Live at Canterbury House, 1968
Part of the recently released Neil Young Archives, and produced by Neil Himself, “Sugar Mountain” comes with a 24 bit 96 kHz DVD, which is 256 times the resolution of a standard CD. This may seem like overkill for a simple 2-channel recording but it also seemed like the perfect choice for our first in the FSS Listening Party Series as Neil pays close attention to the audio quality of his albums. Recorded in Ann Arbor, MI in November of 1968, ten years before we were born, “Sugar Mountain” showcases Neil after his split with Buffalo Springfield where he went from large stages to small clubs.
The FSS Listening Party Series hopes to rekindle the age-old act of simply getting together with friends to listen to music together. As a good friend at work pointed out to me recently, it was pretty common in the 60s and 70s to call up a friend and invite them over to listen to a record together. So with a few Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stouts on deck that’s exactly what we did. Below is a recount of our thoughts as we sat in T’s living room for the 70 minutes it took Neil to do his thing. All quotes are from Neil.
T: As the audio starts an image of a very young Neil comes up on the screen to serve as a screen saver. So far I admire the shit out of his sideburns.
P: There’s a lot of tape hiss, but it’s crystal fucking clear. Voice one channel, guitar other. Did Neil just say he was pushing a Bentley in ’68?
T: Neil sings “I love you. Can you feel it now.” It sounds like he’s in the room so I guess I can. Neil’s a funny guy. When he’s not singing, he sounds like a fucking Muppet.
P: Mr. Soul took 5 minutes to write and is utter gibberish. Do we have to look at Neil’s mutton chopped face for this whole album? Neil says he’s a radio station, a microphone sometimes. Are you ever a microphone sometimes?
T: Maybe he’s a little stoned right now.
P: “All this is being recorded for recording purposes.” He’s probably a cool guy in person.
T: Yeah, he’s stoned.
P: Those chops are fuckin’ intense. He looks a bit like my sister, minus the sideburns.
T: Man this is the longest song ever. P asked me to pause it cause he’s concerned I like it and he doesn’t. He has nothing to be concerned about. I want this Neil Young dream/allegory run-on-sentence over as much as he does. Guy does have a mean falsetto though. Neil. Not P.
P: You can hear the pick on the strings. The song is gibberish too though. Hippy incense and peppermint bullshit.
T: I’m not even sure Neil is in the room with us anymore. We’re tuning him out and waxing philosophical about how much we admire the fuck out of him and how he’s had so many different phases to his career and can just leave shit behind and move on. I’m telling P that I recently heard the 1971 Neil Young Archives release and it’s amazing how little of the 1968 material he even does. We’re also both pretty sure now that our parents went to the same Crosby Stills Nash & Young show in their heyday.
P: “Working on a palm tree for 87 years.”? No.
T: Neil is asking if there are any cops in the audience so he can talk about getting fired from a bookstore for being on pills.
P: Damn, speeding in a bookstore must be a nightmare.
T: P is snickering at Neil’s snickering. I think I might be drunk and get up to put some coffee on without telling P.
P: Did T only buy four beers?
T: At this point we’re cold making fun of his ass. Still admiring him though. Making fun of him in the same way we do each other. Fuck, did we just become friends with Neil Young?
P: Neil’s a good guitarist. Birds proves his influence on other bands. It could have been a Mazzy Star song. Out of My Mind is pretty good too. If I Could Have Her Tonight is a horrible horrible song. Boring. “Does she wanna go look at those eyes?” What the fuck is he talking about?
T: I’m actually digging the folk side of Neil. He’s got a lot of vulnerability in these songs. When he says “Out of my mind and I just can’t take it anymore.” And “I’ve been looking for a woman to save my life.” I believe him. I bring in coffee instead of more beer.
P: No more beer. Neil’s a real good guitarist. Snatch of Like a Rolling Stone. Sugar Mountain is a pretty song. More gibberish, but pretty. Chords are similar to another song. I forget the name, but a better song than this one. About growing up?
T: Neil’s talking again now. Something about writing the next song on a napkin, “in true folk tradition”. I’m writing notes in an old notebook as I listen and a 1 cent stamp and piece of a brown paper bag fall out. I have an old note too.
P: How long is this album?
T: P’s laughing again and I’m thinking that this guitar jam would sound about a thousand times better if Neil was plugged in.
P: Jesus, this has to end.
T: Neil is closing out the evening with his last song. He’s singing about the trappings of being in a big band and just wanting to be Neil. I think that if anything that’s the one thing he’s always been best at. I like the 1971 archive set better but it blows my mind that he was out there in 1968 doing his thing and that in 2009 he still is.
P: He’s a down to earth dude at least. But Jesus, how much did T pay for this?
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