''Heartlight'' is the fifteenth studio album by
Neil Diamond. It was released in August 1982 on Columbia Records. The album spent 34 weeks on the
charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...
and peaked at #9. For shipments of a million copies it was certified
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the
RIAA.
The
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
, reportedly inspired by the 1982 film ''
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', peaked at #5 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #1 on the
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...
chart in late 1982, while "I'm Alive" reached #35 on the Hot 100 in early 1983. The song "Lost Among The Stars" has co-writer Burt Bacharach reproducing his melody from his hit "
Trains and Boats and Planes" from 17 years prior.
The album was the last of a decade-long streak of Platinum albums by Diamond—he would not have another platinum album certified until his first
Christmas album
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
in the 1990s—and his last top 10 album for a decade. The song "Heartlight" was Diamond's last top 10 pop hit and also his last #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, while "I'm Alive" was his last top 40 hit. While Diamond continued having some success and periodic hits, and some television specials and film appearances, the period after ''Heartlight'' did not have for him the same level of sales, notoriety or fame that the preceding times did.
''
Billboard'' described "I'm Alive" as "a paean to dogged optimism" and said that "Handclaps and familiar chord changes recall the good old days of
iamond'searliest pop hits."
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
Certifications
Personnel
* Neil Diamond – lead vocals, guitar (uncredited)
*
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
–
Fender Rhodes (1, 3)
* Craig Hundley – synthesizers (1, 4, 6)
*
Michael Boddicker
Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...
– 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
Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...
– acoustic piano (11), arrangements (11)
*
Marty Walsh
Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...
– 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
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas.
Albums
Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...
– 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
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...
– drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 9)
*
Ron Tutt
Ronald Ellis Tutt (March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American drummer who played concerts and recording sessions for Elvis Presley, the Carpenters, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, and Jerry Garcia.
Early life
Born in Dallas, Texas, United ...
– drums (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)
*
Alex Acuña
Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian-American drummer and percussionist.
Background
Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands such as La Orquesta de los Hermanos Nec ...
– drums (4)
*
Mike Baird
Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...
– 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
Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...
– percussion (9)
* David Boruff – alto saxophone (3), Steinerfone
electronic wind instrument
EWI (from electronic wind instrument, pronounced ''EE-wee'') is a type of wind controller, an electronic musical instrument. The EWI was invented by Nyle Steiner, his second electronic wind instrument design. Steiner originally brought to marke ...
(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
Richard Lewis Page (born 22 February 1941) is a former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and from December 1979 to 2005.
Early life
Born the son of Victor Charles Page, he went to the independent H ...
– 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
William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated an ...
, 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
Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...
and
A&M Studios
The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property serv ...
(Hollywood, CA);
The Village Recorder
The Village (also known as Village Recorders, or the Village Recorder) is a recording studio located at 1616 Butler Avenue in West Los Angeles, California.
History
The building was built by the Freemasons in 1922 and was originally a Masonic ...
(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
References
{{Authority control
Neil Diamond albums
1982 albums
Albums produced by Burt Bacharach
Columbia Records albums
Albums recorded at United Western Recorders
Albums recorded at A&M Studios