Sweet Music NewsNeil Young’s ‘Bottom Line 1974 Concert’ To Officially Release As Bootleg
by Steve Cherkassky October 13, 2020
2021 will see the release of Neil Young’s latest addition to his official Bootleg Series. The production will feature a live recording of Young’s surprise show at New York’s Bottom Line on May 16th, 1974. The title of this concert is The Bottom Line – “Citizen Cane Jr. Blues.”
The Rock N’ Roll legend wrote on the Neil Young Archives about his state of mind during that time, saying “I just remember I was 28 years old, bare and letting it all out.” After the respective sets by Ry Cooder and Leon Redbone, Young walked onto the stage at 2:15 am without the audience suspecting a thing.
The pleasantly surprised crowd began to listen to a setlist featuring seven new songs at the time. Much of them would later be added to the tracklist of his then-upcoming album, ‘On The Beach.’ ‘Pushed It Over The End,’ which took inspiration from the events of Patti Hearst’s kidnapping, was played under a different title, going by ‘Citizen Cane Jr. Blues.’
Previously Unheard Classic Songs
“Two months later, the album ‘On The Beach’ was released, including songs I played that night — ‘Ambulance Blues,’ ‘Revolution Blues,’ ‘On The Beach’ and ‘Motion Pictures,’ recalled Young on the never-before-heard songs that he performed that evening in 1974.
“I just remember I was 28 years old, bare and letting it all out.”
My Take:
Neil Young has been a staple in my musical diet ever since I was a kid. His somber tenor floats with a raw gracefulness whenever he sings “Down By The River,” “Heart of Gold” or any of his classics. He’s such a prolific songwriter, that I’m discovering his deep-cut gems to this day. One example is when a close friend shared the song “Thrasher” with me for the first time. We were reminiscing about our personal lives, and how Young’s work was responsible for illuminating the context for these stories of our past. I couldn’t be more excited about this upcoming bootleg release, as well as the Archives Volume 2 box set coming on November 20th. It’ll certainly sate me during the long, lonesome wait.
