Crosby, Stills & Nash

Fifty years ago yesterday the self-titled debut album by Crosby, Stills & Nash was released. It was a huge smash and has several songs that are still regularly on classic rock radio playlists. Their first live appearance happened later in the summer at Woodstock.

David Crosby had been fired by The Byrds, Steve Stills had been in Buffalo Springfield, now broken up, and Graham Nash had left The Hollies. The story goes that they found themselves harmonizing at Joni Mitchell's house (or was it Cass Elliott's?) and decided to form a band.

Their first album was turned down by Apple Records (perhaps why that organization wouldn't last much longer) but were signed by Atlantic. They decided to just name the band after themselves to suggest independence, and that without one of them the band would be no longer (over the years Neil Young would join to give the band a fourth name). The sound was distinctive and part of the Laurel Canyon sound, which favored a jangly folk sound that would define the Southern California artists of the '70s, such as Mitchell, The Eagles, The Byrds, and more. It was a step away from the booming rock sound of British groups like The Who and Led Zeppelin.

Each member wrote three songs, and one was co-written by Crosby and Stills, along with Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane. That was "Wooden Ships," which might be my favorite on the record, and was also recorded by Airplane. The song, appropriately enough, was written on Crosby's boat. They lyrics are obscure, but suggest freedom of the ocean waves:

"Wooden ship on the water
Very free and easy
Silver people on the shoreline let us be."

I think Crosby was the most tied in to hippie culture, as one of his other songs, "Guinnevere," is full of teenage-girl poetry, with references to peacocks, orange trees, and pentagrams. It is suggested that these were references to former Crosby girlfriends.

His song "Long Time Gone" is angry, and not the last song about how long-haired men were treated:

"Speak out you got to speak out against the madness
You got to speak your mind if you dare
But don't, no don't, no, try to get yourself elected
If you do you had better cut your hair"

Stills was the musician of the group. Other than Dallas Taylor on drums, and some acoustic guitar by Nash and Crosby, he played every single instrument, including lead guitars, bass, and keyboards. He wrote the most popular song from the album, which I'm sure is being played somewhere right now on the radio, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," a long song about how he was sad about breaking up with Judy Collins. It is a suite, with four sections, that begins with the apology:

"It's getting to the point
Where I'm no fun any more
I am sorry"

The harmonies in "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" can't get any better, and though the song meanders a bit and then ends in a series of "Do do do do dos," it's one of the great compositions in American pop. And Judy was flattered

Graham Nash's contributions were the radio-friendly "Marrakesh Express," which is not about drugs, but about a trip he took to Morocco, and mixing with the locals on the train:

"Take the train from Casablanca going south
Blowing smoke rings from the corners of my mouth
Colored cottons hang in the air
Charming cobras in the square
Striped djellebas we can wear at home
Well, let me hear you now"

Iggy Pop, who hated hippie music (probably still does) thought this was the worst song ever written. Robert Christgau, in his review of the album, thought it sounded too perfect. I think it's one of the best debut records every made. I was surprised to see these three would not make another album for seven years (a few with Young were made, including the very strong follow-up Deja Vu). Those first two albums are really the legacy of the group, as though they still made records up until the '90s, the bulk of their impactful songs come from them.

Granted, David Crosby can be insufferable in interviews, but he was a damn good singer and songwriter. And Stills and Nash are even better. When they added Young, it was almost too good to be true.