Melody Road (album)

Melody Road is Neil Diamond's debut album as an artist signed to Capitol Records.[1] His 32nd studio album, it was the first album of original music Diamond has recorded since 2008's well-received Home Before Dark, which debuted on the US album charts at #1.[2] It was produced by Don Was and Jacknife Lee.[3]

For the road, or part of a road, see Musical road.
Melody Road
Studio album by
Neil Diamond
ReleasedOctober 21, 2014 (2014-10-21)
Recorded2012-2014 Archangel Recording
Genre
LabelCapitol
Producer
Neil Diamond chronology
Dreams
(2010)		 Melody Road
(2014)		 Acoustic Christmas
(2016)

After 40 years recording for Columbia, Diamond signed with Capitol in early 2014. At the same time, his back catalogue was moved to Universal Music Group, Capitol's parent company. Capitol released Diamond's 1980 soundtrack album for The Jazz Singer.[1]

On September 8, 2014, six of the tracks from Melody Road were premiered at the Capitol Records studios in Hollywood, CA at a listening party for a small group of music industry executives and journalists. Following the event, Billboard wrote that the album is "rich in orchestration that retains the dark rustic qualities of his last two studio albums of original material, 12 Songs and Home Before Dark. Of the songs, the article stated that "'Something Blue', the most commercial of the songs played Monday, has the classic Diamond mid-tempo lilt; the ballads 'The Art of Love' and '(Ooo) Do I Wanna Be Yours' offer springboards for Diamond's still-potent voice; and 'Seongah and Jimmy' is an eyewitness account of a romance between a woman from Korea and a man from Long Island."[4] The Wall Street Journal wrote that "The Art of Love" is a "tender offering from Diamond, who at age 73, hasn't lost that ability to convey a wide swath of emotions in just four minutes."[5]

In September, three videos from the album were released. A lyric video for "The Art of Love" debuted on Diamond's YouTube/VEVO channel,[3] and the video for the album's first single, "Something Blue", premiered on Yahoo! Music.[6] Rolling Stone debuted the video for "Nothing But a Heartache".[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Billboard[9]
The Guardian[10]
Mojo[11]
Rolling Stone[12]

The album received generally favorable reviews. Ann Powers of NPR wrote: "This is music with (as one song title says) a sunny disposition, expressing Diamond's resilient faith in the power of both romance and the balladry that enhances it. 'Still remember the first word you wrote, in every single note that you play,' he declares in "First Time," a joyful remembrance of musical beginnings that recalls one of the singer's own early hits, "I'm a Believer." Diamond's ability to do that, to be in the moment while knowing just what makes his long career special, keeps him vital. Few could navigate this road with so much panache."[13]

In October 2014, Melody Road debuted at number 3 on the Billboard charts, selling 78,000 copies in the first week.[14] The album has sold 235,000 copies in the United States as of September 2016.[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Diamond except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Melody Road"3:12
2."First Time"4:02
3."Seongah and Jimmy"5:44
4."Something Blue"4:03
5."Nothing But a Heartache"4:33
6."In Better Days"3:30
7."(Ooo) Do I Wanna Be Yours"6:14
8."Alone at the Ball"2:56
9."Sunny Disposition"3:14
10."Marry Me Now"3:35
11."The Art of Love"4:07
12."Melody Road (reprise)"1:12
Total length:46:22
Target deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
13."Remember" (Harry Nilsson)3:31
14."Something"" (George Harrison)4:10
Total length:54:03

Personnel
Horns (Tracks 3, 4 & 10)
  • Mark Bolin
  • Mike Cottone
  • John Fumo
  • Eric Gorfain (arrangements)
  • Justin Hageman
  • Stephanie O'Keefe
  • Dan Weinstein
  • Jamelle Williams
Strings (Tracks 3 & 5)
  • Erik Avinder (3)
  • Robert Berg (3, 5)
  • Chuck Berghofer (3, 5)
  • Sally Berman (3, 5)
  • Caroline Buckman (3, 5)
  • Phillippa Ruth Clarke-Ling (5)
  • Giovanna Clayton (3, 5)
  • Matthew Cooker (3)
  • Marcia Dickstein (5)
  • Andrew Duckles (3, 5)
  • Assa Drori (concertmaster)
  • Alan Estes (5)
  • Michael Ferril (3, 5)
  • Alex Gorlovsky (3, 5)
  • Agnes Gottschewski (5)
  • Lynn Grants (3, 5)
  • Maurice Grants (3, 5)
  • Sarkis Gyurgchyan (5)
  • Vahe Hayrikian (5)
  • Norman Hughes (3, 5)
  • Carrie Kennedy (5)
  • Ovsep Ketendjian (3, 5)
  • Anna Kostyucheck (3)
  • Johana Krejci (3)
  • Gayle Levant (3)
  • Alan Lindgren (arrangements and conductor)
  • Marina Manukian (3)
  • Dennis Molchan (3, 5)
  • Karolina Naziemiec (3, 5)
  • Cheryl Norman (5)
  • Aaron Oltman (5)
  • Joel Pargman (3, 5)
  • Steve Richards (3, 5)
  • Anatoly Rosinsky (3)
  • Jody Rubin (3, 5)
  • Harry Shirinian (3)
  • Christina Soule (3, 5)
  • David Stone (3, 5)
  • Kevan Torfeh (3, 5)
  • Elizabeth Wilson (3, 5)
  • Zhou Yi (3, 5)
  • Shari Zippert (3, 5)

Production
  • Producers – Jacknife Lee and Don Was
  • Recorded by Tom McFall
  • Recording Assistants – Matt Bishop, Pablo Hernandez and Kyle Stevens.
  • Strings and Vocals recorded by Bernie Becker
  • Mixed by Bob Clearmountain at Mix This! (Los Angeles, California), assisted by Sergio Rueles.
  • Mastered by Bernie Becker at Bernie Becker Mastering, assisted by Dale Becker.
  • Art Direction – Todd Gallopo
  • Design – Todd Gallopo and Leslie Kim
  • Studio Photography – Jesse Diamond and Todd Gallopo
  • Cover Portrait Photo – Micah Diamond
  • Cover, Background and Package Photos – Al Michaelson
  • Liner Notes – Julie Farman

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[31] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Billboard Staff (January 20, 2014). "Neil Diamond Signs With Capitol Records (Exclusive)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  2. Sisario, Ben (September 11, 2008). "The Marathon Man of Pop". New York Times. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  3. ABC News Radio Staff. "Neil Diamond to Release New Studio Album, "Melody Road," Next Month". abcnewsradio.com. ABC News Radio. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. Billboard Staff (September 9, 2014). "Neil Diamond Takes Guests Down 'Melody Road' at Capitol Studios Listening Party". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  5. Ayers, Mike (September 9, 2014). "Neil Diamond Returns With New Album 'Melody Road'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  6. Geller, Wendy (24 September 2014). "Feeling Down? Neil Diamond's 'Something Blue' Will Snap You Out of It!". music.yahoo.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  7. Murray, Nick (September 16, 2014). "Watch Neil Diamond's Reflective 'Nothing But a Heartache' Video". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  8. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (October 20, 2014). "Neil Diamond Melody Road". AllMusic. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  9. Aswad, Jem (October 21, 2014). "Album Review: Neil Diamond Resists Resting on His Laurels With 'Melody Road'". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  10. Costa, Maddy (October 17, 2014). "Neil Diamond: Melody Road review – schmaltzy but well-crafted honeymoon album". The Guardian. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  11. Doyle, Tom (November 2014). "Neil Diamond Melody Road". Mojo. p. 100.
  12. Sheffield, Rob (October 21, 2014). "Neil Diamond Melody Road Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  13. Powers, Ann (October 12, 2014). "First Listen: Neil Diamond, 'Melody Road'". NPR. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  14. Caulfield, Keith (October 29, 2014). "Slipknot Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard.
  15. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016.
  16. "Australiancharts.com – Neil Diamond – Melody Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Neil Diamond – Melody Road" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Neil Diamond – Melody Road" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Neil Diamond – Melody Road" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Neil Diamond – Melody Road" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  21. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  22. "Charts.nz – Neil Diamond – Melody Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  24. "Spanishcharts.com – Neil Diamond – Melody Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Neil Diamond – Melody Road". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  27. "Neil Diamond Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  28. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  29. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  30. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  31. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2015 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  32. "British album certifications – Neil Diamond – Melody Road". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 March 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Melody Road in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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