Tap Root Manuscript

Tap Root Manuscript is an album by Neil Diamond, released in 1970. It was one of the most experimental albums Diamond ever recorded, featuring prominent African sounds and instruments. The album ended up being a commercial success, with a string of top forty hits. All of the songs except "He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" are Diamond compositions. This album influenced an entire genre of later recording projects, from the Graceland album recorded... more

Tap Root Manuscript is an album by Neil Diamond, released in 1970. It was one of the most experimental albums Diamond ever recorded, featuring prominent African sounds and instruments. The album ended up being a commercial success, with a string of top forty hits. All of the songs except "He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" are Diamond compositions. This album influenced an entire genre of later recording projects, from the Graceland album recorded by Paul Simon in 1986 to the multi-culturally influenced Rap of the late 2000's. It was one of the most novel experimental recording projects of its time, and the UNI label initially was not sure if it would be commercially viable or not. It turned out to be one of Diamond's most successful albums up to that point in his career, including one of Diamond's three number one hits in his career, "Cracklin' Rosie". All songs composed by Neil Diamond unless otherwise indicated less