Rear View Mirror
Rear View Mirroris one of the first two titles in a live-and-obscure series Sugar Hill began preparing prior to the great folksinger's death. Originally given limited release in 1993, it provides an overview of the songwriter's career, reaching back frequently to his most productive period, 1968-72. Backed by second guitarist Danny Rowland and fiddler Owen Cody, Van Zandt works his way through tunes he'd performed hundreds--perhaps thousands--of times in coffeehouses and clubs from Arkansas to Australia. He does so, however, with enduring verve and veracity.--Steven Stolder