News

Hot on the heels of the announcement of the fourth volume of Neil Young’s Official Release Series, the singer-songwriter has announced three more live additions to his Official Bootleg Series which kicked off last fall with the release of Carnegie Hall 1970.  On May 6, Young will deliver two more shows from 1971 and one from 1974, and each of the three releases will be available on CD and digital platforms.  Vinyl versions will follow on June 3, and purchases made directly via Young’s Greedy Hand Store will be accompanied by a free high-resolution digital download.

The two 1971 releases are both of solo acoustic concerts following the September 1970 release of Young’s third album, After the Gold Rush.  Royce Hall 1971 was recorded at UCLA on January 30 and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 1971 at the large concert hall at L.A.’s Music Center on February 1; the latter show was the final U.S. performance of Young’s solo tour that year.  Both titles have been derived from the original analog master tapes and both feature a near-identical setlist of Young solo future classics (“Old Man,” “The Needle and the Damage Done,” “A Man Needs a Maid,” “Heart of Gold”) and Buffalo Springfield staples (“On the Way Home,” “I Am a Child”).  Royce Hall boasts one additional track: “Down by the River” from 1969’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Citizen Kane Jr. Blues (Live at The Bottom Line), recorded during a surprise set at the late, lamented New York City club on May 16, 1974, has been mastered and restored from existing bootlegs as no professional master recording exists.  The show took place just a couple of months before the release in July of On the Beach and previews a number of songs from that LP (“Ambulance Blues,” “Motion Pictures,” “Revolution Blues,” and the title track) plus highlights from the discographies of CSNY (“Helpless”), Crazy Horse (“Dance, Dance, Dance”), and The Stills-Young Band (“Long May You Run,” which would be released in 1976).  “Roll Another Number (For the Road)” and “Pardon My Heart” would show up on Tonight’s the Night and Zuma, respectively, in 1975.  The title track was introduced as “Citizen Kane Jr. Blues” at the show but was retitled “Pushed It Over the End” when CSNY performed it on their stadium tour that summer.

Original bootleg artwork has been replicated where possible, and Young has also tried to capture a vintage feel; the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion release features replicated ringwear on the LP sleeve.  All three new installments of the Original Bootleg Series arrive from Neil Young and Reprise Records on May 6 (CD/digital) and June 3 (vinyl).

Neil Young, OBS 3: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles: February 1, 1971) (Reprise, 2022)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. On the Way Home
2. Tell Me Why
3. Old Man
4. Journey Through the Past
5. Cowgirl in the Sand
6. Heart of Gold
7. A Man Needs a Maid
8. Sugar Mountain
9. Don’t Let It Bring You Down
10. Love in Mind
11. The Needle and the Damage Done
12. Ohio
13. See the Sky About to Rain
14. I Am a Child
15. Dance Dance Dance

Neil Young, OBS 4: Royce Hall (Los Angeles: January 30, 1971) (Reprise, 2022)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. On the Way Home
2. Tell Me Why
3. Old Man
4. Journey Through the Past
5. Cowgirl in the Sand
6. Heart of Gold
7. A Man Needs a Maid
8. See the Sky About to Rain
9. Sugar Mountain
10. Don’t Let It Bring You Down
11. Love in Mind
12. The Needle and the Damage Done
13. Ohio
14. Down by the River
15. Dance Dance Dance
16. I Am a Child

Neil Young, OBS 5: Citizen Kane Jr. Blues (Live at The Bottom Line) (NYC: May 16, 1974) (Reprise, 2022

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1. Pushed It Over The End
2. Long May You Run
3. Greensleeves
4. Ambulance Blues
5. Helpless
6. Revolution Blues
7. On the Beach
8. Roll Another Number (For the Road)
9. Motion Pictures
10. Pardon My Heart
11. Dance Dance Dance