Few singers are as connected with sing-alongs as the New York City born and raised Neil Diamond. From rousing renditions at pubs to interpretations at karaoke clubs, his songs are vigorously sung from sea to shining sea. The incomparable Mr. Diamond's songs are made to be sung lustily, feverishly, with reckless abandon, and as one would predict, Neil himself sings them that way, making his live shows, concert events in the full-bodied, Tom Jones sense of the word. His shows are the ultimate in fan friendly entertainment, interspersed with wandering tales and sudden, direct connections with the crowd. This distinctly Diamond behavior was even the subject of a Saturday Night Live sketch that played in part off his stage digressions and in part off the passion in his songs, songs which sometimes wear arcane, wonderfully obtuse, and even pleadingly earnest lyrics on their sleeve.
The box set STAGES gathers all the live Diamond any fan might desire in five audio discs and a DVD. The performances span his formative years in the early 1970s, when he channeled raw yet sweet Stax-style soul, through his ballads of the '80s and his famous Christmas caroling to two concerts from 2002. All of these performances capture the flavor, the passion, the sound bites, and the sweat of a Neil Diamond concert experience.