CSNY- 4 Way Street

4 Way Street

This album is very representative of how these guys sounded live way back then. The acoustic part of the album, though it shys away from CSN's reknowned harmonies for the most part, highlights each guy rather well. Most noteworthy here is David Crosby. His readings of "Triad" and "The Leeshore" are absolutely gorgeous, and it reminds one that although David may not be the greatest musician on earth, there's no disputing his ability to sing. Maybe the finest voice around in those days. Neils "Cowgirl in the Sand", "Don't Let it Bring You Down", and the "Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down By the River" medley really showcase Neil's acoustic guitar skills, and probably set him apart from the other guys for all around talent. Stills' performances, "49 Bye-Byes/For What it's Worth", Love the One You're with sound very dated now, and the sloppiness of those performances make them even harder to savor today. I was hoping that they would have dug out the complete version of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" for the remastered edition. Instead, we got Black Queen, an acoustic blues that Stephen nails just fine. Really showcases his acoustic guitar skills. Graham offers us "Teach Your Children", which is always a crowd pleaser (but probably would have been better without Neil's "harmony" voice), and "Right Between the Eyes"...a quiet one he duets with David. The old Hollies tune, "King Midas in Reverse" was added for the remastered edition The electric side is real loose, and basically highlights Stephen and Neil trading riffs. These guys really did feed off each other, and these songs just beg to be cranked ! "Long Time Gone" and "Ohio" stand out here. "Southern Man" and "Carry On" are long, long jams. A common practice back then. And those hollow body electric guitars they played really gave us some groovy feedback, didn't they? It is also noteworthy that in those days, Nash handled the Hammond organ duties...something he did well. Good ol'album. Peace.

CSNY-Deja Vu

Deja Vu

Deja Vu is CSN's best album. A big reason of this is Neil Young. CSN were great together, but when they joined with Young, the possibilities were endless. This album shows that. Crosby wrote two great songs on the album; Almost Cut My Hair and Deja Vu. Graham Nash also wrote some great songs, including one of the best songs they ever did, Teach Your Children, and also Our House. Stills and Young really shine on this album, collaborating on the great Everybody I Love You. Individually, Stills wrote such classics as Carry On and 4 + 20. Young wrote Country Girl, which is a great song, but Helpless may just top the album as the best song on it. With these four incredible songwriters on one album, how did they ever find room for Joni Mitchell's Woodstock? I don't know, but I'm glad they did, because it is a great song. This album is very essential to any fan of any of the four artists.

CSNY- American Dream

American Dream

Don't let the naysayers convince you that this album is bad. On the contrary, this album from 1988 is one of the best CSNY has ever produced & as long as you aren't biased against the band's more modern pop/rock sound that they took on, you are in for a real treat. It is chock full of catchy melodic songs & has a few pleasant surprises. Neil Young starts things off with a great folk rocker, "American Dream" & contributes many more great folk/rock songs throughout the album. My favorite being "Feel Your Love" which is a catchy & upbeat mid-tempo love song. David Crosby's "Compass" is a haunting & teriffic acoustic ballad & is right up there with the groups best work. Then Crosby does a total 180 & rocks out with "Nighttime for the Generals". Probably the hardest rocking & coolest song the group has ever done. It explodes with grinding guitars, thumping bass & heavy drums and it's subject matter was never more relevant than it is today. Both of these tracks should've been singles. The one song that was released as a single, & is also my fav track on the album, is the incredibly catchy "Got It Made" which was sung to perfection by Stephen Stills. He also does another catchy mid-tempo love song called "That Girl" which has really nice harmony vocals & a harder rocking song called "Drivin thunder" which isn't bad. Last but not least, Graham Nash takes on the songs about the more serious issues. Sometimes Graham takes alot of flack for being too political or preachy but I for one don't mind. Everything he sings about on this album should be important to anyone with a conscience. "Clear Blue Skies" is a great mid-tempo song about taking care of our environment & "Shadowland", which sounds somewhat Japanese, is a really atmosheric song (complete with jungle & helicopter sound effects) about the PoW's that got left behind in Vietnam. And even if you don't care about the subject matter, these tracks are enjoyable just from a music standpoint. So to sum it all up, if you are a fan of these 4 rock legends & want to hear what they sounded like with a harder rock edge to them but with their trademark harmonies still intact, this is the album to get cuz it is fantastic from start to finish & contains no filler whatsoever. It's also my favorite & IMHO, their last truly great album.