On May 16, 1974, Neil Young performed solo at the club "The Bottom Line" in New York City. It
was an impromptu gig following a performance by Leon
Redbone and Ry Cooder at the "Bottom Line".
Neil Young played a one-hour set of eleven songs that night. An astonishing five of the eleven songs played that night were
début performances and even more astonishingly 10 out of the 11 were
unreleased at the time.
Of the eleven songs performed only “Helpless” had been officially
released.
After the show, according to Village Voice, John Hammond offered a toast, saying Neil Young could reach any audience, any way he wanted. He also urged him to go back on tour alone and to communicate more directly with the audience again.
The show itself had a wonderfully feel-good, happy vibe.
Both Neil and the audience were very loose and Neil was in a humorous,
storytelling mood.
The Bottom Line Club, New York City
(Click photo to enlarge)
As Neil Young has been announcing for several years now (see Neil Young's Official Bootleg Series: Next 3 Vinyl Boots | NYA ), bootlegs are now incrementally being officially released. In May 2022, the 2nd batch (3 of 6) from Official Bootleg Series was released at long last.
Included in this batch is the well known bootleg Citizen Kane Jr. Blues from "The Bottom Line" in New York City on May 16, 1974.
image via Rusted Moon
The Bottom Line performance is so great.
ReplyDeleteI have a question though concerning the Dorothy Chandler bootleg, specifically the intro to I am a Child, where he starts by singing the first few lines of You & Me song that emerged years later on Harvest Moon.
Did he do this on other occasions on that tour? It doesn't happen on the Royce Hall recording.
According to Sugar Mountain, You & Me wasn't performed live before 1992, so it's interesting that part of that song was in his head somehow for 20 years before it emerged fully formed. Or was it always there?
The official (physical) release of 'Citizen Kane Jr. Blues' is disappointing as it omits much of Neil's stage chatter, most notably the 'Honey Slides Rap', which is hilarious and crucial. As a consequence, I still listen to my bootleg copy even after buying the official release. Thanks a bunch, Neil, have you joined D.A.R.E.?
ReplyDelete@ Steve - good question. don't have an answer ATM, but certainly some enterprising rustie out there does?!
ReplyDelete@ feastoffools - right, this has been pointed out repeatedly since release of Citizen Kane aka Bottom Line.
However, per our Rustie Pro Tip on Neil Young Archives in May @
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2022/05/rustie-pro-tip-on-neil-young-archives.html
all the raps -- like the notorious 'Honey Slides -- are on NYA but tricky to locate. The ever vigilant Lone Red Rider, shares a Rustie Pro Tip on navigating Neil Young Archives.
good luck!
and careful with those Honey Slides!
enjoy