Keying off the title of an earlier hits collection on another label, Columbia's 12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 sums up Neil Diamond's first eight years with the label, 1973-1981, as well as his successful 1980 soundtrack for The Jazz Singer on Capitol Records. Five of the 12, "Longfellow Serenade," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Barbra Streisand), "Love on the Rocks," "Hello Again," and "America," were Top Ten hits. Another six, "Be," "If You Know What I Mean," "Desiree," "Forever in Blue Jeans," "September Morn," and "Yesterday's Songs," made the Top 40, and the last, "Beautiful Noise," was the title track of Diamond's best album of the period. The songs share a catchiness that belies Diamond's shallow philosophizing and thinly veiled lust, and they make for a consistent collection out of what had been a series of uneven albums. And, since Diamond only made the Top Ten one more time, the album caps his hit-making days. This is the record to buy instead of investing in the Columbia catalog. Keying off the title of an earlier hits collection on another label, Columbia's 12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 sums up Neil Diamond's first eight years with the label, 1973-1981, as well as his successful 1980 soundtrack for The Jazz Singer on Capitol Records. Five of the 12, "Longfellow Serenade," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Barbra Streisand), "Love on the Rocks," "Hello Again," and "America," were Top Ten hits. Another six, "Be," "If You Know What I Mean," "Desiree," "Forever in Blue Jeans," "September Morn," and "Yesterday's Songs," made the Top 40, and the last, "Beautiful Noise," was the title track of Diamond's best album of the period. The songs share a catchiness that belies Diamond's shallow philosophizing and thinly veiled lust, and they make for a consistent collection out of what had been a series of uneven albums. And, since Diamond only made the Top Ten one more time, the album caps his hit-making days. This is the record to buy instead of investing in the Columbia catalog. false 2025-11-08 02:11:50 12 Greatest Hits, Vol. II 1985 4 Baroque Pop Pop Pop Rock Rock Soft Rock 111246 2261633 976765c0-253c-47d9-a260-4690483ed319 a42d3fd5-55de-4206-86c3-4fbb5404018f 1a34b112-3038-3193-aeb5-e1c82f079e12 /media/data/media5/Music/Neil Diamond/12 Greatest Hits, Volume II/folder.jpg Neil Diamond Neil Diamond 1 2 Hello Again 04:07 Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts: "Cracklin' Rosie", "Song Sung Blue", "Longfellow Serenade", "I've Been This Way Before", "If You Know What I Mean", "Desirée", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "America", "Yesterday's Songs", and "Heartlight". Thirty-eight songs by Diamond have reached the top 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, including "Sweet Caroline". He has also acted in films, making his screen debut in the 1980 musical drama film The Jazz Singer. Diamond was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, and he received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. In 2011, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors, and he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.