Jonathan Livingston Seagull (soundtrack)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Soundtrack album by Neil Diamond
Released	October 19, 1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Film soundtrack
Length	43:29
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tom Catalano
Neil Diamond chronology
Rainbow (1972) Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) His 12 Greatest Hits (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	(mixed)[1]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a soundtrack album by American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, released in 1973 by Columbia Records. Produced by Tom Catalano, it is the soundtrack to the 1973 film of the same name. The album marked Diamond's return to Columbia and grossed more than the film itself. It won the 1974 Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special.^[3]

Diamond often included a Jonathan Livingston Seagull suite in his live performances, as he did in his 1976 Love at the Greek concert—comprising "Be", "Dear Father", "Lonely Looking Sky", "Sanctus", "Skybird" and "Be (Encore)"—and his show in Las Vegas that same year.^{[4][better source needed]} A studio version of the suite—comprising "Prologue", "Lonely Looking Sky", "Skybird", "Dear Father (Rebuked)" and "Be"—was presented on Diamond's 1996 box set In My Lifetime.^[5]

Reception

Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Diamond's subsequent album Serenade (1974) have earned a combined 27 gold discs in Australia.^[6] As of September 1976, the soundtrack was a bigger financial success than the film, grossing 12 million dollars, while the film itself had grossed 2 million.^[7]

Irvine Herald reviewer Willie Freckleton observed that "Be" was "classical Diamond singing a very powerful ballad."^[8] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Shawn M. Haney found the album to be "compelling and rich in texture and melody" and praised Catalano's direction, Holdridge's orchestral arrangements and Diamond's occasional vocals, concluding that the album "fits the piece of the puzzle the motion picture needed so perfectly."^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Diamond..

Side one

No.	Title	Liner notes	Length
1.	"Prologue"	And here begins our story – the sky, the sea, the flock.	3:19
2.	"Be"	Introduction of Jonathan – his flight and fall.	6:28
3.	"Flight of the Gull"	Jonathan is carried to the heights of ambition, and to near catastrophe.	2:23
4.	"Dear Father"	Battered, and near death, Jonathan asks for reasons.	5:12
5.	"Skybird"	Returning home to show what he has learned, his acrobatics only serve to anger the flock elders. He is put on trial, and forever…outcast.	1:12
6.	"Lonely Looking Sky"	Alone and adrift.	3:12

Side two

No.	Title	Liner notes	Length
1.	"The Odyssey: Be/Lonely Looking Sky/Dear Father"	And so begins a journey, an odyssey, a test of the spirit.	9:28
2.	"Anthem"	"Transcend, purify, glorious."	3:03
3.	"Be"	Jonathan returns to teach the flock.	1:06
4.	"Skybird"	The lesson	2:18
5.	"Dear Father"	Rebuked again by the elders, Jonathan attempts to rally the flock.	1:14
6.	"Be"	Recapitulation and farewell to Fletcher	3:26

Personnel

• Guitar: Richard Bennett, Larry Carlton, David Bennett Cohen Arthur Smith
• Bass: Emory Gordy Jr., Abe Luboff, Peter Mercurio, Joe Osborn Stanley Sheldon, Ray Siegel
• Keyboards: Paul Beaver, Caesar Giovannini, Ralph Grierson, Tom Hensley, Pearl Kaufman, Michael Lang, Michael Omartian, Clark Spangler
• Drums: Hal Blaine
• Percussion: Gary Coleman, Gene Estes, Victor Feldman
• Saxophone: Sonny Criss, John Ellis, William Henderson
• Woodwinds: Donald Christlieb, Gene Cipriano, Arthur Hoberman, Jules Jacob, Jack Marsh, Hugo Raimondi, Johnny Rotella, Gordon Schoneberg, Julian Spear
• Strings: Paulo Alencar, Israel Baker, Marilyn Baker, Myer Bello, Arnold Belnick, Dixie Blackstone, Harry Bluestone, Samuel Boghossian, Owen Wilson Brady, Rollice Dale, Isabelle Dashkoff, John De Voogdt, Joseph Di Tullio, Assa Drori, Robert Dubow, Jesse Ehrlich, Henry Ferber, Ronald Folsom, Norman Forrest, James Getzoff, Philip Goldberg, Harris Goldman, Allan Harshman, Claire Hodgkins, Lee Holdridge, Selene Hurford, Harry Hyams, Yukiko Kanei, George Kast, Richard Kaufman, Raymond Kelley, Jerome Kessler, Louis Kievman, Lou Klass, Robert Konrad, Jacob Krachmalnick, Raphael Kramer, Bernhard Kundell, William Kurasch, Carl LaMagna, Gayle Levant, Marvin Limonick, Leonard Malarsky, Joe Mondragon, Milton Nadel, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Robert Ostrowsky, Sven Reher, Joseph Reilich, Nathan Ross, Sheldon Sanov, Ralph Schaeffer, David Schwartz, Louis Singer, Sidney Sharp, Robert Stone, Tibor Zelig
• Horns: Hoyt Bohannon, Vincent DeRosa, David Duke, Tommy Johnson, Arthur Maebe, Lew McCreary, William B. Peterson, David B. Roberts, Tommy Shepard, Henry Sigismonti, Tony Terran
• Backing Vocals: Phil Azelton, Luella Howard, Diana Lee, Ida Sue McCune, Sally Stevens, Robin Ward, Andra Willis
• Choir: Bob Mitchell’s Singing Boys: Mark Albert, Kirk Alley, Timothy John Butala, Christopher Cartwright, Michael DeWayne Clark, Dale Cohen, John Coniglio, Sean Patrick English, Clement Shuji Hanami, Jeffrey Kennedy, Mathew Leum, Michael Leum, Bruce MacLeod, Martin Shunji Nomura, Brian Tatsuo Okamoto, Bradford Ralston, Jaime Rodriguez, Timothy Schmidt, Erik Stanton Simmons, Tracy Thielen, Eric Williams, Sherman Williams, Paul Watson Wims, Ronald Trimby Young

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1973–77) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 7 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 44 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 45 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 3 Spanish Albums (El Musical)[16] 8 UK Albums (OCC)[17] 35 US Billboard 200[18] 2 Chart (2021) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 154

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[20] 8 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[21] 61 Chart (1975) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 30 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 14

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24]	Gold	20,000^^
Belgium	—	200,000[25]
Canada (Music Canada)[26]	2× Platinum	200,000^^
France (SNEP)[27]	Platinum	300,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[28]	Gold	250,000^^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[29]	Gold	10,000^*
Netherlands (NVPI)[30]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[32]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Rolling Stone review ^{[dead link‍]}
2. Haney, Shawn M. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
3. "Neil Diamond". Grammy Awards. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
4. "Neil Diamond live (1/2) - Jonathan Livingston Seagull". September 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2018 – via YouTube.
5. Neil Diamond (1996). In My Lifetime (CD box set liner notes). New York: Columbia Records. CSK 65013.
6. "Golden Diamond" (PDF). Billboard. March 6, 1976. p. 58. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
7. Fong-Torres, Ben (September 23, 1976). "The Importance of Being Neil Diamond". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
8. Freckleton, Willie (November 30, 1973). "Freckleton in Discoland". Irvine Herald. p. 11. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 281. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack / Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
11. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4976a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Soundtrack / Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
14. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
15. "Charts.nz – Soundtrack / Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
16. "Hits of the World - Spain". Billboard. March 9, 1974. p. 56. Retrieved October 24, 2020 – via Google Books.
17. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
18. "Neil Diamond Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
19. "Ultratop.be – Soundtrack / Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
20. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 426. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
21. "The Top 100 Albums of '74". RPM. Vol. 22, no. 19. December 28, 1974. p. 6. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
22. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1975" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
23. "Top Selling Albums of 1975 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
24. "Gold Down Under" (PDF). Cash Box. March 6, 1976. p. 50. Retrieved November 15, 2021 – via World Radio History.
25. Anthonissen, Juul (May 1, 1976). "From the Music Capitols of the World - Brussels" (PDF). Billboard. p. 69. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
26. "Canadian album certifications – Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull". Music Canada.
27. "French album certifications – Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull (B.O.F.)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
28. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Neil Diamond; 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
29. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1978". IFPI Hong Kong.
30. "Dutch album certifications – Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 7 March 2019. Enter Jonathan Livingston Seagull in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1997 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
31. "British album certifications – Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull". British Phonographic Industry.
32. "American album certifications – Neil Diamond – Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Soundtrack)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 24, 2019.