This being the month of August, I thought it would be most appropriate for me to post the review of the HOT AUGUST NIGHT, the album by N EIL DIAMOND and in my opinion , the man’s best performance.
N EIL LESLIE DIAMOND was born on January 24, 1941, a singer and songwriter who had a number of hits back in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s and is still performing live to the delight of his loyal fans. He was born and raised in Brooklyn where he attended high school and one of his fellow students was BARBRA STREISAND. He sang in the school choir with her. He learned to play guitar, a gift for him when he was 16. The song “You don’t bring me flowers” with Barbara Streisand was a huge hit in 1978. He was presented with a Grammy for his album JONATHAN LIVIGSTON SEAGULL and also the Golden Globe award. Amusement business named the songwriter top solo concert artist of the 90’s. On June 15, 2000, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame awarded Diamond the coveted SAMMY CAHN LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD making him one of the few composers to be honoured twice by the organisation.
HOT AUGUST NIGHT was released on November 14, 1972. I had opened the sealed LP (2 LP set) of N EIL DIAMOND’S album HOT AUGUST NIGHT back in the 70’s when I was a teenage lad and fell in love with the music. Some 25 years later, I purchased the same album, this time on the CD (2 CD set). I was about to open it but decided that I ask my son to open the seal and put it in the player. It was the next generation, but the music remained same. It was father and son celebrating the Silver Jubilee of discovering the music of N eil Diamond. For him at 11, it was the first time, for me, it was more than a century of being familiar with the same music.
Nostalgic as it may seem, I still remember vividly having watched the actual Silver Jubilee program on the TV in my hotel room back in March 1990 when I was on a business trip to Singapore. N eil Diamond had completed 25 years of hits after hits. If my mathematics is correct, N eil diamond started his prolific music career in 1964.
This was the album, which was re-mastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound LAB (sadly, now no more) on Limited Edition 24 karat gold discs, which now has become collector’s item and can fetch 2-3 times its original price. This album sold like hot cakes and was always out of stock if one wanted to pick up the copy, whether on 24 carat gold discs, 180 gram pure virgin vinyl or just plain aluminium foil discs. Took me sometime before I could lay my hands on the CD set.
CONTENTS
I do have some favourite tracks and I tend to listen to them whenever I have a session with N eil Diamond. Notably SOLITARY MAN, SWEET CAROLINE, I AM I SAID, SHILO, MORNINGSIDE, and PLAY ME. When playing this particular album I start with Crunchy Granola Suite, a great sounding intro to get you into the mood.
The two discs contain following tracks:
DISC 1
Prologue Crunchy Granola Suite
Done Too Soon
Dialogue
Solitary Man
Cherry Cherry
Sweet Caroline
Porcupine Pie
You’re So Sweet
Red, Red Wine
Soggy Pretzels And The Grass Won’t Pay No Mind
Shilo
Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon
Walk on Water
Kentucky Woman
Stones
Disc 2
Play Me
Canta Libre
Morningside
Song Sung Blue
Cracklin Rosie
Holly Holy
I Am I Said Soolaimon/Brother Loves’s Travelling Salvation Show – (encore)
CONCERT BACKGROUND
The greek theatre where the concert took place on a Hot August Night, to be precise, on Tuesday August 24, 1972 was housing 4, 500 people and as many as 500 fans who unfortunately could not get the ticket, had climbed the trees nearby to get a glimpse of the concert. N eil Diamond addresses them as THE TREE PEOPLE and that he was singing for them too.
According to N eil Diamond SONG SUNG BLUE is such an easy song that old people can sing it, infants can sing it, chickens can sing it, dogs can sing it, gorillas can sing it, even frogs can sing it! Cast away your inhibitions for just about 16 bars, in other words, here goes:
Song Sung Blue Everybody knows one
Song Sung Blue Every garden grows one
Excerpt from the booklet:
For the next 107 minutes, he gives it to them, a spontaneous, exhausting display of energy and sensuality.
The acoustic guitar licks on the entire album is a treat for anyone who likes the sound of a guitar. If you feel hot while listening to this album you always have the option of climbing a nearby tree where the cool breeze will enhance your experience, after all his fans did not hesitate to do just that!
SONICALLY SPEAKING
While playing the music and son sitting next to me, my enthusiasm got the better of him; to my delight he simply nodded (we seldom talk while the music is playing), as if to give approval that the music coming out from the transbucers is to his liking. After all he is an experienced listener, he had put in 11 years (since he was born) listening to music, his opinion mattered.
My son is only 14 now, but when it comes to music he is more of an adult. I got him the protable player(Philips ACT7583 which I reviewed just for him, my first) and asked him to make his own selection fro me to burn on the CD-R. I came to know through my wife that he spent all afternoon (good 4 hours) making lists of songs to burn from our collection of over 800 albums. His selection mainly included songs from Sting, Beatles, Phil Collins, John Denver, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Lee Ritenour, and Bob Marley.
In my early 40’s at that time, with my innards sort of worn out with age, I had a slight problem with one of my pumps, I am referring to the one which handles the adrenaline, yes it produced a hiccup! The music required more adrenaline to flow and poor pump could not cope with the pressure. It was the track I AM I SAID. If it was not the sound quality such experience is not possible. This album is HOT as an August night! Listening to this album and in the songwriters own words GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEM SO GOOD!
This album now is 32 years old (August 24, 2004), but it sounds as if it was performed and recorded only yesterday, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
FINALE
This album is one of the best-recorded live gigs from that era, bustling with loads and loads of energy from the singer as well as the band. It has my son’s STAMP OF APPROVAL so to say. He happens to be on my trust list, we have one at home as well, which is equivalent to what we have here at MOUTHSHUTDOTCOM!
Thank you for dropping by and reading what I write!
All Text Copyright Quadophile 2004