Artist: Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Album: Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Year: 1969
Here's the debut from one of America's original supergroups--Crosby, Stills, & Nash. David Crosby of The Byrds, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash of The Hollies teamed up to make some wildly pretty vocal harmonies and some remarkably catchy melodies.
CSN(Y) remind me of a very specific moment in my life. I remember driving around with my high school girlfriend in her dad's car, listening to his albums in his CD changer. At one point an album came on and neither of us were quite sure what it was, but we both thought it was really mellow and extremely good. That album ended up being CSN's So Far, a retrospective greatest hits of the group's early albums. Many of the songs on So Far were culled from this self-titled debut.
The formula here is established early on with the album's first track, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," a song that packs in a ton of different intricate melodies. It's a little folky, a little jazzy, a little Latin-infused...just a great song on so many levels. "Marrakesh Express" follows with a rollicking little melody...it doesn't sound too far off from some of Simon & Garfunkel's more upbeat tunes. "Guinevere" slows things down, offering gorgeous close harmonies and a haunting melody. "Helplessly Hoping" strips down to just vocals and acoustic guitar, a remarkably pretty song that stands among the group's best. "Long Time Gone" is a nice mix of blues, folk, with a little of that psychedelic organ in the background for a little extra flavor. All of these are AOR staples, and for good reason.
Overall, this is a fantastic album. I'd have to say it's better and more cohesive than So Far. Great songs throughout, three voices that fit perfectly together, a nice variety of styles....who could ask for more?
Rating: Indispensable
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