Hot August Night
Double-live albums weren't yet an industry staple when Neil Diamond unleashed this ignore-me-at-your-peril statement of serious artistic intent in 1972.Hot August Nighteffects a meld of Vegas-eraElvisand Diamond's pretensions to singer-songwriter greatness. High drama carries the day, whether on rearranged versions of hisearly hits("Solitary Man," "Cherry Cherry") or epic showstoppers such as the "Soolaimon"-"Brother Love" medley. The roots of Diamond's supersized live productions of the '90s are right here.--Rickey Wright