Maps of Music
Hot August Night (1972)
Where the lyrics of Hot August Night take you, and where it was really made.
Hot August Night was recorded during one month, when Neil Diamond played ten sold-out nights at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
View on the mapKey places
Recorded at the Greek Theatre, 24 August 1972 (1972)
Recording site Greek Theatre — The concert that became this album was recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on 24 August 1972, one of ten sold-out shows that month. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- Hot August Night: 1972 live double album by Neil Diamond
- Recorded in concert at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, on 24 August 1972
- Released 25 November 1972 on MCA Records
- One of ten sold-out concerts Diamond played at the Greek Theatre that August
- Later sequels: Hot August Night II (1987), Hot August Night/NYC (2009), Hot August Night III (2018)
- Also the live album Love at the Greek, issued in 1977
Background
- Ten sold-out shows at the Greek Theatre in August 1972
- The title refers to August, the month of the recording
- The title also draws on the phrase from Diamond's song Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show
Recording
- Recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles
- Orchestra of 36 musicians conducted by Lee Holdridge
- Eight musicians from Diamond's own band played alongside him
- Diamond also played guitar
- Engineer credited: Armin Steiner
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com
Artist
Career
- American singer-songwriter born January 24, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Jewish family.
- Began as a staff songwriter at Sunbeam Music Publishing and worked in the Brill Building in the 1960s.
- Wrote hits for others, including "I'm a Believer" and "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You" recorded by the Monkees.
- Solo breakthrough with "Sweet Caroline" (1969), followed by "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Song Sung Blue", both No. 1 on the Hot 100.
- Live album Hot August Night (1972) recorded at the Greek Theater, Los Angeles.
- Starred in the 1980 remake The Jazz Singer and won a Razzie for Worst Actor.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
- Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and stopped touring in 2018.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Rolling Stone critic Lester Bangs called it a fine presentation of Diamond's entire range
- Bangs described the pop music as great, pretentious and goofy, with a melodramatic, hymn-like feeling
Reappraisal
- AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it the ultimate Neil Diamond record, showing him as an icon in full glory
- Rob Sheffield, in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), called it the triumph of Neilness
- Sheffield said the music is slightly more lax than the studio recordings but festive
Records
- Australia: 29 weeks at number 1 during 1973 and 1974
- Australia: number 1 album of 1973 and number 3 of 1974
- Australia: re-entered the top 10 in 1982
- US Billboard: peaked at number 5
- Cumulative Australian sales estimated above one million units in a 1996 estimate
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- The title draws on August, the recording month, and a phrase from Diamond's song Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show.
- In 1996, MCA Australia's managing director estimated that cumulative Australian sales had exceeded one million units.
- The copyright line on the release reads 1973 while the concert took place in 1972.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com
View on the map