Long bootlegged but escaping official release until it became part of
Neil Young
's Official Bootleg Series in 2022,
Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live at the Bottom Line)
captures
Young
giving a surprise solo acoustic show after
Leon Redbone
and
Ry Cooder
wrapped up their sets at New York's The Bottom Line on May 16, 1974.
Neil
finished the sessions for
On the Beach
the previous month, but it was still a few months away from release, so the audience isn't familiar with the wealth of material from the record.
plays most of
, including "Revolution Blues" and the entirety of its dark, sludgy second half, all of which sounds brighter when delivered on-stage. The attentive audience doesn't treat "On the Beach" or "Motion Pictures" as apocalyptic messages; they laugh at the pissing in the wind line on "Ambulance Blues." The audio has been cleaned up considerably, but
Citizen Kane Jr. Blues
still feels like a bootleg recording: the crowd noises are prominent and
sounds just slightly pushed back in the mix, as if you're listening from the back of the audience, instead of the front. All these slight aural imperfections emphasize the extraordinary casualness of the gig.
is loose but not sloppy as he plays songs largely unknown to his audience. In addition to the
material, he opens with "Citizen Kane Jr. Blues," which would later morph into "Push It Over the End," leads into "Long May You Run," covers the folk standard "Greensleeves," and rambles through "Roll Another Number" and "Pardon My Heart," leaving "Dance Dance Dance" and "Helpless" as the only tunes recognizable to the 1974 crowd. Far from sounding restless, the audience pays rapt attention, and
responds with an openhearted, slightly buzzed performance that shines light on this period of gloom. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine