FW: neil diamond.....

[Seth Rogovoy <rogovoy...>]

note the names of a few of Neil Diamond's new songs .... "Elijah's
Song," "Leave A Little Room For God,"

Could the Jewish author of songs like "Soolaimon" and "Brother Love's
Traveling Salvation Show"  be about to become a genuine Jewish songwriter?

Needless to say we all await his new album with great expectations....

--sr
----------------

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2001

                       NEIL DIAMOND'S THREE CHORD OPERA,
                    IN STORES JULY 24 FROM COLUMBIA RECORDS

         New Album Is First To Be Wholly Written & Composed By Diamond
                             Since 1974's Serenade

     Columbia Records is set to release Neil Diamond's brand-new album Three
Chord Opera to stores on July 24. In support of the album, the entertainer,
who
has consistently broken attendance records around the world, will take to
the
road in the fall for a major U.S. tour with dates and venues to be announced
shortly. Three Chord Opera is one of the Brooklyn-born Diamond's most
personal
records, a song collection which meditates on love and loss while
celebrating
life's joys and glories through music, showcasing the patented Diamond blend
of
balladry, doo-wop, show tunes, jazz, pop and rock & roll.

     Interestingly, considering Diamond's formidable reputation as the
quintessential singer-songwriter, Three Chord Opera marks the first time
since
1974's Serenade in which all the words and music were written by Neil.
(While
the vast majority of Neil's catalog has, of course, been authored by
Diamond,
there is at least one "cover" or shared song credit on most of his albums.
This
includes his last collection of original material, 1996's country-flavored
Tennessee Moon, which peaked at #3 on the country charts and earned an RIAA
gold
certification within six months of its release).

     Produced by Peter Asher and Alan Lindgren, Three Chord Opera is
stylistically adventurous and lyrically intimate, a revealing look at the
inner
life of Neil Diamond, an artist who continues to communicate the essential
universal experience of the "Solitary Man."  Tracks on Three Chord Opera
include: "I Haven't Played This Song In Years," "Don't Look Down," "I
Believe In
Happy Endings," "At The Movies," "Midnight Dream," "You Are The Best Part Of
Me," "Baby Let's Drive," "My Special Someone," "A Mission Of Love,"
"Elijah's
Song," "Leave A Little Room For God," and "Turn Down The Lights."

     Neil Diamond's is an extraordinary career that found him first failing
as a
songwriter for other artists before breaking onto the charts with "Solitary
Man"
and his first big hit, "Cherry Cherry" in 1966.  He quickly evolved into an
international pop superstar and icon whose music resists, and transcends,
ever-shifting fads and changing fashions.  For 35 years, Neil Diamond has
been a
consummate hitmaker and perennial superstar.  All-time Diamond classics
include
"Cracklin' Rosie," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and "Song Sung Blue" (all
#1
hits); "Love On The Rocks," "I Am, I Said," "Cherry, Cherry," "Holly Holy,"
"Heartlight," "Sweet Caroline," and "Hello Again" (all  top 10); "Kentucky
Woman," "Forever In Blue Jeans," "Solitary Man," "September Morn,"
"Soolaimon,"
and "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show."  Two tracks, "I'm A Believer"
and
"Red Red Wine," both penned by Diamond, were #1 hits by The Monkees and UB40
respectively.  In 1991, Diamond embarked on the "Love In The Round" tour
which
became the #1 top-attended tour for a solo artist.  Diamond has sold more
than
115 million records while, as a live performer, he became the top solo
concert
artist of the 1990s, setting box offices records around the world.  Inducted
into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, Diamond became the recipient of
that
organization's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

     Neil Diamond has never failed to delight and surprise his fans with
fresh
approaches to the music that moves him the most deeply.  With Three Chord
Opera,
Neil offers his fans a sophisticated musical gift: refined and gleaming and
multi-faceted.  A real diamond from Neil Diamond.


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