YMMV / Neil Diamond

• Covered Up:
  • "I'm a Believer", by The Monkees (1966) and Smash Mouth (2001).
  • "Red, Red Wine", by UB40 (based on a 1969 Reggae cover by Tony Tribe). Their version hit #1 in both the UK (in 1983) and US (in 1988).
  • "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", by Urge Overkill on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, which helped Diamond achieve a bit of a Career Resurrection among younger listeners in The '90s.
  • "Sunflower" by Glen Campbell in 1977, only a moderate pop hit, but #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and #4 on the Country chart. Diamond didn't even release his own version until 2018.
• Suspiciously Similar Song: "Soolaimon" draws obvious inspiration from "Oh Happy Day" by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, which had been a hit not long before the Diamond song was recorded, with both songs sharing the concept of a mellow, rhythmic verse leading into a rousing chorus.
• Tear Jerker:
  • "Red, Red Wine." Especially if you're used to hearing the UB40 version, which is deep into Lyrical Dissonance. The slow, somber original just relentlessly drives home how damned depressing the subject is.
  • "Morningside" is about an old man who loves his family, even building an oak table by hand as a gift for his children to remember him by, yet dies alone.

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