I was working my first full time job, in January 1975. Receiving my first pay packet, (an actual packet with cash in it) the following week, my first stop was Palings Music store where I purchased Neil Diamond’s double live album Hot August Night. It seemed at the time that every household had a copy of the album. My first pay was a total of $38, whilst I don’t recall the exact amount I paid for the album I know it was more than half of my pay. It was an enormously popular album staying in the Australian charts for years. Diamond was a prolific songwriter for himself as well as other artist, the double album was a great showcase of his songbook. I play it today and it takes me back to those days in the 70’s, when vinyl was king.
