Sugar Mountain – Left track: The Voice

The first time I ever heard the voice of Neil Young was when I purchased in 1970 my 3 LPs copy of Woodstock - Neil was singing Sea Of Madness - remember: “All I need is your sweet sweet loving…” Soon after, I bought one after the other: Déjà Vu, a compilation of Buffalo Springfield, After the Gold Rush and then the first Neil Young album. What struck me first with the Canadian was his tenor singing voice more than his personal lyrics or his guitar work.
Sugar Mountain, Live At Canterbury House 1968 is a magnificent testimony of the early days when Neil Young started is solo career. This unearth live recording is another example of how his voice is so moving. Unfortunately, later, in October 1975, he had a throat operation and his voice changed a little bit. All I can say is that now he never sings like he used to during his early recordings, for me it’s obvious.
So to come back to Sugar Mountain, this recording allows us to listen to some amazing acoustic renditions of Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing, The Old Laughing Lady, Broken Arrow or If I Could Have Her Tonight… simply, the best of the best.
By the way, Young's Sea of Madness, heard on Woodstock soundtrack album, was actually recorded a month after the festival at the Fillmore East.

Web: neilyoung.com – MySpace: myspace.com/neilyoung

Neil Young - Sugar Mountain .mp3 Live In Bakersfield – March 11, 1973
Neil Young - Only Love Can Break Your Heart .mp3 Live In London – February 27, 1971
Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl .mp3