Search - Neil Diamond :: Hot August Night NYC (Live From Madison Square Garden)

The Real Sequel To The Original Hot August Night

Cat Prince Chunk | New York | 02/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hot August Night NYC has the plaintive,intimate magic and guitar rock n roll of the original classic.Something that Hot August Night II completely lacked (instead being the sound of a screaming singer and a distant sounding audience).



The instruments are not burried this time.And Neil Diamond sings beautifully on the slow songs and rocks like a tiger with a guitar on the fast ones.



It is too bad that the album is not yet available as an mp3 download.Because so many of the performances never sounded better as stand alone single songs for the i-pod."Street Life" with the urban melting pot of musical styles and jazzy flavours."Hell Yeah" with the big emotional buildup and release."Pretty Amazing Grace" with the Latin flavour and big congo drums."Love on the Rocks" with Neil's as-poweful-as-ever singing and late-night jazzy horn solo.



But the double CD is great to listen to as a whole,as when "Done Too Soon" is followed by "Brooklyn Roads" followed by 'I Am I Said" followed by "Solitary Man".



The extra songs for the U.S. release are better then on the import.Instead of a sleepy "Lady Oh" you get a great electric version of "Girl Youll Be A Woman Soon" and a flute heavy version of ""Soolaimon" (both from UK tours)."Hello Again" is also pretty and gentle.Should have been in the setlist for all the 2008 shows instead of the horrible "You Don't Bring Me Flowers".



Neil ends the Madison Square Garden concert with the best version of "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" I heard in a long time.With the hometown crowd of 20,000 cheering the "It was a Hot August Night" line and rocking with Neil into the night.



"

A wonderful CD from a true entertainer

Reed Pitkunigis | New Jersey, USA | 02/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Neil is in fine voice for this wonderful CD package. The CD includes the entire show from the tour that he did across most of the States in 2008. I was lucky enough to see two of the shows and the CD's bring back wonderful memories. I only question the timing of the release. The shows were a year and half ago and most of the hype is pretty much gone by now. It would have made for sense to release it along side the DVD release and TV special from last August. For Neil collectors, try and get the import set of this CD (released many months ago and available on Amazon) for it includes one extra song (Lady Oh, Antwerp 2008). That song is not on the US release. Though the extra cuts on the US release don't appear on the import. So to be complete, you need both sets. The UK version has a different cover."

Vintage Neil Updated

Morty Fink | Vermont | 03/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Classic Diamond hits recorded at recent concert venues. Well balanced and produced. Tales of his NYC youth and talks of his Brooklyn roots brought back fond memories since we both lived in the same neighborhood."