Velvet Gloves and Spit is the third album by Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond

Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....

. His first for MCA

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

's UNi

Uni Records

Uni Records was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinct UNi logo, was established in 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan...

 label, it included three low-charting singles: "Brooklyn Roads" (#58), "Two-Bit Manchild" (#66) and "Sunday Sun" (#68).

Upon its initial release in 1968, it only had ten songs. After the success of Diamond's next three albums, it was re-issued in 1970 with a new sleeve and now included a remake of "Shilo

Shilo (song)

"Shilo" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond.It was originally recorded in 1967 for Bang Records, but Diamond and Bang founder Bert Berns disagreed over Diamond's career path...

", a song that had previously been recorded for Bang Records

Bang Records

Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegün, Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler...

, and had appeared on the preceding album, Just For You

Just for You (Neil Diamond album)

Just for You is the name of Neil Diamond's second album. Like his debut, it has never been released on CD, though all but two of the tracks were made available on the Classics: The Early Years compilation...

. His motivation for doing this was the release of the song as a single by his old record label with a new backing track and alternate vocal take recorded at Chips Moman

Chips Moman

Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman is an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, Bobby Womack, Carla Thomas, and Merrilee Rush, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops in Memphis, Tennessee during the 1960s...

's American Studios in Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, and its chart position at #24 outselling Diamond's concurrently-released single "Until It's Time for You to Go

Until It's Time for You to Go

"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian First Nations singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was never released by her as a single, but was a UK Top 20 hit for British group The Four Pennies in 1965, and for Elvis Presley in 1972, and a US Hot 100...

", which only reached #53.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Neil Diamond.

1. "Two-Bit Manchild
   Two-Bit Manchild
   Two-Bit Manchild is a song written and performed by Neil Diamond. It appears on Neil's 1968 album Velvet Gloves and Spit, and was released as an A-side with a B-side of "Broad Old Woman "...
   
   " – 3:07
2. "A Modern Day Version of Love" – 2:53
3. "Honey-Drippin' Times" – 2:03
4. "Pot Smoker's Song" – 4:04
5. "Brooklyn Roads" – 3:40
6. "Shilo
   Shilo (song)
   "Shilo" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond.It was originally recorded in 1967 for Bang Records, but Diamond and Bang founder Bert Berns disagreed over Diamond's career path...
   
   " (Re-recording) – 2:58
7. "Sunday Sun" – 2:47
8. "Holiday Inn Blues" -3:16
9. "Practically Newborn" – 3:31
10. "Knackelflerg" – 2:24
11. "Merry-Go-Round" – 3:33