole congregation go wild!

"Create Me"

This song would not feel out of place in "Phanton of the Opera".It reminds me of Jonathan Livingston Seagull:The dreamer searching for a higher purpose then our daily boring routines.

"Face Me"

continues "Create Me"s gothic broadway vibe,a bitter goodbye ballad to an ex.

"We"

a piece of innocent ragtime-pop that could have been sung by Jolson in the 1930's.A heavenly closer.

I'm addicted to this cd.Actually look forward to getting on the train every morning on my way to work,closing my eyes and getting lost in this great album.I hope both Neil and Rick win a grammy!

If you are a fan of the bombastic Diamond of "America" or "Forever in Blue Jeans" this album may not be for you. If you have longed for the Diamond of the classic album "Moods" and his earlier simple pop, this is a grammy caliber effort.

The best song from here is "Evermore."

Of course I'm prejudiced; I've been a Neil Diamond fan since I was a young teen... I had all his albums until I moved some years ago and had to regretfully streamline my collection of "stuff". I have since replaced all of them with CD versions and they are better than ever.

Neil has a powerful sense of melody - a certain taste for something deep, nostalgic and soul-full - and I always thought that he was never appreciated as he should have been. Even when they were B class, his lyrics still had a certain thing about them that is hard to describe. His "Done too soon" and "Coldwater morning" always sent an arrow into my heart. Yeah, I know that he went in for some really overdone back-up music but I just saw this as an untapped classical potential, and some of his stage performances were seriously criticized by the "snobs", but heck! He was having fun with it! What's wrong with that? Some of his music would be well-suited for orchestral arrangement and performance in my opinion.

When I heard about a new album, I was afraid to listen - afraid that maybe my impressions had been illusory and I would have to encounter a Neil Diamond who wasn't what I thought he was.

Well, I'm so happy I bought the album! It's more Neil, real and deeper and just being himself to the max. There are songs on this album that are so catchy that they are absolutely classic! It's as though he writes songs that NEED to be written...

I understand that the album is also the last ever performance by organ player Billy Preston, who died in June 2006. That's especially poignant when you listen to "Man of God" with the strong organ back-up.

The more spiritual songs such as "Create Me" and the above mentioned "Man Of God") are among my favorites.

For the critics of Neil, I say listen to "Hell Yeah".

I grew up with Neil Diamond and followed the majority of his career. His earlier songs and works still enspires me to this day with Hot August Night (1972) for me, probably the peak of his career.

Since the late seventies though, I started missing cutting edge Neil Diamond and he had less and less to say - almost as if he lost insparation and tried to cover it up with streamlined studio effects and artificial trimmings. His magical voice also did not come to it's full right.

What happened to Neil Diamond of Song Song Blue, I am I said, Canta Libre, And the Singer sings his song, (and many others)?

I actually stopped even listening to the more recent Diamond albums... until I was alerted of this new album by a good friend.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Enspired though every song, Neil Diamond takes the listener through moments of hope and joy winged by his magical unforced voice that adds a golden touch to each and every one of the 12 songs. Why did we have to wait 25 years until the dawn of his career to listen to the old Neil Diamond magic again?

More raw, less refined, and unpretentious, perhaps more flawed in places, but staight from the soul! Twelve precious songs containing cutting lyrics telling the story of the artist coming of age after a long journey.

The album is an absolute must for every true Neil Diamond fan, and a good platform for new ones. Let's hope there is more where this came from for future albums!

In his own words on Hell Yeah:"He finally got it right, hell yeah he did". You surely did Neil, you surely did!

Long live Neil Diamond!

What a genuine surprise to hear a Neil Diamond album that doesn't make me instantly wish I was listening to one of his golden hits of the early 1970's. An expert performer who still draws devoted throngs of baby boomers, Diamond has let his relevance as a singer-songwriter diminish over the past thirty years in favor of easy listening radio and lucrative concert tours. In fact, it's easy to forget that he hasn't done anything that has challenged him artistically since 1976's "Beautiful Noise". Enter Rick Rubin, a renegade producer who has done landmark albums for the likes of the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and most relevantly, the late Johnny Cash on his acoustic 1994 return to form, "American Recordings". The equally unlikely collaboration between Diamond and Rubin has yielded, hands down, one of the best Neil Diamond recordings ever.

Rubin obviously forced Diamond's hand in abandoning the performer's predilection for overproduction and variety showmanship in favor of a leaner sound that allows him to move toward a more introspective and resonant direction. Such emotional consistency over the course of a full album never reflected Diamond's personality. For instance, in the past, he could not sing a romantic ballad like "Hello Again" without including crowd-pleasing bombast such as "America". However, even with the tonal constraints put on him, Diamond still shows an unfettered knack for composing songs with compelling melodies and sharp hooks. The opening track, "Oh Mary", is a sweet ballad where Diamond repeats the title as a forlorn mantra. The familiar-sounding "Hell Yeah", "Captain of a Shipwreck" and especially "Evermore" (which instantly recalls "I Am I Said") showcase his theatrical sense within an atmosphere of intimacy. He expresses a palpable yearning on the pop ballad, "Save Me a Saturday Night", that aches with a slow dance tempo.

With its powerfully rhythmic guitar chords, my favorite song is the percolating "Delirious Love", which soars with Diamond's testosterone-driven romantic energy. "I'm on to You" brings a nice jazzy vibe to its finger-snapping tale of romantic deceit. The loping, country-twanged beat on ''What's It Gonna Be" reflects a world-weariness in the singer that makes the chorus turn into a resigned ultimatum to a straying lover. Moving toward higher ground, Diamond takes on spiritual renewal with the gospel-tinged "Man of God", and as an appropriate follow-up, Billy Preston's Hammond organ opens the touching "Create Me" as if it's the beginning of a church procession. A Mexican standoff between two lovers marks the romantic melodrama of "Face Me", which sounds eerily like the tumbleweed theme of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western. The Dixieland melody of "We" is the closest Diamond comes to kitsch here, but he keeps it in check with the catchy lyrics. The core ensemble - Diamond, Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers and Smokey Hormel on guitars and another Heartbreaker, Benmont Tech, on keyboards - perform expertly throughout. This is a pop masterwork by a talent too long in the artistic trenches.