Don't Think... Feel

"Don't Think... Feel"
Single by Neil Diamond
from the album Beautiful Noise
B-side	"Home Is a Wounded Heart"
Released	September 1976
Label	Columbia
Songwriter	Neil Diamond
Producer	Robbie Robertson

"Don't Think... Feel" is a 1976 song by Neil Diamond from the album Beautiful Noise. It was released as a single in October 1976 and reached #43 in the US Hit Parade. The B-side was "Home is a Wounded Heart".^[1]

The "Caribbean-flavored track" features Dr. John on Hammond organ and Jerome Richardson on flute.^[2] The song was a take on hippie philosophy with the words "Don't think, feel. Ain't no big deal. Make it real. And don't think, feel."^[3]

Cash Box said that "Diamond sings the lyric with an exotic flavor, almost reggae, and the chorus is a dynamite hook."^[4] Record World said the song "has a carnival-like calypso flavor that feels good."^[5]

The title and message of the song attracted comment both positive and negative.^[6][7]

1. ^ Jackson, Laura (2005). Neil Diamond: His Life, His Music, His Passion. ECW Press. p. 145. ISBN 1550227076. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
2. ^ Rich Wiseman Neil Diamond: Solitary Star 1988 p.208 "tracks, from the Dixielandish “Stargazer,” to the bluesy “Lady-Oh,” to the Caribbean-flavored “Don't Think . . . Feel” ... Helping to give each track its own identity were a collection of special musical performances, among them Jerome Richardson's dancing flute on “Don't Think . . . Feel,”"
3. ^ Hanley Norins The Young & Rubicam traveling creative workshop 1990 p.47 "Songwriter Neil Diamond summed up the Hippie philosophy with the words of his popular song, "Don't think, feel. Ain't no big deal. Make it real. And don't think, feel." But the Hippies did not bother to have a focus, and we have a practical job ...
4. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 4, 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 4, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
6. ^ Karl Albrecht -Brain Power: Learn to Improve Your Thinking Skills 2009 p.10 "Popular singer Neil Diamond recorded a rock song titled “Don't Think—Feel!” "
7. ^ George Aiken Taylor The Presbyterian Journal 1977 -- Volume 36 p. 126 "The album [sic], "....Don't Think, Feel," by popular singer Neil Diamond stayed at the top of charts for weeks. In the evangelical and even Reformed community, this influence has resulted in a tendency to disregard the rational element of the Gospel;"
8. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1976-11-06. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
9. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X

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