I know very little about Neil Diamond, but when I heard he had released a critically acclaimed album produced by Rick Rubin (one of my personal favorite producers ever)- I knew I had to check it out.  I really like Diamond’s songwriting ability, and Rubin’s stripped down, minimalist production can be found here as well.  I was presently surprised to see how tightly arranged things are and the melodies that are used make the music very affective.