Neil Diamond: 'New LP isn't just copies'

Neil Diamond has said that he wanted his new album to be more than just a covers project.

The singer-songwriter this week released Dreams, a 14-track studio LP of his favourite songs from the rock era, including The Beatles' 'Blackbird' and 'Yesterday', Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' and Bill Withers's 'Ain't No Sunshine', among others.

Diamond told The Daily Telegraph: "As opposed to a writing album, this is a singing album. The main thing was that I had to feel like I could sing it and do it differently than the commonly known version.

"I didn’t want to be copying or covering that same record. I wanted to have my own take on it. And I think we did pretty good, just because I’m different and I saw those songs a little differently."

The album also features a new version of the self-penned 'I'm A Believer', which was famously recorded by The Monkees in 1966.

Diamond said: "It’s my own take on it. After all these years, this is how I do it now. This is the way I feel it now."