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The Best Years of Our Lives
Pop · 1988 · 11 tracks

The Best Years of Our Lives

Neil Diamond

Polished 1980s pop-rock defined by shimmering synthesizers and Diamond's unmistakable gravelly baritone. A collection of earnest anthems and mid-tempo ballads.

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It's Neil Diamond doing his best 80s power-ballad impression, and his voice is as huge as ever.

A resilient and polished celebration of everyday life and long-term devotion.

The Best Years of Our Lives · vs · Neil Diamond
Keys/Synth+2.5σ

The instrumentation foregrounds keys/synth far more than the catalogue usually does.

Tracklist · 11 Tracks
01
The Best Years of Our Lives
4:00
02
Hard Times for Lovers
4:26
03
This Time
3:58
04
Everything’s Gonna Be Fine
3:59
05
Hooked on the Memory of You
3:54
06
Take Care of Me
3:39
07
Baby Can I Hold You
3:55
08
Carmelita’s Eyes
4:06
09
Courtin’ Disaster
4:33
10
If I Couldn’t See You Again
4:03
11
Long Hard Climb
4:43
Moments Worth Waiting For
The anthemic call-and-response 'oh yeah' in the title track that attempts to bridge the gap between the working man and the pop stage.
The surprisingly tender and synth-heavy cover of Tracy Chapman's 'Baby Can I Hold You' which reinterprets the folk original as a polished adult contemporary ballad.
The climactic, gravelly vocal delivery on 'Long Hard Climb' where the arrangement swells to meet Diamond's most vulnerable performance on the record.
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