NEIL YOUNG : CARNEGIE HALL 1970

 

Disc One (45:50)

  1. Down by the River
  2. Cinnamon Girl
  3. I Am a Child
  4. Expecting to Fly
  5. The Loner
  6. Wonderin'
  7. Helpless
  8. Southern Man
  9. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
  10. Sugar Mountain

Disc Two (45:15)

  1. On the Way Home
  2. Tell Me Why
  3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
  4. Old Man
  5. After the Gold Rush
  6. Flying On the Ground Is Wrong
  7. Cowgirl in the Sand
  8. Don't Let It Bring You Down
  9. Birds
  10. Bad Fog of Loneliness
  11. Ohio
  12. See the Sky About to Rain
  13. Dance Dance Dance

Label : Reprise

Venue : Carnegie Hall, New York City, New York, USA

Recording Date : December 4, 1970

Release Date : October 1, 2021

Review (AllMusic) : Neil Young had just released his third solo album After the Gold Rush a few months before he played Carnegie Hall in December of 1970, where he offered up a new set of introspective songs that were relatively toned down when compared to the stomping full-band jamming of 1969's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. This would just be the beginning of a run of classic albums that continued throughout the '70s, and both sides of Young's musical personality - the hushed and patient songwriter side, and the side that tended toward rugged rock - were integral to how that peerless run played out. Young appeared alone on-stage at Carnegie Hall, playing stripped-down versions of his songs on acoustic guitar and piano to an audience so rapt they remained completely silent even as he took his time tuning the guitar and bantering between songs. He played two nights at Carnegie Hall, and while audience recordings of the second show found their way onto various bootlegs over the years, no bootlegs were ever made of the first night. Carnegie Hall 1970 offers the first public release of multi-track recordings from that first night, finding Young in rare form and delivering a diverse set list that included material from his records up to that point, as well as tunes that hadn't been released yet. Songs that were raging and blusterous on record, like "Cinnamon Girl," "Southern Man," and "Cowgirl in the Sand," are mysterious and tender in their solo renditions, peeling away the distortion and guitar heroics to expose the lingering melancholy and aching beauty that so often lie at the core of Young's songwriting. Already, folksy acoustic songs like "Tell Me Why," and the piano-based "Birds" take on an even more marked intimacy on Carnegie Hall 1970. Young's legendarily quaky voice conveys the loneliness, hope, loss, and appreciation of his lyrics with a profound impact when he stands alone with a single instrument. Die-hard fans will want to listen closely to versions of "See the Sky About to Rain," "Old Man," and "Bad Fog of Loneliness," all of which had yet to be recorded and commercially released at the time of these performances. It speaks to the creative streak Young was in the thick of at that time (and would continue in various forms for the majority of his career) that he was already tired of playing his groundbreaking songs that were only a few years old and was eager to get the next ones out. Any Young completist will need Carnegie Hall 1970, but it's a special performance that can be appreciated by more casual listeners as well. Alone at the microphone, the purity, simplicity, and one-of-a-kind magic of some of Neil Young's best songs come into view in a way that's undeniable.

Review (PlatoMania) : Het aantal reguliere live-albums van Neil Young was al groot, en met zijn Archive Series voegde Young daar al vele aan toe. Alsof dat nog niet genoeg is, komt Young ook nog met zijn Official Bootleg Series. Deze opname uit december 1970 bevat niet alleen sobere uitvoeringen van Cowgirl In The Sand, Down By The River, Helpless en Sugar Mountain, maar op de setlist stonden ook nummers als Bad Fog Of Loneliness, See The Sky About To Rain en Old Man die pas later op reguliere albums verschenen - of helemaal nooit. Young is in topvorm en hoewel er zeker de nodige overlap is met de al eerder uitgebrachte opnames op Live At Massey Hall en Live At The Cellar Door en er inmiddels wel erg veel live-opnames van Young beschikbaar zijn, is Carnegie Hall 1970 een prachtig document. Later dit jaar volgen nog vijf concertregistraties uit Youngs rijke archief.

Review (Spectrum Culture) : Everyone might as well get into the bootleg game. Neil Young's been digging through his archives for a while now, but with Carnegie Hall 1970, he begins "The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series." The show makes a good starting point. On December 4, 1970, Young played two solo acoustic shows at Carnegie Hall. Bootleggers captured the later show and it's long circulated, but this opening set has remained hidden until now, when Young and engineer Niko Bolas mixed the 50-year-old recording for a proper unveiling. Although we've been treated to plenty of Young material in recent years, the excellent sound and stellar performance proves to be the right way to start a new series. The timing of the original show could hardly have been better. Young was in the midst of one of his career peaks, having released Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere the year before and After the Gold Rush just months prior, with Harvest circuitously around the corner. He was coming out of a fruitful if chaotic period with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and had an abundance of fresh (some unreleased), impressive material. For his Carnegie Hall show, Young pulled the best of this material into a pretty stunning setlist. Young might be in singer-songwriter mode, but his first two picks get him into rock territory, opening with "Down By the River" and "Cinnamon Girl." The former never fully cuts loose, getting an almost-dreamy treatment (the mix throughout the album keeps the vocals prominent, adding to the effect). The second song picks up just a touch, but positions Young in that sweet spot where he blends folk and rock. As the concert progresses, he moves less in and out of styles than he defines a central direction. It's a different Young than we'd see, for example, playing with Crazy Horse, but he still delivers an energy appropriate to the show's style. Less than two months later, Young would record Live at Massey Hall 1971, and that album remains the relevant comparison for this one. The Carnegie release contains more material and a touch more enthusiasm (possibly because he hadn't yet sustained the back injury that would bother him the following year). Young provides some humor in the middle of the show as he needs repeated attempts to get "Sugar Mountain" going well. Both he and the audience stay in good spirits about it, and the final take rewards everyone's patience. Later he jokes about how everyone cheers for his piano intros even though he doesn't play very well. The show's sequence works perfectly, and Young's choice to put the unreleased "Old Man" right after his then-current hit "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" shows particular wisdom. Closing with "See the Sky About to Rain" (which would get an official release for years) and "Dance Dance Dance" (to appear on Crazy Horse's self-titled 1971 debut) shouldn't work, but the quality of the songs and the directness of Young's performances carry them through. The show ends with the audience still enthused and ready for more, even if it would be some folk songs from the future. The challenge with the album comes simply in the amount of Neil Young material we're getting. Between Massey Hall and Live at the Cellar Door, the period hasn't been neglected. As more and more archive releases come out, the dangers of overabundance arise. So far, any fears along those lines have been unfounded. Carnegie Hall 1970 sets a new standard for the era and it offers enough variety to suggest that Young should keep the tap running. Whether he classifies the releases as Archives Performance Series, Official Bootlegs or something else, it seems like there's plenty of quality and diversity to warrant the high output of old music.