Neil Diamond to release all five Hot August Night albums on limited edition vinyl
CAPITOL/UMe TO RELEASE ALL 5 NEIL DIAMOND · HOT AUGUST NIGHT ALBUMS
AS 2LPs IN BLACK AND LIMITED-EDITION COLOURS ON AUGUST 7, 2020
ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS ALSO RELEASED ON 2LP BLACK VINYL
HOT AUGUST NIGHT III AND HOT AUGUST NIGHT/NYC AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME
On August 7, 2020, Capitol/UMe (UMC UK) will celebrate some of Neil Diamond's most electrifying live performances with the release of his 5 Hot August Night albums as a 2 L.P. black and limited-edition colour vinyl set. The iconic performer's mastery combined with the palpable excitement of the crowd is evident throughout the Hot August Night canon, which includes Hot August Night, Love At The Greek and Hot August Night II as well as Hot August Night III, and Hot August Night/NYC, available on vinyl for the very first time. Neil Diamond's All-Time Greatest Hits, a 23-track, standard weight 2LP collection, will also be released on black vinyl on August 7.
Hot August Night -The legend of Neil Diamond was unquestionably born on August 24, 1972, when the young singer/songwriter took over Los Angeles' Greek Theatre for ten sold-out nights. Diamond and his band were at the peak of their game that summer, a night that would be captured forever on the two-record set Hot August Night. On one of these nights, Robert Hilburn of The Los Angeles Times declared, "His 1972 Hot August Night stand at the Greek remains among the most celebrated series of shows by a mainstream pop-rock performer ever in Los Angeles."
As one of Diamond's most successful releases worldwide, the album was multi-platinum in the U.S. and spent a mind-blowing 29 weeks on the top of the Australian charts. Hot August Night is one of the most celebrated and acknowledged albums of Diamond's career and arguably one of the greatest live albums ever recorded. The original Hot August Night (the title of which was gleaned from the opening line to one of Diamond's most celebrated tracks, 1969's "Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show,) will be available as a black 2LP or crystal-clear limited-edition 2LP.
Love At The Greek (the 1977 live double album) was Diamond's second album recorded at famed Hollywood venue and the second album produced by Robbie Robertson. Love At The Greek (which features standout tracks such as "Holly Holly" and a fifteen-minute version of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull") will be available on vinyl for the first time in 30 years as a black 2LP or a translucent non-metallic gold limited-edition 2LP.
The Platinum-certified Hot August Night II (the follow up to the original Hot August Night album) was recorded in August of 1986 and initially released in 1987, reaching #59 on the Billboard 200 chart. Hot August Night II features twenty of Diamond's biggest hits, including "Love On The Rocks," "America," and "Song Sung Blue" and will also be available on vinyl for the first time in 30 years as a black 2LP or a white limited-edition 2LP.
Hot August Night Ill chronicles Diamond's triumphant return to the legendary Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in August 2012. The magical evening was Diamond's 40th-anniversary celebration of the original multiplatinum-selling Hot August Night collection that was recorded at the very same venue in 1972. Following the 2012 shows at The Greek, Billboard Magazine said of Diamond's performance, "His voice remains powerful and accurate; he reaches towards the baritone register for emphasis, just as he did in the '70s. …he never falters in delivering every line with conviction." From the fine acoustic twang of "Forever in Blue Jeans" to the pure Americana swing of "Kentucky Woman" to the eternal sing-along sunshine of "Sweet Caroline" to the raw emotionality of "I Am…I Said" to the welcoming arms of "America."
Hot August Night Ill cements Diamond's mastery of the live stage and his unique connection with audiences the world over. This is the first time that Hot August Night Ill will be available on vinyl and will be available as a black 2LP or a sea glass limited-edition 2LP.
Hot August Night/NYC - Recorded live at New York's Madison Square Garden in August 2008 (originally released in 2009, the album includes 25 career-spanning hits from Neil's phenomenal four-night sold-out run at the fabled concert hall. Hot August Night/NYC debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2009 and is certified Platinum. This is the first time Hot August Night/NYC will be available on vinyl and will be available as a black 2LP or translucent red limited-edition 2LP.
All-Time Greatest Hits marks the Grammy® winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee's most comprehensive hits collection, encompasses the artist's entire body of work, from the earliest recordings through the present-day. Neil Diamond's All-Time Greatest Hits black 2LP features the original studio recordings of such standards as "Sweet Caroline," "Holly Holy," "I Am…I Said," and chart-toppers like "Cracklin' Rosie," "Song Sung Blue," and the rarely heard original solo version of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." The set captures his beginnings as a songwriter-turned-singer in New York to his multi-platinum days in Hollywood.
Throughout his illustrious and wide-ranging career, Neil Diamond has sold over 130 million albums worldwide and has dominated the charts for more than five decades with 38 Top 40 singles and 16 Top 10 albums. He has achieved record sales with 40 Gold albums, 21 Platinum albums, and 11 Multi-Platinum albums.
A Grammy Award-winning artist, Diamond is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, and has recently received The Johnny Mercer Award and the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, two of the highest honours bestowed upon songwriters. Diamond's many other achievements include a Golden Globe Award, 13 Grammy nominations, ASCAP Film and Television Award, Billboard Icon Award, American Music Award, and 2009's NARAS's MusiCares Person of the Year Award. In 2011, Diamond received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime of contributions to American culture.
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Track Lists
Hot August Night
Side A
Prologue
Crunchy Granola Suite
Done Too Soon
Solitary Man
Cherry Cherry
Sweet Caroline
Side B
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
Side C
Play Me
Canta Libre
Morningside
Song Sung Blue
Cracklin' Rosie
Side D
Holly Holy
I Am...I Said
Soolaimon/Brother Love's Travelling Salvation (Encore)
Love At The Greek (2LP)
Side A
Street Life
Kentucky Woman
Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good)
The Last Picasso
Longfellow Serenade
Side B
Beautiful Noise
Lady-Oh
Stargazer
If You Know What I Mean
Surviving The Life
Side C
Glory Road
Song Sung Blue
Holly Holy
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
Side D
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Bee
Dear Father
Lonely Looking Sky
Sanctus
Skybird
Be (Encore)
I've Been This Way Before
Hot August Night II (2LP)
Side A
Song Of The Whales (Fanfare)
Headed For The Future
September Morn
Thank The Lord For The Night Time
Cherry, Cherry
Sweet Caroline
Side B
Hello Again
Love On The Rocks
America
Forever In Blue Jeans
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
Side C
I Dreamed A Dream
Back In L.A.
Song Sung Blue
Cracklin' Rosie
I Am…I Said
Side D
Holly Holy
Soolaimon
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
Heartlight
Hot August Night III (Recorded At The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. August 2012) (2LP)
Side A
Overture
Soolaimon
Beautiful Noise
Forever In Blue Jeans
Play Me
Red Red Wine
Side B
You Got To Me
Cherry Cherry
Kentucky Woman
Solitary Man
Cracklin' Rosie
Side C
I'm A Believer
Holly Holy
Sweet Caroline
Sweet Caroline Reprise 1:49
Side D
I Am…I Said
America
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
I've Been This Way Before
Walk Off
Hot August Night / NYC Live From Madison Square Garden (2LP)
Side A
Opening / Holly Holy
Streetlife
Beautiful Noise
Love On The Rocks
Play Me
Side B
Thank The Lord For The Time Time
Home Before Dark
Don't Go There
Pretty Amazing Grace
Done Too Soon
Side C
Brooklyn Roads
I Am...I Said
Solitary Man
Kentucky Woman
Forever In Blue Jeans ORE
Side D
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
Song Sung Blue
Man Of God
Hell Yeah
All-Time Greatest Hits (2LP)
Side A
Cracklin' Rosie
Forever In Blue Jeans
Song Sung Blue
Sweet Caroline
Holly Holy
Red, Red Wine
Side B
Hello Again
Beautiful Noise
America
September Morn
Love On The Rocks
Side C
Shilo
You Don't Bring Me Flowers (Duet Version-Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond)
Morningside
Soolaimon
Play Me
Kentucky Woman
Side D
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon
Solitary Man
I'm A Believer
Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show
Cherry, Cherry
I Am… I Said