Neil Young gives fans an intimate musical experience

‘ ‘ ‘ Live recordings of a solo Neil Young and his acoustic guitar provide a glimpse into the… ‘ ‘ ‘ Live recordings of a solo Neil Young and his acoustic guitar provide a glimpse into the moment before the music of the now-legendary musician exploded into the world on the newly released Sugar Mountain ‘- Live at Canterbury House 1968. ‘ ‘ ‘ Young fans will appreciate the way the acoustic and early versions of familiar songs give a new perspective on these touchstone tunes, as well as the rare songs that they will discover on the album. But listeners don’t have to be established Young fans to know this is just a good live album. The raw, delicate sadness with which Young sings the trademark personal and twisting lyrics of his songs intimately into the microphone is both enchanting and haunting. ‘ ‘ ‘ The album’s solo acoustic performance captures a moment in Young’s career when he took the deep influence of Bob Dylan and moved it toward his own unique drama and in-your-face method of constructing songs. It’s almost possible to hear Young searching his soul as he sings. ‘ ‘ ‘ On ‘Last Trip to Tulsa,’ Young winds through a lyrical journey of ambiguous identity and his falsetto moans through the song, like a Dylan song that Young turned inside out and is beginning to make his own. ‘ ‘ ‘ The album’s clear, fresh sound is the raw root upon which Young continued to layer and develop his sound over the years. ‘ ‘ ‘ When he played this concert, it was 1968 and the 22-year-old Young had just split with Buffalo Springfield and would soon put out his debut solo album Neil Young. ‘ ‘ ‘ Performed solo at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Mich., the concert is a portrait of a talented artist teetering on the edge of his musical creation. Unfamiliar renditions of classic Young songs are a delightful insight into how Young originally imagined some of his original tunes. ‘ ‘ ‘ One of the album’s best treats is its acoustic version of ‘Mr. Soul,’ which was one of Young’s touchstone songs over the years. ‘ ‘ ‘ Often, he plays ‘Mr. Soul’ as a driving rock song, but the album’s acoustic version reveals a more melancholy perspective on the tune and allows it to be heard with fresh ears. ‘ ‘ ‘ The intimacy of the performance is striking. While Young’s lyrics have always been very personal, this album plays like an intimate experience shared between you, the microphone, an acoustic guitar and Young’s voice. ‘ ‘ ‘ With a twinge of innocent sadness, Young’s falsetto floats over his lyrics on this album even more than on any other, like a lonely balloon set loose to wander across a cloudless blue sky. ‘ ‘ ‘ Signs of Young’s independence and eccentric charm are already apparent in his performance, in the effortless way he flows through the songs and in the anecdotes he shares between songs. It’s hard to tell if there’s any truth to them, but they’re all great stories. ‘ ‘ ‘ This album is one of the first installments in the long-anticipated Young archives, the release of which has tantalized fans for decades now. ‘ ‘ ‘ If this album is a good indication of what to expect from the archives, it’s been worth the wait and will provide even deeper entry into the unpredictable and reclusive psyche of Young.