Hot August Night/NYC (Live from Madison Square Garden)

iTunes Review

Neil Diamond is a musical legend existing just outside the lines of the rock era. While he has recorded music that clearly rocks with defiance (“Holly Holy,” “Cherry, Cherry”), he has preferred to perfect his own singular brand of showmanship for a broad set of material that has plenty of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway in its soul. It is perhaps why he has become one of the most overlooked musical artists of the past century. (He is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). These performances recorded live at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in August 2008 make the case for Diamond as one of the most resilient and diverse entertainers still able to bring it to the stage. There is no absence of vocal power in “Beautiful Noise,” “Cracklin’ Rosie” and even “Sweet Caroline,” a song so infamous that the audience can carry it alone. “Love on the Rocks” retains its nightclub blues. “I’m A Believer,” “I Am…I Said,” “Forever In Blue Jeans,” “Solitary Man,” “Kentucky Woman,” the hits keep coming. Even tunes from his last solo album, Home Before Dark, such as the title track and “Pretty Amazing Grace,” hold their own against the better-known tunes.