Neil Diamond was still an aspiring songwriter from Brooklyn when he fashioned an identity for himself in a wonderful series of on-point singles for a big indie label, Bang Records. In songs like “Solitary Man” and “Girl, You'll be a Woman Soon,” Diamond forged a persona not unlike a character from one of Paul Newman's films—an outsider making his way alone against a world whose odds are stacked against him. The best (and some of the rest) from that period appear on the 23-track The Bang Years, restored to their proper mono and sounding just as they did pouring out of AM radios in the '60s.
Musically, Diamond had already mastered the three-minute pop format with memorable choruses and arresting melodies. Not everything was a gem. “Kentucky Woman” (why not “Idaho Woman”?) was a catchy hook with nothing to say. Occasionally, Diamond's version didn't prove to be the classic rendition (his “I'm a Believer” sounds like a demo next to the Monkees') and his covers, never definitive, were probably cut as album filler. Still, his takes on “Monday, Monday” and “La Bamba” on The Bang Years are never terrible and always historically interesting, showing the full spectrum of his early studio work.
