Canadian rock icon Neil Young has hit the top of the charts with old recordings, Live At Massey Hall 1971.

The CD was released March 13 and is currently No. 1 in Canada, according to Nielsen Soundscan Canada, beating out Neon Bible by Montreal indie band Arcade Fire. As well, it's sitting at No. 6 on the Billboard charts during its debut week.

Neil Young has topped the music charts with a live recording at Massey Hall in Toronto from 1971.
(Mel Evans/Associated Press)

The album features a then-25-year-old Young giving a heartfelt performance at his second show at the Toronto venue, five years after leaving Canada to pursue his music career.

Nine of the 17 tracks were previously unreleased, including soaring ballads such as There's a World, A Man Needs a Maid and Old Man. Other songs in the release include Helpless and Journey Through the Past.

The 61-year-old singer, who continues to record and release albums, rarely hits the Top 10 in the U.S. His highest Billboard ranking was No. 5 back in 1995 with Mirror Ball, a collaboration with Pearl Jam.

Young released a protest album in 2006 entitled Living With War.

The current album, from the Reprise label, has been marketed as a precursor to a massive set due to be released in the fall.  Archives Vol. 1 will cover Young's career from 1963 to 1972 and will feature eight audio CDs, two DVDs and a 200-page book of photos and memorabilia.

"This really is an audio biography, not a boxed set," Peter Standish, the vice-president of marketing for Reprise, told Billboard magazine. "The photos in the book … are incredible pieces of art."

Standish says he doubts Young will be planning a tour this year.

"I think Neil is taking a little bit of a break at the moment, [but] if the muse moves him, anything can happen."