From the album cover by Karen Shearer
Thursday August 24th 1972. A hot sultry summer night in California they call it earthquake weather, with the air hanging heavy over the open, glistening shell of the Greek Theatre, over 45oo people comfortable on the broad seats, over the countless others, the "tree people," clambering up the mountain and into the surrounding trees, casting eerie shadows against the walls, anything to have a glimpse of the stage and the man who will fill it. Hot August Night , and many of the people had been there on Tuesday and Wednesday and will be there again on Friday and the nights after that because , after all, Neil Diamond has come back to the Greek.
Then softly, the music begins, the lights dim. Slowly, the heavy fire doors roll back; the music rises, the stage is a smoky opalescent jewel in the darkness. But one light shines brighter than the others, a white pool in the brilliance, and, for an instant, sound hangs suspended, only the air breathing. Then he's there, the crowd exploding, Neil Diamond as casual as if it's the most natural thing in the world, those 5000 people demanding his soul. And, for the next 107 minutes, he gives it to them, a spontaneous, exhausting display of energy and sensuality. And the people are right there with him, screaming and cheering and applauding and beseeching, knowing all the words to all the songs but hearing them as for the first time, because that's what Neil Diamond gives them, singing as though he, too, were just discovering the heart and soul of the music, every number unique and exhilarating.
Too soon, almost before the moment is realized, it's over. The encore, the ovations, the bows - Neil Diamond has gone, in joy and triumph. And as the people begin to leave, reluctant, unwilling to relinquish the intimacy and the sensation, the silence again settles on the Greek, heavy and still until the next evening, when once again Neil Diamond will shatter the hot August night.