Album Reviews

Album Reviews: Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House 1968 by Neil Young

Neil Young's excellent "Archives Performance Series" continues with Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House, the third installment. Like its predecessors, it already has a place in bootlegger lore. Similar to Live at Massey Hall 1971, the Canterbury House concerts showcase Young's stripped-down solo side–but what a difference three years make. By the time he was playing Massey Hall, he was well on his way to becoming a superstar; he already had Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and After the Gold Rush under his belt. At the time of the 1968 shows, he was still known as the guy from Buffalo Springfield. His solo debut was about to be released, and he was about to celebrate his 23rd birthday.

So the Neil Young that takes the stage at Canterbury House is unlike the Neil Young that audiences have known for most of the last 40 years: a man who hasn't yet proven himself. After being introduced by a laughably charisma-free emcee, Young heads straight into a lovely rendition of "On The Way Home." But what distinguishes Sugar Mountain is how seldom he veers straight from song to song. In a marked contrast to the gruff persona he would later embrace, Young is gawky, jokey and charmingly awkward as he launches into numerous anecdotes (the track list calls them "raps") about Buffalo Springfield, ill-fated old jobs and his lack of happy songs. He even takes requests from the audience ("Far out," he says when someone requests "Out Of My Mind," sounding genuinely surprised that anyone knew his catalog so well).

The 40-year-old recording has surprising production value, effectively capturing the intimacy of the venue. There isn't a trace of the Crazy Horse leader here; just lots of reflective acoustic guitar and his oft-imitated but never-replicated vocal quaver. Young splits his time between Buffalo Springfield material–"Broken Arrow" and "Expecting to Fly" among the standouts–and tracks from his then-unreleased solo debut. Other highlights include a plaintive early version of "Birds" (later released on After the Gold Rush) and of course "Sugar Mountain," previously available only on the Decade compilation or as an elusive B-side or bootleg. The performances are straightforward but powerful, lacking any of the tricks or frills that would be heard on some of the corresponding studio versions. Sugar Mountain captures a fleeting moment in time, before the young man became an icon, giving Young fans who weren’t there for the beginning a chance to pretend otherwise for an hour.

—Adam McKibbin
01.14.09