Sugar Mountain - Live At Canterbury House 1968

iTunes Review

Neil Young has released a good number of live albums in his time, but none as intimate and revelatory as this one. Sugar Mountain documents his November 1968 acoustic concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, considered Young’s first real gig as a solo artist. Captured on a humble two-track machine, his performance is by turns funny, vulnerable, and mesmerizing. The song list balances tunes from his recently completed Buffalo Springfield stint (“Expecting to Fly,” “Mr. Soul,” and “Broken Arrow,” among others) with songs that would appear on his early solo releases (including “The Last Trip to Tulsa,” “The Old Laughing Lady,” and “Birds”). The haunting title number — later released on Decade — defines the tone of this set where familiar songs glow fiercely with their original power. More than anything, though, it’s Neil’s between-song patter that makes this such an appealing recording. He offers songwriting insights, self-deprecating stories, and comments about the music business with the panache of a nightclub comic. “Nothing I say up here is a lie,” he says at one point — and you believe him. Freed from the vaults after 40 years, Sugar Mountain is a treasure no Young fan will want to pass by.