Facing Facets ; Numbers Make It Hard to Dismiss Neil Diamond As Cubic Zirconia

The Record, Bergen County, NJ › August 17, 2005

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Summary

If there was a dictionary of hipness, Neil Diamond would be MIA. In the 474-page "Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll," he barely exists, dismissed as a singer who "sold millions of records to a market hungry for maudlin middle-of-the-road pop rock."

At 63, Diamond - who brings his current tour to Madison Square Garden for a three-night run starting Thursday - remains something of a musical vagabond, a singer and songwriter who has visited many camps, yet calls none of them home. Yet he stands as one of the most successful - and surprisingly influential - performers of the last 40 years.

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Facing Facets ; Numbers Make It Hard to Dismiss Neil Diamond As Cubic Zirconia

On his previous tour, in 2001-02, Diamond played to more than 1.5 million fans in the United States, Canada and Europe and hauled in $88 million as he sold out 98 of 117 shows. In the '90s, he earned $182 million from 461 shows, the decade's most successful touring act, according to Billboard. In addition, he has sold more than 120 million ...

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