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- Summary: This compilation contains 23 tracks from his short stint under the Bang Records, where he had such hits as Solitary Man, Kentucky Woman, I'm a Believer, and Red, Red Wine.
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- Record Label: Columbia
- Genre(s): Vocal, Pop/Rock, Vocal Pop, AM Pop
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May 20, 2011Diamond knows just how good these recordings are, as indicated by the terrific autobiographical liner notes he's penned for this collection, notes that give this music context, but they're not necessary to appreciate The Bang Years: this is pop music that's so pure it needs no explanation.
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May 20, 2011Because half these songs are already widely available elsewhere, this collection has slightly less archival impact than the Gentile Elvis's Sun Sessions or last year's widely-circulated Never Mind the Bullets, Here's Early Bob Seger. Musically, though, it's in their league.
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May 20, 2011Fans of the man whose Brill Building work helped shape the pop landscape of the mid-60s can enjoy this interesting collection: 23 mono tracks from the period where Diamond was only beginning to make his name as an artist in his own right.
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May 20, 2011The Bang Years is the anthology his fans have always craved--the first definitive collection of his Sixties nuggets, when he was just another Brooklyn punk hustling his way into the business with a guitar, groovy sideburns and a solitary-man glare.
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Q MagazineJul 28, 2011This 23-track collection of his formative spell with the New York-based Bang label makes a welcome reminder what a top pop tunesmith Neil Diamond was in his younger, Brill Building days. [Jul 2011, p.126]
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UncutJun 3, 2011The 23-track set--material oft-mired in legal entanglements--which range from hit for others, to darkly melodic deep catalogue gems. Diamond himself provides highly entertaining liner notes. [Jul 2011, p.82]
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