Track Listing

1. America
2. Adam Olom
3. You Baby
4. Love On The Rocks
5. Amazed And Confused
6. On The Robert E Lee
7. Summerlove
8. Hello Again
9. Acapulco
10. Hey Louise
11. Songs Of Life
12. Jerusalem
13. Kol Nidre
14. My Name Is Yussel
15. America (2)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1192 in Music
• Released on: 2008-01-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Soundtrack, Import

Amazon.co.uk Review
It may now be hard to believe but there once was a time when Neil Diamond was considered not only big enough to open a movie but to get Sir Laurence Olivier to co-star in said movie. While the movie itself was less than a rousing success, the soundtrack was a smash--though, contrary to the title, it does not find the Elvis of soft-rock taking up jazz. Playing the part of a young Jewish cantor who follows his heart to play, well, a Neil Diamond-esque blend of R&B and rock, Diamond finds excuses to throw in some soulful singles ("Love on the Rocks" and "Hello Again"), a fluffy, uptempo slice of Stephen Foster-Americana ("On the Robert E Lee") and a topical song ("America"); padding out the soundtrack are the film-specific Jewish hymns "Adon Olam" and "Kol Nidre". Eternally consigned to a limbo between being remembered for his better moments (Live at the Greek, writing some of the Monkees' biggest hits) and for the tawdry ones ("Turn on Your Heartlight", inspired by E.T.), The Jazz Singer remains one of Diamond's best albums. --Randy Silver

Customer Reviews

Can't Argue With Success
Not as enduring or magical as the soundtrack for Jonathan Livingston Seagull, but then again this is a completely different type of film that he was composing for. JLS was more of a spiritual journey which was perfectly complimented in the music, whilst Jazz Singer is more of a commercial movie of a "Boy Done Good" scenario.

Personally, I preferred the songs on JLS, or should I say his genre of music, less anthemic, which probably isn't a word, and more beautifully crafted. However you can't argue with success, and there have been enough hits pulled off this album to back up any argument against it. Perhaps it's because I've heard "America" spouted from every radio station ever since that I probably should have written this review when I first heard it and not now that I have become battle weary of it.

It's nevertheless a good soundtrack with only a few weak points. It proved to be a commercial success and one of Diamond's last big sellers, if you don't include 12 Songs. A lot of material was used from "Jazz Singer" in his subsequent live shows, which made a lot of his performances a little less sensitive and more akin to "tub thumping" hysteria.

Should you buy it? If you are just a gatherer of music in general, chances are you've got most of the big songs on a compilation. However, if you're a Diamond fan then it's not really up for debate..............you've probably already got it and are still enjoying it.

Not anything to add
Can't say anything the other reviewers haven't already said. I am not a Neil Diamond fan (or wasn't until this album). I thought the film was uninspiring but the soundtrack, although not jazz as the title would imply, was exciting and invigorating. Great album.

Great range of styles and a great soundtrack
Overall, an excellent CD. The main moments are 'Hello Again', 'Love on the Rocks', 'America' and 'Summer Love'.

If you listen closely you'll hear that some of the tracks are slightly different from the ones on the DVD.

There's also a great range of musical styles here - from the quirky 'Robert E. Lee' to the rousing 'America' and, of course, a few Jewish songs like 'Kol Nidre'.

The only disappointing thing is that some music from the film doesn't feature on this accompanying soundtrack - in particular, the rousing version of 'Hava Nagila'.