Album review: Neil Young 'Sugar Mountain -- Live at Canterbury House 1968'

The blessing and the curse of the Internet for musicians is that every step they take, professionally and personally, becomes available for public consumption instantaneously. That's created unprecedented opportunities for connecting with fans, but it has also stripped away a lot of the mystique that used to be a key facet of stardom.

It's hard to imagine 40 years from now finding a 2008 live recording by Britney Spears, Madonna or Hinder revealing anything that isn't clear today.

That makes "Sugar Mountain -- Live at Canterbury House 1968," the vintage live set by Neil Young being released this week on CD and DVD, all the more fascinating as a journey back to a watershed point in the musical evolution of one of the rock era's most valuable players.

When Young, on the verge of turning 23, stepped on stage at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Mich., before what's obviously a small audience, it seemed the only things certain to him at that point were that he could write songs and play guitar. Buffalo Springfield had disbanded after earning considerable critical respect but little mainstream recognition for its three studio albums, the bestselling of which, 1968's "Last Time Around," peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard chart.

The influential rock group's one Top 10 hit, "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)," was written and sung by Stephen Stills, while Young was at best a reluctant lead singer on  "Mr. Soul" and "Expecting to Fly."

What kind of career might await him was the great unknown, and in this performance recorded a few days before the release of his debut solo album, "Neil Young," you can feel his uncertainty in the many between-song comments that thankfully are preserved here. "I don't even know what to sing, you know?" he says while noodling on the acoustic guitar that's his only accompaniment. Later, he reiterates, "I don't know what to do. Does anybody want me to do anything? Songs? This is Sunday night, very impromptu."

What he did was about half the songs that would appear on "Neil Young" and soon become cornerstones of his solo repertoire, including "The Loner," "I've Been Waiting for You" and "The Old Laughing Lady," along with a handful of his Springfield compositions.

With his unconventionally high, quavery voice -- it's no accident he chose "Bernard Shakey" as a pseudonym for his film projects -- he couldn't have sounded less the emerging solo rock star. Nor does he come across as the captain of his destiny. "I never plan anything ahead, in case anybody hasn't noticed," he says by way of introducing the title tune.

A more prescient statement of a more mercurial and rewarding career rarely has been uttered.

-- Randy Lewis

Neil Young

"Sugar Mountain -- Live at Canterbury House 1968"

Reprise

* * * * (4 stars)

Comments

[Vail Beach]

Just to be precise, Neil Young was not reluctant to sing "Expecting to Fly." It was basically a solo track.

[Mark Hans]

Yes I am a huge Neil Young fan and it is hard for hime to dissapount me. That being said, I find this to be a jewel. Yes it has flaws but it is a true representation of an icon when he was on the verge of creating some of the most memorable music in history.

[Tommy Terzer]

Live at canterbury house.
The album is briliiant !!If you have a half decent "HI-FI system the " Tape Hiss " is terrible.
Why release it in that state?
Can't they get rid of it?
Try and listen to it first on a good system then you will know what I am talking about.
If it does not bother you, you must be going deaf, or your system must be pretty basic.
Happy 2009 to all Neil young fans out there,
The " ARCHIVES" should be out FEB 2009.
Seeing is believing ! please no tape hiss !

[Matthew Dunn]

I don't understand why they would include a DVD that does not have any video on it. I was quite pissed the day I brought this home only to find the DVD was basically the CD. I think most people understand a DVD as recorded video. This just seems like an extra step in making another buck or two and I think its a shallow move. On the positive side the CD is really good and enjoyable. Too bad they didn't the leave out the DVD and save the listeners a little bit of money.

[Sean Marcy]

I was quite shocked to hear the amount of 'tape hiss' on this album. I have a 50 watt vintage McIntosh system and it is really bad. In my opinion, if you don't already have the Massey Hall 1971 disc released on the same archive series, get this instead. It is much better and has the same feel. The hiss is bad enough that I won't listen to this disc as much. How they got away with releasing this much anticipated piece in 2008 with such flaws is beyond me. If the engineers who did this CD ever read this, please live up to the label of 'performance series' and put more 'performance' in the performance. Thanks.

[James Dyson]

I also was extremely disappointed in the DVD from Live at Canterbury House. Seems like a waste of money. The only possible useful part was the promo for the upcoming archives release later this year. The audio portion is fantastic. The Massey Hall release at least had some video performance on it.

[eyesore dogface]

Wow.... for being Neil Young fans, you people are a bunch of weenies. "waahhh I can't stand the tape hiss.. waahhh I spent $5000 on my stereo and there's tape hiss!!" This is a DECENT quality live recording of a BEGINNER solo artist (Buffalo Springfield had few hit singles), and the WHOLE concert is available, you can hear every note and even Neil clowning around tapping the two mikes. This is probably a copy of a copy of a copy. You don't like it? You'll hate Tonight's the Night on which the entire band is hammered off their A$$es. Sheesh. I liked this album.