July 2008 - Future Music Release Highlighted - Neil Diamond: Thank You Australia Concert: Live 1976

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Neil Diamond is one of the most successful songwriters of the last forty years. His songs have been recorded by a vast array of performers from many different musical genres, from the Monkees, Johnny Cash, Deep Purple, UB40 and Elvis Presley. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

As great of a songwriter Diamond is, he is also known for his spectacular stage show. This concert was filmed for TV at the Sydney Sports Stadium in 1976, an event that marked his comeback to the live stage after a four year sabbatical from live performance. This DVD demonstrates Diamond's skills as a performer and showman, as he reinvigorated his back catalogue of hits with new energy.

Amazingly, his career is still going strong. Diamond's latest May 2008 release (produced with Rick Ruben), Home Before Dark, is his first-ever chart-topping album.

Tracks 1) Missa 2) Soolaimon 3) Play Me 4) Solitary Man 5) Cherry Cherry 6) Sweet Caroline 7) The Last Picasso 8) Longfellow Serenade 9) Song Sung Blue 10) Cracklin' Rosie 11) Holly Holy 12) I Am...I Said 13) Anthem 14) Be 15) Dear Father 16) Skybird 17) Lonely Looking Sky 18) Anthem (reprise) 19) Be (reprise) 20) Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show 21) I've Been This Way Before

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**The Music Group Links**
 

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Just to update the group discussion, Neil Diamond: The Thank You Australia Concert: Live 1976 release date is now set for July 1st. It is available for selection at
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Neil_Diamond_The_Thank_You_Australia_C...

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Very early recordings of Neil didn't bust any chart

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A new Neil Diamond concert DVD and a TV Special tied to the release... all on August 14 from 8-9 PM on CBS-TV. Here is the press release:

A NEW NEIL DIAMOND CONCERT SPECIAL, "NEIL DIAMOND - HOT AUGUST NIGHT: NYC," TO BE BROADCAST FRIDAY, AUG. 14 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK


This Television Event Celebrates the DVD Release of "Hot August Night/NYC: Live From Madison Square Garden"


NEIL DIAMOND - HOT AUGUST NIGHT: NYC, a new concert special featuring highlights from one of Neil Diamond's most memorable recent concerts, will be broadcast Friday, Aug. 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The special features electrifying performances from Diamond's latest sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York. Diamond sings several of his classic and beloved Top Ten hits including "America," "Cracklin' Rosie," "I Am...I Said," "Cherry, Cherry" and the world's greatest sing-along song, "Sweet Caroline." In addition, Diamond reflects on a recent visit to his hometown, as he takes the audience on his journey from Brooklyn to Madison Square Garden, in an intimate look at the man behind the music.


The NEIL DIAMOND - HOT AUGUST NIGHT: NYC broadcast celebrates the simultaneous DVD release from Sony Music of the complete show recorded during Neil Diamond's historic four-night run at Madison Square Garden. Featuring over two hours of live music and 25 career-spanning hits, the DVD captures the dynamic energy that has epitomized Neil Diamond's live performances for over four decades and includes "Song Sung Blue," "Holly Holy," and the very first live release of "Pretty Amazing Grace" from his most recent #1 album, Home Before Dark. Also included is additional footage of the exclusive bonus feature "Welcome Home Neil," a behind-the-scenes look at Diamond's pilgrimage to his childhood home in Brooklyn. The DVD with bonus CD is available exclusively at all Wal-Mart locations and online at Walmart.com (www.walmart.com) beginning Friday, Aug. 14.

Neil Diamond's eclectic and universally beloved songs - as well as his charismatic and openhearted performances of them - continue to make him an international force both as a record maker and a live entertainer. In an impressive musical career that has spanned nearly five decades, he has released dozens of albums and sold more than 125 million records worldwide, with a remarkable track record of 15 Top Ten albums and 37 Top Ten singles. His songs such as "Sweet Caroline," "I Am...I Said," "Cracklin' Rosie," "America," "Song Sung Blue" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," and the rest of his vast catalog of hits, are the reason that this Grammy-winning artist was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and received the same organization's prestigious Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award. Among Diamond's many other notable honors, he has to date received a Golden Globe Award and 12 Grammy nominations and, in February, was named the 2009 MusiCares Person of the Year. His latest release, the critically acclaimed Home Before Dark, his first ever #1 debut, marked one of his most successful worldwide tours ever, solidifying his status as one of the most dynamic performers of our time.

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Neil Diamond performs "Cracklin Rose" on "Hot August Night NYC", DVD is available this week to rent.

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In Home After Dark, Diamond proves not only that can he still write great songs, but also that he can deliver them with toughness and grit as an expression of real beauty.

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