Neil Diamond previews his upcoming album Wild At Heart with the release of You’re My Favorite Song, the second track revealed from his long-awaited collaboration with Rick Rubin
by Paul Cashmere
Neil Diamond has released You’re My Favorite Song, the second preview from his forthcoming album Wild At Heart, ahead of its global release on 8 May 2026. The track offers another glimpse into the final chapter of Diamond’s acclaimed work with producer Rick Rubin, a project that traces back to sessions originally recorded nearly two decades ago.
The arrival of You’re My Favorite Song follows the title track Wild At Heart, reinforcing the stripped-back aesthetic that defines this period of Diamond’s career. Built around understated instrumentation and a close, conversational vocal, the song places emphasis on melody and lyric, hallmarks of the Rubin collaboration that reshaped Diamond’s late-career output.
The significance of Wild At Heart lies in its position as both archival and contemporary. The album completes a trilogy that began with 12 Songs in 2005 and continued with Home Before Dark in 2008, the latter becoming Diamond’s first Number One album on the Billboard chart. These sessions marked a deliberate shift away from the orchestrated grandeur of his earlier work, returning instead to a more intimate songwriting approach.
“My work with Rick was a labor of love,” Diamond said in a statement. “I’m so gratified that these songs will finally be set free into the world to complete our trilogy of work.”
You’re My Favorite Song sits deep within the album’s tracklisting and reflects the broader tone of the record. Across its ten songs, Wild At Heart explores themes of love, reflection and personal insight, delivered through minimal arrangements centred on acoustic guitars and keyboards. Notably, Diamond’s own guitar playing features prominently, a rarity in his recordings since the early stages of his career.
The sessions were supported by a core group of musicians assembled by Rubin, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers members Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, alongside Smokey Hormel and Matt Sweeney. Their contributions remain subtle, reinforcing the album’s cohesive and restrained sound.
Technically, Wild At Heart is defined by its clarity. The production avoids layered embellishments, instead allowing space for Diamond’s voice, which carries both authority and vulnerability. Songs such as Shine On and You Can’t Have It All highlight his continued engagement with personal and social themes, while You’re My Favorite Song adds to his extensive catalogue of love songs with a direct, unembellished approach.
Within the context of Diamond’s career, this material represents a continuation of a late-period reinvention. With more than 130 million albums sold and a catalogue that includes enduring hits like Sweet Caroline, Diamond has long been associated with large-scale pop production. The Rubin era, however, repositioned him within a more contemporary singer-songwriter framework, aligning his work with broader trends that favour authenticity and lyrical focus over production scale.
That shift has resonated beyond the recordings themselves. Diamond’s influence continues to extend into theatre and film, with his life and music forming the basis of the stage production A Beautiful Noise, which will open in Australia in August 2026. The show, already a major success on Broadway and in the United States, reflects sustained interest in legacy artists whose catalogues remain culturally embedded.
The renewed attention also arrives amid a wider industry trend where archival recordings are revisited and recontextualised. In Diamond’s case, Wild At Heart is not a retrospective compilation but a curated completion of previously unreleased work, offering insight into a pivotal creative period rather than simply revisiting past success.
There is little controversy surrounding the release, though it does raise questions about how artists manage unreleased material across decades. Some critics argue that archival projects can dilute an artist’s catalogue if not handled carefully. However, the consistent production approach and clear connection to the Rubin sessions provide Wild At Heart with a defined place in Diamond’s discography.
Wild At Heart serves as both a conclusion and a bridge. It closes the chapter on Diamond’s collaboration with Rubin while introducing material that has remained unheard until now. With You’re My Favorite Song, Diamond reinforces the enduring qualities that have defined his songwriting, melody, clarity and emotional directness.
As the album’s release approaches, the combination of new music and the upcoming Australian run of A Beautiful Noise theatre show positions 2026 as a significant year in the ongoing legacy of Neil Diamond.
5 August 2026, Melbourne, Princess Theatre (Previews)
Season continues through 11 October 2026
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