Three Chord Opera

Three Chord Opera is the twenty-fifth studio album by Neil Diamond, released in 2001. It marked the first album since 1974's Serenade to consist solely of original material written solely by Diamond, and the first album of any original songs since 1996's country-themed Tennessee Moon where he co-wrote all but one of the songs.

Three Chord Opera
Studio album by
Neil Diamond
ReleasedJuly 24, 2001
Recorded2000-01
GenrePop
Length47:17
LabelColumbia
ProducerPeter Asher, Alan Lindgren
Neil Diamond chronology
The Neil Diamond Collection
(1999)		 Three Chord Opera
(2001)		 The Essential Neil Diamond
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The album also featured the song "I Believe in Happy Endings", written by Diamond for the 2001 comedy Saving Silverman in which he made a cameo.

The album reached number 15 on the Billboard 200 chart.[1][2] "You are the Best Part of Me", reached No. 28 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Neil Diamond.

No.TitleLength
1."I Haven't Played This Song in Years"4:25
2."Don't Look Down"3:08
3."I Believe in Happy Endings"4:29
4."At the Movies"3:39
5."Midnight Dream"4:57
6."You Are the Best Part of Me"4:02
7."Baby Let's Drive"4:35
8."My Special Someone"3:35
9."A Mission of Love"4:15
10."Elijah's Song"2:56
11."Leave a Little Room for God"2:53
12."Turn Down the Lights"4:23

Personnel
  • Neil Diamond – lead vocals
  • Alan Lindgren – arrangements (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), conductor (1, 3, 5, 9), keyboards (2, 4, 9), horn arrangements (2, 7), acoustic piano (3, 9), drums (4), percussion programming (4), Hammond organ (7, 9-12)
  • Tom Hensley – acoustic piano (2, 3, 7, 10, 12), Fender Rhodes (6, 8, 11)
  • Marc Mann – programming (3, 9), sequencing (3), backing vocals (9)
  • Jeff Turzo – additional programming (4)
  • Dominic Ordinaire – accordion (8)
  • Hadley Hockensmith – acoustic guitar (1, 9), 12-string guitar (1), electric guitar (2, 5, 8, 9), guitars (3, 6, 7, 11, 12), guitar solo (8)
  • Doug Rhone – electric guitar (1), acoustic guitar (2, 5), guitars (6, 8, 12), tiple (7, 11)
  • Michael Thompson – electric guitar (1, 5, 7, 9), guitar solo (2), guitars (3, 4)
  • Jaydee Manes – pedal steel guitar (10)
  • Reinie Press – bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
  • Chuck Domanico – bass (11)
  • Ron Tutt – drums (1, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12)
  • Russ Kunkel – drums (2, 3, 6, 9)
  • Peter Asher – percussion (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12), programming (9), backing vocals (9), autoharp (11, 12)
  • Vince Charles – percussion (5, 7, 10), tambourine (1, 11), steel drums (6), congas (6, 8), marimba (8)
  • Don Markese – clarinet (1), baritone saxophone (2, 7)
  • Larry Klimas – tenor saxophone (2, 7)
  • Everette Harp – tenor saxophone (3)
  • Emilio Castillo – tenor saxophone (9)
  • Norbert Satchel – tenor saxophone (9)
  • Stephen "Doc" Kupka – baritone saxophone (9)
  • Daniel Fornero – trumpet (2, 7)
  • Ralf Rickert – trumpet (2, 7)
  • Greg Adams – trumpet (9), horn arrangements (9)
  • Adolfo Acosta – trumpet (9)
  • Michael Bogart – trumpet (9), trombone (9)
  • Susie Katayama – cello (6)
  • Assa Drori – concertmaster (1, 3, 5, 9), violin (6)
  • Evan Wilson – violin (6)
  • Shari Zippert – violin (6)
  • Linda Press – harmony vocals (5)
  • Colin Mitchell – backing vocals (9)
  • Wendy Worth – backing vocals (9)
  • Alvin Chea – backing vocals (10, 12)
  • Craig Copeland – backing vocals (10, 12)
  • Randy Crenshaw – backing vocals (10, 12)
  • Robert Joyce – backing vocals (10, 12)
  • Luana Jackman – chorus master (11), vocal contractor

Production
  • Producers – Peter Asher; Alan Lindgren (Tracks 1, 2, 4-8, 10-12)
  • Production Coordination – Ivy Skoff
  • Album Coordination – Sam Cole
  • Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Bernie Becker
  • Recording Assistant – Colin Mitchell
  • Mix Assistant – Alan Mason
  • Recorded at Arch Angel Studios (Los Angeles, CA) and Sony Pictures Studios (Culver City, CA).
  • Mixed at Conway Studios (Hollywood, CA).
  • Mastered at Bernie Becker Mastering
  • Art Direction – Gabrielle Raumberger
  • Design – Samantha Ahdoot
  • Photography – Rocky Schenck

Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 49
US Billboard 200[6] 15

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[7] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Three Chord Opera at AllMusic
  2. Diamond, Neil. "Billboard 200". Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. Diamond, Neil. "Adult Contemporary". Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  4. "Australiancharts.com – Neil Diamond – Three Chord Opera". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  5. "Neil Diamond | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  6. "Neil Diamond Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  7. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  8. "American album certifications – Neil Diamond – Three Chord Opera". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 3 February 2019.



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