Originally posted Nov 13, 2007Released in May of 1969, "Crosby, Stills & Nash" not only left behind the old innocent sounds of the 60s, it would be the corner-stone album for the future singer-songwriter genre and would be the new blueprint for social-political music scene.
In 1968, Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield), David Crosby (ex-Byrds), and Graham Nash (ex- Hollies) in a chance meeting, presented by Cass Elliot, would discover that when combined, the harmonies the trio created would become a sound unrivialed in modern music. Within a few months, of that meeting, the three extremely confident and seasoned artists would create and fine tune a collection of songs that would become their first album "Crosby, Stills & Nash." At first listen, you would never believe that this is a first effort by three artists who had only been playing together a few months, but the months of practice before recording blended the three musicians into a power that gives the album one voice. The listener gets a feeling of joy from the album, because one can sense the joy that went into the recordings. Songs like "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," the 7 minute avalanche of harmony and acoustic complexity, the jazz influenced "Guinnevere" and the spiraling guitar (recorded backwards) on "Pre-Road Downs," gave CSN a huge array of diversity in their songs. There are also heavy political songs, such as "Long Time Gone" written in the summer of 68 after the political assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy,and the song "Wooden Ships" which tells the story of two soldiers from different sides who choose to leave behind their failed world in search of a new one. But in the times of the electric guitar performers of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page, where would a rush of acoustic harmony land in the middle of the climate? The album became a step back to honesty, a delta blues in the old-timey fashion. The songs came to echo the times in which they were written, reflecting the yearning of escape of the political times that seemed to never change. Through CSN's harmonies, they broke a political message in a beautiful way that was acceptable to the masses. They do what they please--singing a short blues phrase between cuts, performing their multi-melodies with a grand sense of their own uniqueness, throwing in clever bits, engaging in musical conversation, combining songs....The whole thing is a product of deep friendship, definite genius, love and loyalty and for a time a glimpse of hope for the future. Download This: The entire album is absolutely great! But if you have to choose one song to decide pick: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
No comments:
Post a Comment