Artist: Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
Album: Deja Vu
Year: 1970
So I loved Crosby, Stills, and Nash's self-titled debut, and for some reason they decided to let that nasally Canadian Neil Young into the group for Round 2. And they followed up the debut with an even more spectacular set of songs. This one is probably Top 10 out of the 184 I've heard to date.
The first seven...seven(!!!!)....songs on this album are absolutely out of this world. Remarkably consistent songwriting here from all four band members. The country-rock of "Teach Your Children" is absolutely charming and the song, for all of its M.O.R. leanings, carries a strong message. "Helpless" features Mr. Young in fine form with one of his most famous songs, a slow anthem buoyed by its backing vocals. "Woodstock" is an anthem befitting of the festival it canonizes. "Deja Vu" has a bouncy, jazzy feel. "Our House" is another one like "Teach Your Children" which would be schmaltzy in a different context, but works so well as part of this album.
The last three songs, in my estimation, don't quite match up with the first seven (although "Country Girl" is pretty good in its own right), but that's quite the tall task to live up to. I'd already made up my mind that this one's a masterpiece, and I'm not about to change my mind. Amazing.
Rating: Indispensable
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