Neil Young - Bottom Line 1974: The New York Broadcast (2017)

RARE 1974 PERFORMANCE FROM NEW YORK S BOTTOM LINE CLUB Deeply affected by the narcotic-induced deaths of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten in 1972 and roadie Bruce Berry the following year, Neil Young became somewhat adrift and lost in a haze of drugs and drink following these tragic events. He went on to record the brooding Ditch trilogy , starting with the live Time Fades Away in 1973, followed by Tonight s The Night (which commemorated Berry in its title track) recorded in 73 but not released until 1975, and On The Beach in 1974. By mid 74 Young was reaching the end his dark period and on May 16th that year he performed the show now released on this CD for the first time. A wholly unplanned and spontaneous event, Young had been an audience member at a Ry Cooder gig that evening, played at the Bottom Line in New York, and so inspired was he by what he d witnessed that at Cooder s conclusion he took to the stage and performed this quite extraordinary set. In typical Neil Young fashion, much of the material featured is from then unreleased albums, including numbers to come on Tonight s The Night, On The Beach and 1975 s Zuma. His more familiar material was not absent however, and Neil even includes a version of the old Buffalo Springfield tune Flying On The Ground Is Wrong . All captured live on FM radio, Young s entire performance was a fascinating rare collection of such songs as Ambulance Blues , Pardon My Heart and Revolution Blues , presented here in a seldom-heard solo acoustic format.