Neil Young: Sugar Mountain

Today’s Friday Flipside is a unique tune in that it appeared as a non-album flip of three of Neil Young’s singles. It first appeared as the “B” side of two 1969 singles “The Loner” and “Cinnamon Girl,” It later resurfaced on his #1 single “Heart of Gold” in 1972. “The Loner” failed to chart and “Cinnamon Girl” only made it to 55 on the Hot 100.

Neil Young stated that “Sugar Mountain,” written about his youth in Manitoba, had at one time 126 verses, which he later pared down to four. The version that appeared on all three single releases was recorded live in November 1968 at the Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This version was not released on an album until the 1977 compilation “Decade” was released. It also appears on the CD “Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968.” This concert recording was released in 2008.