Designed as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of
Neil Diamond's first hit -- "Solitary Man," which made it to 55 in 1966, with "Cherry, Cherry" rocketing to number six not long afterward -- the triple-disc set
50 is the latest in a long line of compilations of
Diamond hits. Most of these are single-disc sets, so the best comparison for
50 is 1996's
In My Lifetime, another triple-disc box.
50 is constrained a bit by its concept, containing 50 songs over three discs, whereas
In My Lifetime featured a whopping 71 -- 36 of which are here on
50. Those are all the standards -- the hits from "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" through "Heartlight" -- which means that what distinguishes
50 is the odd early song that probably should've been on
In My Lifetime ("Glory Road") and a wealth of songs from
Diamond's 21st century records, including the
Rick Rubin-produced
12 Songs and
Home Before Dark. All this makes
50 a more thorough overview than
In My Lifetime, which is enough to recommend it, but that older box has a slight edge, as it contains a more generous selection of
Diamond at his prime. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine