Neil Young – Carnegie Hall 1970 (Vinyl 2LP)

First Release in Neil Young’s New Official Bootleg Series Debuts Early December 1970 Carnegie Hall Show; Vinyl 2LP-Set Mixed from the Original ¼ Inch Tapes by Young and Niko Bolas

Over Neil Young’s long and storied career, a few special shows have earned an almost mythic reputation, thanks to the dubious but nevertheless appreciated (in retrospect) practice of bootlegging. Shakey Pictures Records and Reprise Records are pleased to usher in The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series with Carnegie Hall 1970, available here on double vinyl LP. Five more series selections will become available in 2022

Carnegie Hall 1970 was mixed from the original ¼ inch tapes by “The Volume Dealers” – Neil Young and Niko Bolas. This recording was made from the show on December 4, 1970 and it was the first time Neil ever walked onstage at Carnegie Hall. There were two shows at Carnegie Hall, one on the 4th and one followed at Midnight the next morning. No bootleggers ever captured this first show, and it was, by far, a much superior show according to NY.

The concert’s generous setlist covers one of the most revered eras of Young’s career, with stripped-down versions of the tunes “Down By the River,” “Helpless” and “Sugar Mountain” plus “After the Gold Rush,” from the album of the same name, released only nine weeks prior to the Carnegie Hall show. Neil even plays the poignant songs “Bad Fog of Loneliness,” “Old Man” and “See the Sky About to Rain” before they were recorded and released. Carnegie Hall is an album full of gems.

“Listening to existing bootlegs, it seems that all the bootleggers got the second Carnegie Hall show,” Young shares. “There was one at 8:00 pm and one at midnight [about 27 hours later]. No one got that first one – the first time I walked onstage at Carnegie Hall, blowing my own 25-year-old mind…This one – Carnegie Hall, December 4th, 1970, is very special to me.”

LP1

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

LP2

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
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