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Serenade (Neil Diamond album)

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Serenade
Studio album by
Neil Diamond
ReleasedSeptember 27, 1974
Recorded1974
GenreRock, soft rock
Length32:45
LabelColumbia
ProducerTom Catalano[1]
Neil Diamond chronology
His 12 Greatest Hits
(1974) 		Serenade
(1974) 		Beautiful Noise
(1976)
Singles from Serenade
  1. "Longfellow Serenade"
    Released: 1974 (US)
  2. "I've Been This Way Before"
    Released: 1975
  3. "The Last Picasso"
    Released: 1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Serenade is the ninth studio album by Neil Diamond, released in 1974.[6][7] It was his second album for Columbia Records.[3]

Three singles were lifted from the album: "Longfellow Serenade" (#5), "I've Been This Way Before" (#34) and "The Last Picasso". Serenade was Diamond's third consecutive platinum album.[8] It was also issued as a quadraphonic LP with some songs as alternate takes.

Production

"I've Been This Way Before" was originally meant to be the closing number on Jonathan Livingston Seagull, but Diamond was unable to finish it in time.[9] Serenade was the last album for which Diamond solely wrote all the songs until 2001's Three Chord Opera.[10]

Critical reception

The Morning Call wrote that the songs "seemed overblown, self-important and banal - pale imitations . . . rewrites, if you will, of songs Diamond already had recorded," and praised Beautiful Noise as a righting of the ship.[11]

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Diamond.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."I've Been This Way Before"3:45
2."Rosemary's Wine"2:41
3."Lady Magdelene"6:58
4."The Last Picasso"4:24
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Longfellow Serenade"3:50
6."Yes I Will"4:35
7."Reggae Strut"3:35
8."The Gift of Song"2:22

Personnel

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1974 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 1
1975

Year-end charts

Chart (1974) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[12] 14
Chart (1975) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[13] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] Gold 20,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Platinum 100,000^
Germany (BVMI)[17] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. October 5, 1974 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Serenade at AllMusic
  3. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 885.
  4. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 335.
  5. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 194.
  6. ^ "Neil Diamond | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Stein, Sadie (February 27, 2015). "The Universal Language of Mankind".
  8. ^ Sakamoto, John (27 Sep 2014). "Eight late-career resurrections, or last gasps?". Toronto Star: E4.
  9. ^ Jackson, Laura (April 3, 2005). "Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion". ECW Press – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Smooth Diamond is showing rough edge". Herald Sun: 30. 25 July 2001.
  11. ^ WILLISTEIN, PAUL. "NEIL DIAMOND CAPTURES MANY EMOTIONS IN A SONG REVIEW". mcall.com.
  12. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 426. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 427. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  14. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. 1975. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Gold Down Under" (PDF). Cash Box. March 6, 1976. p. 50. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  16. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Neil Diamond – Serenade". Music Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  17. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Neil Diamond; 'Serenade')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  18. ^ "British album certifications – Neil Diamond – Serenade". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 March 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Serenade in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  19. ^ "American album certifications – Neil Diamond – Serenade". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
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