Studio Album · No. 4
Stones Songwriting Credits by Neil Diamond
Produced by Tom Catalano · Engineered by Armin Steiner
Holds writing credit on 4 of 10 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 4 / 10 documented
Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Neil Diamond carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Stones is the album where Neil Diamond, one of pop's great self-authors, deliberately shares the page with other writers. Only four of the ten tracks are his own: the confessional single 'I Am... I Said,' the title track 'Stones,' the upbeat 'Crunchy Granola Suite,' and the closing 'I Am... I Said (Reprise).' The other six are covers drawn from the folk and singer-songwriter world - Tom Paxton's 'The Last Thing on My Mind,' Roger Miller's 'Husbands and Wives,' Joni Mitchell's 'Chelsea Morning,' Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne,' Randy Newman's 'I Think It's Gonna Rain Today,' and 'If You Go Away,' Rod McKuen's English adaptation of Jacques Brel's 'Ne me quitte pas.' In the composer column the legal names surface where they differ from the stage names, most clearly Neil Leslie Diamond, Leonard Norman Cohen, and Randall Stuart Newman. The record's whole identity rests on this split between Diamond writing and Diamond interpreting.
Stones is the seventh studio album by Neil Diamond, released on November 5, 1971 on Uni Records and produced by Tom Catalano. It is one of the most revealing records of his career because it sets his own songwriting directly against the work of the era's leading singer-songwriters. Diamond wrote only four of the ten tracks himself, including the intensely personal hit 'I Am... I Said' and the reflective title track 'Stones,' while the rest are covers of Tom Paxton, Roger Miller, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, and the Jacques Brel song 'If You Go Away' as adapted into English by Rod McKuen. The arrangements, handled mainly by Lee Holdridge with additional work from Marty Paich and Larry Muhoberac, wrap both the originals and the interpretations in the same lush, orchestral folk-pop setting. The album reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA, carried largely by 'I Am... I Said,' which became one of his signature songs. It is the sound of Diamond the writer and Diamond the interpreter sharing a single record.
Track Listing & Credits 10 tracks
| # | Title | Lyricist(s) | Composer(s) | Producer(s) | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I Am... I Said
#4
|
Neil Diamond | Neil Leslie Diamond | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 2 |
The Last Thing on My Mind
|
Tom Paxton | Thomas Richard Paxton | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 3 |
Husbands and Wives
|
Roger Miller | Roger Dean Miller | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 4 |
Chelsea Morning
|
Joni Mitchell | Roberta Joan Anderson | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 5 |
Crunchy Granola Suite
|
Neil Diamond | Neil Leslie Diamond | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 6 |
Stones
#14
|
Neil Diamond | Neil Leslie Diamond | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 7 |
If You Go Away
|
Jacques BrelRod McKuen | Jacques Romain Georges BrelRodney Marvin McKuen | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 8 |
Suzanne
|
Leonard Cohen | Leonard Norman Cohen | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 9 |
I Think It's Gonna Rain Today
|
Randy Newman | Randall Stuart Newman | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |
| 10 |
I Am... I Said (Reprise)
|
Neil Diamond | Neil Leslie Diamond | Tom Catalano | Neil Diamond (Lead Vocals, Guitar) |