"Well, I'm a barrel of laughs, with my carbine on..."

I haven't made a habit of posting about b**tlegs, for various reasons. (Actually, I prefer the term "unofficial releases," anyway.) But, I was listening to this unbelievably amazing gem again last night. It's a recording of a solo-acoustic performance by Neil at The Bottom Line in NYC on May 16, 1974. It's an audience recording (not a soundboard), but it's a damned good one. And, the songs are out of this world. This was 2 months before the release of On The Beach, one of my favorite LPs, and 5 cuts are featured here. Plus, there are 3 songs that have never been officially released on a Neil LP, and a song each from Tonight's The Night and Zuma, which were both released the following year (1975). Oh, and I shouldn't forget the title track to Long May You Run, which wasn't released until 1976.

Neil is incredibly talkative between songs, explaining why he was no longer playing "Southern Man" live, describing how to make his favorite snack treat ("honeyslides"), and all sorts of other banter. My favorite part might well be when someone from the crowd calls for a "country tune" and Neil responds (with slight hick accent), "Y'all wanna hear a country & western song?" Then he proceeds to play a wonderfully twangy version of the at-that-time-yet-to-be-released "Roll Another Number For The Road." And, the performance on "Pardon My Heart" is fucking mindbogglingly awesome.

01. Pushed It Over The End – never officially released
02. Long May You Run – later released on Long May You Run
03. Greensleeves – only officially released on a Ben Keith Christmas LP
04. Ambulance Blues – released 2 months later (On The Beach)
05. Helpless – originally from the CSNY album Deja Vu (1970)
06. Revolution Blues – released 2 months later (On The Beach)
07. On The Beach – released 2 months later (On The Beach)
08. Roll Another Number For The Road – later released on Tonight's The Night
09. Motion Pictures – released 2 months later (On The Beach)
10. Pardon My Heart – later released on Zuma
11. Dance, Dance, Dance – song was originally released as a single (1970?)
Bonus cuts: 12. For The Turnstiles – released 2 months later (On The Beach)
13. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong – originally from Buffalo Springfield (1966)

Now, if I could just figure out how to post audio...