BREAKING: Neil Diamond releases Deluxe edition of ’12 songs’
The expanded edition of Rick Rubin’s record includes demos, early recordings, alternate takes, and alternate mixes.
Neil Diamond released a digital deluxe edition of his 2005 album 12 Songs. This edition, released nearly two decades after the original album, includes 15 new bonus tracks for streaming and download, some of which are available for the first time ever. The new releases contain demos, early recordings, alternate takes, and alternate mixes of popular Diamond songs such as “Oh Mary,” “Delirious Love,” and “Save Me a Saturday Night.”
Diamond explained the album’s creation on Instagram: “All I wanted in 2003 was to rest, relax, and sit outside with the sun on my face, doing as little work as possible. I was surprised to find that after only a few days of silent bliss, new words and melodies began to enter my mind. Despite my efforts, I was unable to resist.
12 Songs was Diamond’s follow-up to 2001’s Three Chord Opera, which was his first album since 1974 to feature original material composed entirely by him. Rick Rubin produced the record, having previously worked with Johnny Cash on the American Recordings series. “After the first few meetings, I realized [Rick] loved music in the same way I did,” Diamond wrote in the original liner notes for 12 Songs. “For both of us, it was a visceral, passionate, and potentially elevating experience. It turned out that we both served the same mistress—music—and this would be our first true relationship.
-
Enter For A Chance To Win A Vengaboys ‘Vengabus’ Record Player!
-
Hidden Tracks: The Forgotten Relic Of The CD Era
-
Karol G’s ‘Provenza’ Video Joins YouTube’s Billion Views Club
Rubin persuaded Diamond to record acoustically, something he hadn’t done since the 1960s, yielding a stripped-down, back-to-basics sound. “Most of the songs were recorded with Neil playing and singing at the same time,” Rubin said in a 2005 Rolling Stone interview. “And it’s a different animal. It’s bringing him back to his roots as a singer/songwriter. “He really blows me away.”
Rubin collected several of the artists that played on Cash’s albums, including Tom Petty guitarist Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench. Billy Preston, an organist who died in 2006, gave his final performance at these sessions.
12 Songs became one of Diamond’s most popular and lauded studio albums, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200.
