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.
Door Henri Drost - Mania
 

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. Carnegie Hall, the first release of the Neil Young Official Bootleg Series, recorded on original analog multitrack, was mixed by “The Volume Dealers” -- Neil Young and Niko Bolas. This recording was made from the show on December 4th, 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 “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere,” “Down By the River,” “Helpless” and “Sugar Mountain’” plus “After the Goldrush,” 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.