The Styrous® Viewfinder: Richard Bennett

November 29, 2013

101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 28: Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade
reel-to-reel tape box
photo by Suzanne Ayres

photo of tape box by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling. This is an entry about the Neil Diamond ~ Serenade reel-to-reel tape album. Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

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Serenade was the second album by Neil Diamond for Columbia Records and his ninth studio album; it was released in 1974.

I've Been This Way Before is a beautiful easy rock waltz with orchestral backup written by Neil Diamond. The single was the second release from the Serenade album. It was Diamond's third number one on the Easy Listening chart and also peaked at number thirty four on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.

Longfellow Serenade is a cheerful and bouncy song. It was written by Diamond and produced by Tom Catalano. It spent two weeks at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1974. It became Diamond's second #1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, following his 1972 single, Song Sung Blue. Diamond described Longfellow Serenade in the liner notes to his 1996 compilation album, In My Lifetime: "Occasionally I like using a particular lyrical style which, in this case, lent itself naturally to telling the story of a guy who woos his woman with poetry." The title of the song is a reference to the 19th-century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

reel-to-reel tape box back
photo by Styrous®

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

reel-to-reel tape box back detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

reel-to-reel tape box back detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®

Neil Diamond ~ Serenade

reel-to-reel tape label detail
detail photo by Styrous®

Links to music on YouTube below.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Neil Diamond.

"I've Been This Way Before"
"Rosemary's Wine"
"Lady Magdelene"
"The Last Picasso"
"Longfellow Serenade"
"Yes I Will"
"Reggae Strut"
"The Gift of Song"

Personnel

Credits

Arranged By, Conductor – Jimmie Haskell* (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B2)
Art Direction, Design – Ron Coro
Engineer – Armin Steiner
Engineer [Assistant] – Linda Tyler
Photography By – Suzanne Ayres
Producer – Tom Catalano
Written-By – Neil Diamond

Notes

(P)&(C) 1974 CBS Inc.
Manufactured by CBS Records
Made and printed in Holland

Music links:

I've Been This Way Before on YouTube
Longfellow Serenade (live concert) on YouTube
Song Sung Blue on YouTube

reel-to-reel listings on eBay

more reel-to-reel tapes on the Styrous® Viewfinder:
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November 28, 2013

101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 27: Neil Diamond ~ Love at the Greek

Neil Diamond ~ Love at the Greek Theatre

reel-to-reel tape box cover photo by Ed Caraeff

detail photo by Styrous®

In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling (see link below). This is an entry about my Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

~ ~ ~

Neil Diamond ~ Love at the Greek Theatre, reel-to-reel tape, is a recording of a concert at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California. This album was released in conjunction with a television special broadcast of the concert footage that aired in the United States on February 21, 1977. The television special, broadcast on NBC (and simulcast on FM stations nationwide) was also titled, Love At The Greek. The special was nominated for four Emmy Awards.

Included in the concert was the music from the film, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the novella of the same name by Richard Bach. The film tells the story of a young seabird who, after being outcast by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. The film was produced by filming actual seagulls, then superimposing human dialogue over it. The film's voice actors included James Franciscus in the title role, and Philip Ahn as his mentor, Chang. The film was not very successful but the soundtrack album was a critical and commercial success, winning a Golden Globe Award and a Grammy Award. Of course, I have that album on vinyl.

I had listened to the album and loved the music but I didn't see the film until sometime in 1975 or '76. I remember the occasion so well; it was showing in a dinky, run-down theater on Powell Street in downtown San Francisco. The theater had seen better days; there were popcorn boxes, candy bar wrappers, spilled soda cups and who knows what else (you don't even want to think about it) on the floor making it a sticky mess that made my shoes stick to the floor when I walked in. But I was transported to another world by the film. It was schmaltzy but I loved it for the music, if nothing else. I had taken a friend with me who hated it and he has never let me live it down even after almost 40 years. Oh, well!

links to music on YouTube below