Hot August Night - 40th Anniversary Edition (Remastered) Neil Diamond

• 1 Prologue 03:07
• 2 Crunchy Granola Suite 04:26
• 3 Done Too Soon 03:16
• 4 Dialogue 01:28
• 5 Solitary Man 03:14
• 6 Cherry Cherry 04:43
• 7 Sweet Caroline 04:06
• 8 Porcupine Pie 01:51
• 9 You're So Sweet 02:18
• 10 Red Red Wine 04:19
• 11 Soggy Pretzels 02:57
• 12 Gitchy Goomy 03:49
• 13 And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind 04:22
• 14 I Think It's Going To Rain Today 04:12
• 15 Shilo 03:28
• 16 Modern Day Version Of Love 03:31
• 17 Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon 02:48
• 18 Walk On Water 03:05
• 19 Kentucky Woman 01:52
• 20 Stones 03:43
• 21 Musician Intros 07:23
• 22 Play Me 04:44
• 23 Canta Libre 05:27
• 24 Morningside 05:35
• 25 Song Sung Blue 04:53
• 26 Cracklin' Rosie 02:45
• 27 Holly Holy 06:18
• 28 I Am...I Said 06:11
• 29 Soolaimon Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show 09:31
• Total Runtime 01:59:22

Info for Hot August Night - 40th Anniversary Edition (Remastered)

'Hot August Night' 40th Anniversary Deluxe Remastered HighRes-Edition features Diamond's best-loved songs, 25-track set list- the ubiquitous 'Sweet Caroline,' the infectious 'Song Sung Blue,' et al, plus versions of 'Red Red Wine' and 'Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon,' which he wrote, but were also hits for others. An energetic backing band and a full string section complement the singer's impassioned performances, and an encore medley of 'Soolaimon' and 'Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show' brings the show to a fiery close. HOT AUGUST NIGHT remains one of Diamond's best-selling albums.

In addition to his excellent skills as a songwriter, Neil Diamond is also known for his bold, often theatrical performance style. One glance at the cover of 'Hot August Night'-Diamond clothed in denim and Native American jewelry, with his hands hovering over his body, and an expression suggesting a trance of intensity--and the listener knows he or she is in for some serious performing. The pop icon delivers as expected; 'Hot August Night', recorded in 1972 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, documents the epic showmanship of a Neil Diamond concert.

Neil Diamond, vocals, guitar
Emory Gordy Jr., guitar, vibraphone
Richard Bennett, guitar
Danny Nicholson, guitar
Alan Lindgren, keyboard
Reine Press, bass
Dennis St. John, drums
Jefferson Kewley, percussion

String section includes: Hyman Goodman, Jay Rosen, John deVoogdt, David Turner, Tibor Zelig, Samuel Boghossian, Myron Sandler, Sven Reher, Linn Subotnick, Marilyn Baker, Philip Goldberg, Jesse Ehrlich, Giacinto Nardulli, Salvatore Crimi, Henry Ferber, Beldassare Ferlazzo, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Shari Zippert, Walter Wiemeyer, Richard Kaufman.

Recorded live at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, California on August 24, 1972.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Neil Diamond
For Neil Diamond, it’s always started with a song. Over the course of his astonishing career, Neil has sold more than 128 million albums worldwide. He’s charted 56 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including 12 top 10 hits, and has released 16 Top 10 albums. He’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2011, he was honored by the Kennedy Center for his lifetime of contributions to American culture. Neil has been nominated for three Golden Globes, 13 Grammys, and was named NARAS’ MusiCares Person of the Year in 2009. His 2008 album, Home Before Dark, debuted in the US and UK at #1, and his songs have been covered by artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Andrea Boccelli. But he never would have reached the world, from sold-out concerts to seventh-inning stretches, without his love for songwriting.

In June, after more than forty years as a Columbia recording artist, Neil signed with Capitol Records and moved his back catalogue to Universal, Capitol’s parent company. He has history with both: his earliest hits were on Bang, a Universal imprint, and Capitol released the multi-platinum soundtrack for The Jazz Singerin 1980, which earned Neil three Top 10 singles. Melody Road, his first new original studio album since Home Before Dark, is Neil’s debut as a Capitol artist, and while it represents a new chapter for him, it also reconnects him with his past.

Neil describes Melody Road as a homecoming. It brings him back to the start of his musical journey and the early influence of artists like the Weavers and Woody Guthrie. The songs on the album reflect his lifelong love of folk music. The vocals were recorded live, in much the same way they would have been if the album had been created decades ago, and while the instrumentation is lush, the arrangements are traditional. Like the best folk songs, each of the album’s tracks tells a story, most pointedly on “Seongah and Jimmy,” a song about Neil’s American brother-in-law and Korean sister-in-law, who met and fell in love before they had learned to speak each other’s languages. Despite the specificity of the song, it addresses a universal theme. Melody Road is largely autobiographical, but the stories Neil tells are not his alone.

Neil began working on Melody Road with several new songs, as well as a few that he’d struggled to complete for more than ten years. He couldn’t find the motivation, or the willingness to address the subject matter that initially inspired them, or – in Neil’s words – they weren’t yet ready to be born. With an emotional assist from his wife Katie, he completed those tracks. By the time he was ready to record he had an album’s worth of songs ready to go. The record unfolds story by story, and song by song – the final sequence is exactly the same as the order of Neil’s original demos for the album.

Co-Produced by Don Was (who’s worked with Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones) and Jacknife Lee (R.E.M., U2), Melody Road was made with a masterful group of musicians, including pedal steel player Greg Liesz, keyboardist Benmont Tench, guitarist Smoky Hormel, and vocalists the Waters Family. Built on guitars, it’s true to the origin of folk, but it’s not defined by it; it was recorded with keyboards, flutes, horns, and, on “Seongah and Jimmy,” “The Art of Love,” and “Nothing But A Heartache,” a full string section. Yet, for all of its expansiveness and rich production, Melody Road is ultimately all about the songs. Neil’s come full circle. He’s brought five decades of extraordinary craftsmanship with him, but he’s returned to where he started, propelled by the simple joy of translating life into song.

This album contains no booklet.