On the Way to the Sky

On the Way to the Sky
Studio album by Neil Diamond
Released	October 9, 1981
Recorded	1981
Genre	Rock
Length	42:09
Label	Columbia
Producer	Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond chronology
The Jazz Singer (1980)The Jazz Singer1980 On the Way to the Sky (1981) Heartlight (1982)Heartlight1982

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

On the Way to the Sky is the fourteenth studio album released by Neil Diamond in 1981. It contained the hit "Yesterday's Songs", which reached number 11 and the title track which peaked at number 27 in the US. The album marked a transition into a period of creative and commercial decline for him that lasted, to one degree or another, until the release of the 2001 album Three Chord Opera, followed by his collaboration with producer Rick Rubin and the release of 2005's 12 Songs and 2008's Home Before Dark. While Diamond continued having some success, some significant periodic hits, and some television specials and film appearances, the period beginning with the release of On the Way to the Sky did not have for him the same level of sales, notoriety or fame that the preceding times did.

Track listing

Personnel

• Neil Diamond – vocals, guitar, arrangements (5)
• Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• Doug Rhone – guitar, background vocals
• Reinie Press – bass
• Alan Lindgren – keyboards, synthesizer, acoustic piano, orchestra arrangements and conductor (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10)
• Tom Hensley – keyboards, acoustic piano, background vocals, orchestra arrangements and conductor (4, 6, 8, 10)
• Dennis St. John – drums
• King Errisson – percussion
• Vince Charles – percussion
• Patricia Henderson – background vocals
• Linda Press – background vocals
• H.L. Voelker – background vocals
• Julia Waters – background vocals
• Luther Waters – background vocals
• Maxine Waters – background vocals
• Oren Waters – background vocals

Production

• Producer – Neil Diamond
• Co-Producer – Dennis St. John
• Associate Producers – Andy Bloch, Ron Hitchcock and Alan Lindgren.
• Engineered and Mixed by Andy Bloch and Ron Hitchcock
• Assistant Engineers – Bill Benton, David Bianco, Jack Crymes, Mark Eshelman, Brad Gilderman, John Markland, Karen Segal and Gary Singleman.
• Recorded at Arch Angel Studios, Record Plant and The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, CA); Sunset Sound Recorders and Cherokee Studios (Hollywood, CA).
• Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
• Art Direction and Design – David Kirschner
• Artwork – Jan Weinberg
• Photography – Kenneth McGowan

References