STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - NEIL DIAMOND - HEARTLIGHT

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Good Monday morning gang and welcome back to Stuck In The Vinyl Again . Today we celebrate the 81st Birthday of Brooklyn born singer-songwriter, musician and  actor, Neil Diamond. Happy Birthday Neil ! With over a hundred million albums sold worldwide from his catalog that runs the gamut of rock, pop, country, folk , and soft rock , we thought it would be fun to feature his 15th studio album, Heartlight. Heartlight was released August 27, 1982 on the Columbia label and produced by this roster of people : Neil Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach, Tom Hensley, Richard Bennett, Michael Masser, and David Foster. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 and gave birth to three singles ; "Front Page Story" (#65 Hot 100, #5 Adult Contemporary, # 4 Canadian Adult Contemporary) , "I'm Alive" (#35 Hot 100, #4 Adult Contemporary, #1 Canadian Adult Contemporary) , and the title track, "Heartlight" (#6 Canada, #5 Hot 100,  and #1 on both Canada and Anerica's Adult Contemporary). The title track was written after Diamond saw the 1982 blockbuster film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. The song pays homage to the scene near the end of the movie when E.T. is saying goodbye to Elliot and his heart lights up. Although the lyrics are vague and do not mention any characters,  MCA/Universal sued the singer who reportedly settled out of court for $25,000. On a side note, E.T. was the first movie I saw in theaters.

1. "Heartlight" Neil Diamond, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager 4:25

2. "I'm Alive" Diamond, David Foster 3:47

3. "I'm Guilty" Diamond, Bacharach, Sager 3:15

4. "Hurricane" Diamond, Bacharach, Sager 4:15

5. "Lost Among the Stars" Diamond, Bacharach, Sager 3:54

6. "In Ensenada" Diamond, Bacharach, Sager 3:49

7. "A Fool for You" Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren 3:02

8. "Star Flight" Hensley, Lindgren 3:50

9. "Front Page Story" Diamond, Bacharach, Sager 4:29

10. "Comin' Home" Neil Diamond 2:34

11. "First You Have to Say You Love Me" Diamond, Michael Masser 2:45

Neil Diamond – lead vocals, guitar

David Foster – Fender Rhodes (1, 3)
Craig Hundley – synthesizers (1, 4, 6)

Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (2, 6)
Tom Hensley – acoustic piano (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), keyboards (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Alan Lindgren – acoustic piano (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), synthesizers (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), orchestra arrangements and conductor (2, 8)

Michael Omartian – acoustic piano (4)

Michael Lang – acoustic piano (6), Fender Rhodes (9)
Michael Masser – acoustic piano (11), arrangements (11)

Marty Walsh – guitar (1, 4), acoustic guitar (9)
Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Doug Rhone – acoustic guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 10), backing vocals

Dean Parks – guitar (3, 4), electric guitar (6, 9)

Lee Ritenour – guitar (4)
Fred Tackett – acoustic guitar (6)

Neil Stubenhaus – bass (1, 4, 6, 9, 11)
Reinie Press – bass (2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Jim Keltner – drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 9)

Ron Tutt – drums (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Alex Acuña – drums (4)
Mike Baird – drums (11)

Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 4, 6)
Vince Charles – percussion (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)
King Errisson – percussion (2, 5, 7, 8, 10

Victor Feldman – percussion (9)

David Boruff – alto saxophone (3), Steinerfone electronic wind instrument (5)
Burt Bacharach – orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 3–6, 9), acoustic piano (3, 5, 9)

Jeremy Lubbock – orchestra arrangements and conductor (11)
Richard Page – backing vocals
Linda Press – backing vocals

Stephanie Spruill – backing vocals

Julia Tillman Waters – backing vocals
H.L. Voelker – backing vocals

Maxine Waters Willard – backing vocals

Production

Producers – Neil Diamond (Tracks 1-6 & 8–10); Carole Bayer Sager (Tracks 1-6 & 9); Burt Bacharach (Tracks 1-6 & 9); Tom Hensley (Tracks 7 & 8); Richard Bennett (Track 10); Michael Masser (Track 11).

Recording Engineers – Dick Bogart, Joel Fein, Lee Herschberg, Ric Riccio, Bill Schnee, Allen Sides and Jeremy Smith.

Assistant Engineers – Michael Carver, Tony Chiappa, Steve Crimmel, Mark Ettel, Mike Hatcher, Clif Jones, Clyde Kaplan and Greg Russell.

Recorded at Ocean Way Recording and A&M Studios (Hollywood, CA); The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, CA); Evergreen Studios (Burbank, CA).

Mixing Engineers – Jim Behrendt, Steve Crimmel, Ron Hitchcock, Bill Schnee, Allen Sides and Jeremy Smith.

Mixed at The Mix Room (Burbank, CA) and Ocean Way Recording.

Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).

Music Contractors – Jules Chakin, Frank DeCaro and John Rosenberg.

Production Assistance – Barry Cardinale, Ann Mooney, Larry E. Williams and Alison Zanetos.

Production Coordinator – Sam Cole

Art Direction and Design – David Kirschner

Design Contributing – Jan Weinberg

Photography – Tom Bert