NEIL YOUNG : CITIZEN KANE JUNIOR BLUES

NEIL YOUNG : CITIZEN KANE JR. BLUES

Pushed It Over the End
Long May You Run
Greensleeves
Ambulance Blues
Helpless
Revolution Blues
On the Beach
Roll Another Number
Motion Pictures
Pardon My Heart
Dance Dance Dance

Label : Shakey Pictures Records

Venue : The Bottom Line, New York City, New York, USA

Recording Date : May 16, 1974

Release Date : May 6, 2022

Length : 54:23

Review (AllMusic) : 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. Young plays most of On the Beach, 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 Neil 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. Young is loose but not sloppy as he plays songs largely unknown to his audience. In addition to the On the Beach 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 Young responds with an openhearted, slightly buzzed performance that shines light on this period of gloom.

Review (Clash Music) : Neil Young live albums are like buses. He doesn't release one for a while, then puts out a few over a short period of time. One of the recent albums that stand out is 'Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live At the Bottom Line)'. This is partly down to the set list: 'Long May You Run', 'Greensleeves', 'Ambulance Blues', 'Helpless', 'On The Beach' and 'Motion Pictures' all feature giving the album a slightly sombre feel, compared to 'Young Shakespeare' and 'Royce Hall 1971' which feel almost jubilant by comparison. Also the audience are really into the set - "Play something country!" - and when he gives them a choice of songs they yell: "Play both!" Throughout the gig Neil Young sounds about a confident as he could be. He was riding the highest wave of his popularity with 'Harvest' being released two years before. The lack of 'Harvest' tracks is interesting, instead opting to play new songs from 'On The Beach' and the unreleased 'Tonight's The Night', 'Zuma' and 'Long May You Run' is remarkable. The contempt Young has for his fans by not playing the 'hits' and something new should be commended. It's almost like once he's released something he's on to the next album and wants to share these songs instead of the ones that made him a household name. This is why I get a kick out 'Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live At The Bottom Line)'. As usual around this time, Neil Young's links are insightful and funny. Before 'Long May You Run' he says "this a song about my car". "I bought a bus today. Can't stand those airplanes," he says. "Sell tickets!" an audience member shouts. "It's a big bus," he replies. When the chorus kicks in the audience gets the joke and laughs. There are two reasons for this laugh. One, it's a pretty funny joke. Writing such a tender song about a car is funny. The Beach Boys verse gets a laugh and mini-round of applause. Secondly he wouldn't release 'Long May You Run' for another two years, until the 1976 album with Stephen Stills. This is the first time the audience have probably heard this song. And this is the wonder of the album. You are almost listening for the audience's reactions more than the songs themselves. When listening to 'Citizen Kane Jr. Blues 1974 (Live At The Bottom Line)' you realise that it doesn't sound like Neil Young's recent live album. It has more of the feel of a bootleg as the sound quality is fuzzy. At one point you can hear the squeaky door to the venue open. There are coughs in the background and if you have the album loud enough you can hear the audience members talking. It works really well when you consider that The Bottom Line is a 400 capacity venue. The back row is probably a few feet away from Young and his microphone. All this gives the album a feel that other live albums don't really have. At first the drop in sound quality felt like a problem, but on repeat listens it's the album's strongest point. You feel like you are in the audience. Trying not to be that person who moves their chair during an acoustic gigs despite a leg cramp. The lack of pristine sound quality also gives the songs something they might have otherwise lost. They, and Neil Young himself, sound more vulnerable. I've never heard 'Ambulance Blues' sound so urgent. Which, considering some of the other songs, is very impressive.

Review (Amazon) : On May 16, 1974, Neil Young shambled onto the Bottom Line stage unexpectedly following a Leon Redbone show and proceeded to play an astonishing 11-song acoustic set consisting of 10 songs that were then unreleased, eight of which had never been played live and three of which remain unreleased today. Among other things, it was the debut of "Long May You Run," the only time he has played "Motion Pictures" live, and it features the epic second side of "On the Beach" in a live format. Neil was talkative and funny, even commenting on how sad many of these songs are. This is the show where he gave the recipe for "honey slides." But perhaps best of all, the show was recorded, and survives to this day. This is the undistilled acoustic Neil Young at the top of his game. One of his great shows.