Jonathan Livingston

In My Lifetime is a triple-disc, 71-track box set spanning Neil Diamond's entire career, from his early Bang hits, through his heyday at MCA, to his latter-day adult contemporary hits for Columbia. Demos, alternate takes, and live cuts are interspersed throughout the box. Not all of Diamond's greatest songs are here – obscurities like "Two-Bit Manchild" would have been welcome – but all of the classics are present. Aside from the flimsy book-style packaging, the only real problem with the set are the rarities. While the songwriting demos from the beginning of his career are of interest to both dedicated and casual fans, latter-day demos and alternate takes are only of interest to hardcore collectors and break the rhythm of the set. Nevertheless, if anyone wants just one Neil Diamond album, In My Lifetime is the one to get – it has all the songs you know plus several great lesser-known gems, presented in crisp, clear sound and with an excellent biography and discography.

Produced by the Band's Robbie Robertson, who had also helmed the previous year's „Beautiful Noise“, 1977's „Love At The Greek“ is a document of Neil Diamond at the height of his fame, performing hits like 'Kentucky Woman' and 'Sweet Caroline' before an audibly awestruck crowd. The musicianship is impeccable throughout, while the arrangements update and in some cases improve on the originals, injecting freshness and vitality into Diamond classics like 'Holly Holy' and 'Song Sung Blue.' The medley from the songwriter's 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' opus is a particular highlight.

MetaQuorum is a project by Dmitry Ermakov, a Russian-born British composer/keyboard player now based in UK. The new album from ground-breaking international music project, "Witchcraft Jazz", is an upbeat ride through prog, rock, funk, fusion, electronica, acid jazz and more. Creatively composed, with original scores, grooves and riffs infused with spontaneous improvisation and funk jams, fused into a seamless meld polished with state-of-the-art production techniques, and skilfully mastered at SugarHill Studios, Houston, to bring you an album full of cool swing, hot funk and spicy rhythm.

Rising from humble roots in working-class Brooklyn to global success, Neil Diamond became one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century as well as a dynamic, internationally known touring act and skilled songwriter whose compositions produced numerous hits for himself and others. In a career that began in the early 1960s as a staff songwriter at New York's legendary songwriting institution the Brill Building, he soon transitioned into performing and recording his own songs, finding success among the emerging pop singer/songwriter market with early highlights like "Solitary Man" and "Kentucky Woman." A move to Los Angeles at the end of the '60s coincided with a shift toward more adult-oriented pop and subsequently ushered in Diamond's heyday as a major star. Melodic chart-toppers like "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Song Sung Blue" kept him on top and opened the door for ambitious project material like the Grammy Award-winning Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack and 1976's conceptual Beautiful Noise album.

Rising from humble roots in working-class Brooklyn to global success, Neil Diamond became one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century as well as a dynamic, internationally known touring act and skilled songwriter whose compositions produced numerous hits for himself and others. In a career that began in the early 1960s as a staff songwriter at New York's legendary songwriting institution the Brill Building, he soon transitioned into performing and recording his own songs, finding success among the emerging pop singer/songwriter market with early highlights like "Solitary Man" and "Kentucky Woman." A move to Los Angeles at the end of the '60s coincided with a shift toward more adult-oriented pop and subsequently ushered in Diamond's heyday as a major star. Melodic chart-toppers like "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Song Sung Blue" kept him on top and opened the door for ambitious project material like the Grammy Award-winning Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack and 1976's conceptual Beautiful Noise album.