Neil Diamond at the Electric Proms - many say this IS the best ever performance of this song. Maybe it is, maybe its on a par with the Hot August Night version.
This is not just a song, it's a production - it needs the full orchestra to get the majesty of it out there. Not too many voices could live with all those musicians - but Neil Diamond can. This has long been one of my favourites and it's wonderful to hear it again.
I saw Neil Diamond in 1976 in Australia,(Sidney Myer Melbourne Music Bowl) I was an excited young man of 3. I got off my Mum's lap, possibly in Sooliamon- I am a drummer and always have been, I made ten rows down to the front of the stage. I can't really remember Neil's happy comments, but I can remember Mum scooping me up. I possibly went to sleep for the rest of the gig. We got a Fokker F 27 on the way home and we sat next to the engines and it was the first headache I had but, thanks Neil.
I think this IS the best performance of this song. I don't know if it's the setting, the performance or a combination of both that makes this so fascinating. It has a dream like feel.
Neil said, probably 40 years ago, that this song has magic... and I believe it does! I know that pretty much every performance of it that I'VE ever seen is magical to me... just takes you to another place... and watching Neil, feeling, so passionately, every single word - it's just, well, magical!! 🪄🌟💖👏👏👏
This song ,the way it was played by the band,the way the BBC orchestra backed it up ,Neil singing it by himself without his backup singers is the reason it has a dream like feel. I find myself playing it over and over again.
This song always had a great orchestral background even in the early days and now it is even better. As well as other songs. What a difference a small variation in sound can make.
No one sings it like Neil... love this mans' songs. Avid fan since I was five-years old. 40 years ago, it started with using Jonathan Livingston Seagull music as a gymnastics routine background and ending... well, it hasn't ended yet! Neil surpasses time!! :)
OK...After watching this at least 15 times.......This is it.......TOTALLY, FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!! One of the absulute best versions of Holly, Holy.........If you are here ...This is as good as it gets..Speaking as a musician,..Some nights are good ...But this night was great magic, A special moment in time if you will........Musically speaking...Fantastic!!!
If this isn't the best damn version of this awesome masterpiece live, then it's in the top-3, bar none! Hot August Night: Neil's vocals were raw, dynamic, the man was bringing it that night and the arrangement was fantastic. But this version was powerful and somewhat closer to the original studio release (my all-time favourite, the best!). And Neil brought something different this time with the vocals: I don't know if it was the venue, the audience or even the orchestra, but he came up with a new vibe to this performance, I don't think I've ever saw nor heard him do, but it was incredible, and unbelievably moving. Perhaps less was more: No backing vocals (which can and has been a distraction at times), and this time with the BBC Orchestra arrangement, Neil went back to the past and brought that old-time gospel that was Neil Diamond from the 1969 -1973: A Man & His Music, Both On Fire. And it works so damn good. Kicking Ass!
I also love the 76 Love at the Greek - especially because you can SEE (and feel!) how much he gives when he performs this song!! Truly magnificent! (and watch the LATG performance through to the follow up, I Am I Said... My God! That he could even stand up after that is a miracle... the man is Magic!!! (And for anyone who doesn't think that Neil is an amazing singer... suck on that!)ua-cam.com/video/trF4IFS0JT0/v-deo.html
This version is superb live, and is definitely right up there with the BEST of his performances of this masterpiece. But I still think HOT AUGUST NIGHT is the pinnacle of all of Neil's performances
i find it amazing that in the beginning he never wanted to be a performer, he just wanted to write songs, apparently it took a lot of hard work for him to become confident on stage, but you'd never think it, he seems such a natural born entertainer. a true showman, singer and songwriter, he's got the lot !
On this day in 1969 {November 30th} Neil Diamond performed "Holly Holy" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'... Four weeks earlier on November 1st it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eventually it peaked at #6 and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100... It reached #3 in Australia... In 1970 it was covered by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars; their version peaked at #33 on the R&B chart and #75 on the Top 100... R.I.P. Mr. Walker {1931 - 1995} and Mr. Sullivan {1901 - 1974}
OMG.....this is wonderful...I thought the gorgeous boy with his soul in his eyes who first performed this beautiful song was long gone but no! Here he is in this mature, powerful performance
I agree with Mark . I was going to mention the A&E performance. This song is best performed with a full orchestra. The strings really bring it home. What a great song!
An amazingly talented and humble artist. I never tire of listening to his incredible catalogue of music.. He was born to be famous... This is by far the best version of this song I have listened to.
How awesome is it to see Neil getting into his classic, after probably performing it thousands of times, with such true and raw passion and power! My God!! I hope the people who were there realized what an incredible thing they got to be part of!! WOW!!!!! 🔥🌟🔥🌟🔥🌟🌟🌟
Quanto mais velho melhor mas suas artes de cantar. Você é um cantor fenomenal vejo seus vídeos e ouço sua músicas a muitos anos. Levi Matos Sorocaba Est SP Brasil
Wow. That DEFINITELY has to be the best arrangement I've ever heard - awesome and powerful. But I think I still prefer the "smoother" vocals from a vintage French TV 1971:Neil Diamond - Holly Holy (Rare, live)
Just when you thought HAN(1972) couldn't be bettered Neil proves us all wrong. This is MAGICAL 😮😅
No voice compares with Neil Diamond. A favorite for 50 plus years!!😃
Greatest of all time!
Mr Diamond is and always will be awesome!
Brilliant - I was there on the night and it was even better live!
This is not just a song, it's a production - it needs the full orchestra to get the majesty of it out there. Not too many voices could live with all those musicians - but Neil Diamond can. This has long been one of my favourites and it's wonderful to hear it again.
Right you are! Damn he is filled with power.
First heard this masterpiece when I was 10, and still love it just as much today
❤
❤ FACT ❤ I'VE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE SEEN NEIL DIAMOND MANY TIMES ❤ I LOVE HIS VOICE AND MUSIC 😊
is no mix no instruments no voice no performance is just the composer and then the music is. Neil is one of them…a great one of them - Composers!
Well: Yes! THIS is music! And THIS is a true singer-songwriter.
His influence on music was (and still is) tremendous.
He is the BEST!!
I saw Neil Diamond in 1976 in Australia,(Sidney Myer Melbourne Music Bowl) I was an excited young man of 3. I got off my Mum's lap, possibly in Sooliamon- I am a drummer and always have been, I made ten rows down to the front of the stage. I can't really remember Neil's happy comments, but I can remember Mum scooping me up. I possibly went to sleep for the rest of the gig. We got a Fokker F 27 on the way home and we sat next to the engines and it was the first headache I had but, thanks Neil.
This is so good, I feel like crying... with the power of it all.
The one and only neil diamond there'll never be another ❤❤❤
This might be the best "come on now yeah ha" I've ever heard.
Best comment, ever!
I think this IS the best performance of this song. I don't know if it's the setting, the performance or a combination of both that makes this so fascinating. It has a dream like feel.
Neil said, probably 40 years ago, that this song has magic... and I believe it does! I know that pretty much every performance of it that I'VE ever seen is magical to me... just takes you to another place... and watching Neil, feeling, so passionately, every single word - it's just, well, magical!! 🪄🌟💖👏👏👏
❤FACT
This song ,the way it was played by the band,the way the BBC orchestra backed it up ,Neil singing it by himself without his backup singers is the reason it has a dream like feel. I find myself playing it over and over again.
This song always had a great orchestral background even in the early days and now it is even better. As well as other songs. What a difference a small variation in sound can make.
THIS IS AWESOME!!! I'M IN MY 20'S AND LOVE THIS
You have excellent taste!
No one sings it like Neil... love this mans' songs. Avid fan since I was five-years old. 40 years ago, it started with using Jonathan Livingston Seagull music as a gymnastics routine background and ending... well, it hasn't ended yet! Neil surpasses time!! :)
Awesome!!!!!! One of the greatest songs ever!!!!!
I really LOVE this version, without the backup singers, and just the orchestra. And...watching him play that guitar, speechless!
OK...After watching this at least 15 times.......This is it.......TOTALLY, FRIGGIN AWESOME!!!!! One of the absulute best versions of Holly, Holy.........If you are here ...This is as good as it gets..Speaking as a musician,..Some nights are good ...But this night was great magic, A special moment in time if you will........Musically speaking...Fantastic!!!
If this isn't the best damn version of this awesome masterpiece live, then it's in the top-3, bar none! Hot August Night: Neil's vocals were raw, dynamic, the man was bringing it that night and the arrangement was fantastic. But this version was powerful and somewhat closer to the original studio release (my all-time favourite, the best!). And Neil brought something different this time with the vocals: I don't know if it was the venue, the audience or even the orchestra, but he came up with a new vibe to this performance, I don't think I've ever saw nor heard him do, but it was incredible, and unbelievably moving. Perhaps less was more: No backing vocals (which can and has been a distraction at times), and this time with the BBC Orchestra arrangement, Neil went back to the past and brought that old-time gospel that was Neil Diamond from the 1969 -1973: A Man & His Music, Both On Fire. And it works so damn good. Kicking Ass!
Nowhere near his superb Hot August Night effort.
I also love the 76 Love at the Greek - especially because you can SEE (and feel!) how much he gives when he performs this song!! Truly magnificent! (and watch the LATG performance through to the follow up, I Am I Said... My God! That he could even stand up after that is a miracle... the man is Magic!!! (And for anyone who doesn't think that Neil is an amazing singer... suck on that!)ua-cam.com/video/trF4IFS0JT0/v-deo.html
This version is superb live, and is definitely right up there with the BEST of his performances of this masterpiece. But I still think HOT AUGUST NIGHT is the pinnacle of all of Neil's performances
The BEST Holly Holy since 1972
Neil Diamond at his greatest. I have lived everything he has written, but this without the backing vocals is exactly as he wrote it. Wonderful
LOVE this man songs and who he is. There will never be another like him and songs he made.
One of the very best singers in the world. What a voice!
i find it amazing that in the beginning he never wanted to be a performer, he just wanted to write songs, apparently it took a lot of hard work for him to become confident on stage, but you'd never think it, he seems such a natural born entertainer. a true showman, singer and songwriter, he's got the lot !
profound things make us cry
His music is so relaxing but so powerful.
I can listen to it for hours and hours and at the end i am a better person everytime.
Now that is beautiful. Thank you Neil. 🙏🌹♥️
There will never be another like Neil.
Neil has performed in England many times in his long career. Always gives tremendous performances there.
Almost 70 years old here and he's still KILLING it! Damn!
Still killing it at 75 :)
Killing it at 76!
This was already one of the truly great songs - but this version takes it to another level - scarcely believable, but oh so true.... An inspiration.
I saw 28 Neil Diamond concerts. You may think that is "sick" but this performance shows what a great performer, singer, and songwriter he is.
If this doesn't move you then you are bereft of all feeling.SUPERB.
Shut up
The whole world loves Neil Diamond!! ❤❤❤❤❤
Hot august night ❤❤❤
woooooooooooooooooooooow!! when I´m old I will still love this song and Neil.
Lo mejor q se pudo ver y escuchar en esos años
Some folks can really deliver a song.. Johnny Cash was one.. (RIP) ..but we still have Neil Diamond!!!!
Just WOW. Thanks so much for posting.
On this day in 1969 {November 30th} Neil Diamond performed "Holly Holy" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
Four weeks earlier on November 1st it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eventually it peaked at #6 and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100...
It reached #3 in Australia...
In 1970 it was covered by Jr. Walker & the All-Stars; their version peaked at #33 on the R&B chart and #75 on the Top 100...
R.I.P. Mr. Walker {1931 - 1995} and Mr. Sullivan {1901 - 1974}
You can feel the POWER OF LOVE ( that which is ) coming through Neil Diamond ' s HOLLY HOLY song.
So glad to hear this ..This was amazing..raw, Neil at his best..Orchestra was really into it..again ..this is a wow!
OMG.....this is wonderful...I thought the gorgeous boy with his soul in his eyes who first performed this beautiful song was long gone but no! Here he is in this mature, powerful performance
Absolutely awesome !
Angels are sleeping through HOLY songs! Fantastic song and performer!
un grand monsieur Neil Diamond! merci !
C'est vrai José !! un très grand Monsieur ...
J'adoooore - j'étais FAN dans les années 70.
Bisous.
I agree with Mark . I was going to mention the A&E performance. This song is best performed with a full orchestra. The strings really bring it home. What a great song!
+Sherry Hughes Agree that it is much better with a full orchestra. I think Neil probably would concur.
+mrbobevans Just as it was recorded back in 1969 , love it !
OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH
I LOVE THIS MAN !!!!!!! IVE LISTENED TO NEIL DIAMOND MY ENTIRE LIFE
Neil Diamond is wonderful.
That is an awesome song that Neil did. Wow.
How I love this mans music!! Have been listening to him since I was 14!
Only a year then!.
Listened since my dad had a cassette with beautiful noise on, over 30 yrs ago bin a fan since,
No one else sounds like Neil diamond, class class class
Wow phenomenal
Awesome - one of my favs !
Love it! Just great
Fantastic!!!!
Almost speechless... EPIC!!!!!!!! 🌟💖🌟👑🏆🌟
Awesome!
An amazingly talented and humble artist. I never tire of listening to his incredible catalogue of music.. He was born to be famous... This is by far the best version of this song I have listened to.
IF DREAMS ARE HOLY THEN DREAMERS ARE ANGELS SLEEPING
This song is a religious experience
Heard this on the Netflix series Midnight Mass and had to hear it again.
It is an absolute awesome masterpiece and yes holy in it's beauty.
How awesome is it to see Neil getting into his classic, after probably performing it thousands of times, with such true and raw passion and power! My God!! I hope the people who were there realized what an incredible thing they got to be part of!! WOW!!!!! 🔥🌟🔥🌟🔥🌟🌟🌟
Oh Yes!!!
Neil neste vídeo está com 70 anos, cantando ainda com a voz maravilhosa de sempre. God Bless Neil. Outubro 2020. 0squestra magnífica também.
Sim, linda demais!
Neil was so good, I didn't think he was real. after hearing him the first time.
Magnificent
That's damn good! I don't know if I would go as far as saying it's as good as Hot August Night, but it's really, really good!
Just awesome...
Olé , Ole y Olé ,me encanta esta y todas las canciones de Neil Diamond, muy bien
Quanto mais velho melhor mas suas artes de cantar. Você é um cantor fenomenal vejo seus vídeos e ouço sua músicas a muitos anos. Levi Matos Sorocaba Est SP Brasil
Gives me goosebumps! this is not the genre of music and I cannot stop watching this video.
Fabulous concert
Wow. That DEFINITELY has to be the best arrangement I've ever heard - awesome and powerful. But I think I still prefer the "smoother" vocals from a vintage French TV 1971:Neil Diamond - Holly Holy (Rare, live)
Just watched it, amazing how it stays so powerful over the years.
What a fascinating crowdpleaser👍🤟
Poderosamente Glorioso .. !!
Niel has a voice in a million, so good !!!
Me encanta, preciosa canción .A BAILAR !!!
Love this one ❤️💎
I love this song.its a real turn in
It a a real turn on.did you know that when you wrote it?
I will love Neil Diamond for always and forever . My dream in life is he would hold my hand and sing "Holly Holy" to me.
Wonderful !!!!!.
I love this song cause my is Holly
nice song
thanks shared on pinterest
Awesome awesome awesome
❤
So powerful!
Thank you for your comments - I am pleased most of you have enjoyed this version as much as I have - shear brilliance - IMHO :)
This is very, very good but the Hot August Night 1972 version is on a totally different level!
the drummers name is Ronny Tutt: He was the drummer of the king: Elvis Presley.
Thanks Ronny
Glorioso ! ssensacional Neil Daiamond. Amoooo....
1:30 chills.
En mi opinion la mejor versión de este tema junto al álbum en vivo Noche Calida de Agosto
EPIC !!!
Do yourself a favor and watch the 1971 BBC version of this song, you'll get it raw, uncut w/ Diamond in his prime.
ORGAZMICA.......
Yeah, Yeah...2022 hello everyone
Allez voir ce qu'il a fait 40 ans avant, la même intensité
COMINGONAYEAAAAAHHHHAAAAAA