TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : COMPACT DISCS

“Beautiful Noise.” Neil Diamond. Columbia. AAD. If you’re looking for “Sweet Caroline” and Diamond’s other early hits on CD, go with either MCA’s “Hot August Night” (a two-disc set) or “His Twelve Greatest Hits.” However, this 1976 album (only recently available in CD) remains Diamond’s most ambitious and fully satisfying collection. Highlighted by the celebrative title track and the evocative “If You Know What I Mean,” the album is both a loosely knit story about the struggle to achieve one’s dreams and an engaging salute to the colorful Tin Pan Alley tradition in American pop. Sound quality: good.