Crosby Stills Nash & Young - Deja Vu
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Free Music Notes for Deja Vu
Free Music Review: voices of a unique moment in history
Hit: 5 Stars
From the vantage point of the aughts, it is easier than ever to define the near-magical qualities of this album. It is also easy, at least for me, to face the fact that it is far from perfect. Deja Vu has its fair share of clunkers. CS&N's first album was not perfect either, but it came so close to perfection that criticism would be merely petty. Deja Vu, however, was more of a mixed bag: Teach Your Children is a suprisingly, almost shockingly schlocky top-40 material that seems designed to bridge the ol' generation gap and get the pouty youths and wise papas and mamas to love each other and hug a lot; worse is Our House, Graham's syrupy bid for middle-class pleasures. Carefully crafted with imagery straight from Hallmark cards, it could appeal to pretty much anyone on the planet, especially if they were in the throes of a first "serious" coupling, looking forward to babies and the picket fence. The fact that it was written by someone whose vision of a cozy house was drastically different - several million dollars different - than that of your basic working stiffs, didn't seem to bother anyone, and these sucrose songs were both tremendous radio fodder and huge hits. Graham Nash had a gift for what was essentially teenybopper music, and, in retrospect, one must wonder what attracted the other three to him. Then there's Helpless. I confess I've always disliked this song because it's so awfully simple - the same three chords again and again; it seemed to me that a self-respecting musician shouldn't write something that was no more than a continuous hook. As if to counter this argument, Neil also wrote Country Girl, which is the other extreme: pompous, bloated, so overproduced that it probably made Phil Spector whimper in his dreams. And how about those lyrics: "...no pass out sign on the door set me thinking, are waitresses paying the price for the their winking...?" Yes, Neil, those words rhyme, now stop taking the crystals, you're really losing it. I am not enamored of what the guys did with Mitchell's Woodstock, either: a nice rocker, sure, but the chill that this song carries in Mitchell's ultra-sophisticated version is completely gone. And finally, Everybody I Love You is a mush of sound, a sort of a meaningless good-time improv that musicians of this caliber could probably come up with accidentally at any moment during rehearsals, just goofing around in the studio.
So, with all this, why still 5 stars? Do the few remaining songs really deserve such high praise just for themselves? Yes, they do. They embody qualities that seem to be entirely lost in the way that rock music is written today, whether good or bad. There is the unmatched melodic invention: it is supported by impeccable musicianship, Crosby's unique harmonic gifts, and exceptional vocal harmonies (there, I've killed three adjectives in one sentence, but they're well deserved). Secondly, there is the depth of imagination, and the sheer beauty to which imagery is attached: you don't have hooks per se, you just float along on entire songs that are stuctured so that no section can be separated from the others, even though, interestingly, several songs are put together of different parts composed in different keys or tempos. Thirdly, there is fearless artistic exploration. When did you last hear something so out of left field for its era as these songs were for theirs? Yep, there's Country Girl again: it may have been over the top, but what an experiment! Compare it with the nasally-monotone rubbish of almost anything that hits top 40 today and find an ounce of the same originality, introspection, lunacy, or vision. How about the gorgeous weirdness of the song Deja Vu itself, or the straight-out rock of Carry On, or the anthemic (yet not in the least arena-pretentious) Almost Cut My Hair - I have little of said item left, yet whenever I hear the song, I still feel like letting my freak flag fly. You can contrast that with the lesson in meaningful simplicity that is 4+20: a small folk memento that says so much in just two minutes, with one acoustic guitar. And, folks, this was all done, for the most part, with two guitars, a bass, a drum, a keyboard, and just a bit of singing... The harmonica counted as a special effect, as did the echo chamber. It didn't go much farther than that (yes, okay, Neil invited about four philharmonic orchestras to Country Girl).
You think I've run out of cliches, but wait, I have one more: they just don't make them like this anymore. Ten stars wouldn't be enough.
oh, a p.s.: i'm not really concerned with remastering. Some of it is merely expanding the dynamics and compressing them at the tips, meaning that you can get louder without distortion, and a lot of it is plain baloney. I heard the bass clearly on vinyl, the harmonies were clear too, thank you, I have no hearing problem, I'll pay attention to the remastering some other time.
Free Music Review: I feel like letting my freak flag fly
Hit: 5 Stars
This album, along with their debut, is commonly referred to as the voice of a generation. Even as a 24 year old, this album sweeps me off into the peaceful tranquility of the Woodstock era. This was easily one of the most anticipated sophomore efforts in history; and it completely lives up to the hype. It took over 800 hours to record this album; and the band was hardly a "band" during the entire recording process. In fact, each member recorded most of their material separately, and was later engineered and edited. That just seems strange, given the beauty and unity this record holds. The addition of Neil Young gave the band fluency, and also added a new set of vocal ranges to the group. Young and Stills were at the top of their game, rising to new levels of complexity in their guitar work. Which gave "Déjà Vu" a much thicker sound than it's predecessor.
The album holds a lot of variety due to the separate recording sessions. But we do catch the band as a whole on two tracks - "Carry On" and "Woodstock". The latter being a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock". "Carry On" opens the album up with some of the most inventive work on the album. The lush vocal melodies fit perfectly with the acoustic and electric settings. It's very apparent that you are hearing a supergroup; a band epitomizing a wave of album rock to come. Still's guitar work is scathing, Dallas Taylor's drumming is visceral, and Greg Reeves bass work is inventive. It was a show favorite and concert staple among both CS&N and CSN&Y.
The second cut, "Teach Your Children" stands in stark contrast to the opener. Graham Nash created the typical example of the country-rock trend to come. Most notable, is the steel guitar twang brought forth by Jerry Garcia. The song is bittersweet in delivery. Nash sings about his personal experiences here. The lyric - "Teach your children well / Their father's hell will slowly go by" was likely in reference to Nash's father being sent to prison for possession of a stolen camera. The lyric is cleverly reversed at the end - "Teach your parents well, their children's hell will slowly go by." "Almost Cut My Hair" was immediately one of my favorites. David Crosby boasted a sense of rebellion and freedom with this electric paranoid hippie anthem. This was one of their more exciting live songs that they played. Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young play three-way solos as if the guitars were talking to each other. It also popularized the phrase - "Let my freak flag fly". My favorite cut would have to be Young's "Helpless". Many of the tunes here present the artists personal statements, and "Helpless" is no exception. Here we see Young reminiscing of his childhood, with a slow and soothing country melody. The song is so infectious and sweet that it's nearly enough to make one cry. Graham Nash strikes gold again with "Our House". The cut recounts a time when he and Joni Mitchell shared a cottage in Laurel Canyon. The melody is catchy, simple, and instantly memorable. And like "Teach Your Children", it strikes a personal chord with the audience. "Country Girl" was an especially cryptic cut for the album's mood, fronted by Neil Young. Although it's considerably toned down for this album; compared to Young's solo work, it's not all that unusual. It fits nicely on the album in the record's winding down motions. Those may be my favorites, but I cannot dismiss the title track, "4 + 20" or "Everybody I Love You", as they all add heavily to the album's 36 minutes of pure musical genius.
No wonder this album is referred to as the voice of a generation. After actually putting all that down in black and white, it's easy to understand how affecting these songwriters can be, as the draw stories from their own personal experiences. All these musicians were at the top of their game on "Déjà Vu". It's amazing it even happened at all, considering each individual's given ego. But like most classics, this album will bridge generational gaps for decades to come.
Free Music Review: One of the most successful super groups of all time
Hit: 5 Stars
Beginning with Cream, the sixties saw the beginning of a phenomenon that has persisted until today: the super group, where members from other highly successful bands group together to do an album of their own. For some reason, this remains somewhat unusual in rock, though it has been common in jazz. But even today one can almost count the super groups on the fingers of both hands, and even some of those considered super groups, like the New Pornographers, were formed of people whose bands weren't exactly household names. But by any standard, two of the most successful albums by a super group has to be the first two recorded by Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, David Crosby from the Byrds, and Graham Nash from the Hollies, joined on their second album by Stills's former band mate from Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young. The resulting albums are among the most brilliant vocal albums in the history of rock. In a way, this is not at all surprising. The previous bands of all the members were notable for their vocal prowess, all of them employing tight harmonies rather than solos (though Buffalo Springfield features more solo singing than the Byrds or the Hollies).
The group's debut album, CROSBY, STILLS, AND NASH, had been a spectacular debut, but by the time the second album was being produced, internal conflicts were creating huge barriers to the completion of the project. Literally hundreds of hours were expended in the project, rarely with all of the members working together. In a way, it is one of the most unlikely masterpieces in recording history. The addition of Neil Young to the mix did add considerably to the talent involved, giving them a new songwriter (as time has shown, the most talented one of the bunch by a considerable margin), a unique vocalist, and a second strong guitar to complement Stephen Stills (Crosby and Nash can play guitar, but neither is on Stills or Young's level). Somehow they managed to pull together a set of ten remarkable songs, at least five of them classics. Numbers like "Woodstock" (written by Joni Mitchell but best known in CSNY's version), David Crosby's wonderful "I Almost Cut My Hair," Graham Nash's two lovely numbers "Our House" and "Teach Your Children," and Neil Young's "Helpless" have received extraordinary amounts of airplay over the decades, and rightfully so. But the lesser known cuts are just as interesting and often as strong. Stephen Stills's solo number "4 + 20" has long been one of my favorite numbers by the band and one of the more autobiographical songs in rock, with some wonderful lines (such as returning to his quilt covered bed and embracing "the many colored beast").
Although CSNY later produced the brilliant live album FOUR WAY STREET, there was too little interpersonal cohesion for the band to continue. Crosby, Stills, and Nash would all reunite for additional albums of declining quality, but for the most part all four pursued solo careers. Although Stephen Stills, David Crosby, and Graham Nash each managed one very good solo albums (all, interestingly, released in 1971 or 1972), the only member of the band to achieve ongoing success was Neil Young, who even today is still at the top of his game (and has this past week acknowledged that he is releasing an album of songs criticizing George Bush's invasion of Iraq to be entitled LIVING WITH WAR). In the end, what is remarkable is how short-lived the band stayed together. But the two studio albums and the one live album will assure that they will be around for ages to come.
Free Music Review: almost cut my HARE....
Hit: 5 Stars
.... but the rabbit got away again, hehehe! Hare hare, Krishna Krishna! Serious, I was just in a rent a car, taking a small vacation, and I noticed NO CASSETTE PLAYER, only cd!
I went to buy a cd or 2, and my friend BEGGED me, get something sung in ENgLISH, as he doent unnerstand Portugues!!!
AYYYYY. Peppi-- what to buy???
Well, I saw a used copy of "Deja Vu". I dont much listen to rock ,although I did hear ALOT of it back 60s & 70s that I kinda liked ,back when this cd was released as LP!
And it brought back FLOOD of memories, and a new appreciation of what a nice piece of music this is!
I think Steve Still's years as in Latino America-(eh, what EXACTLY did his father DO down there, hehehehe??) and David Crosby's affection for 50s and 60s jazz, Coltrane in particular- really gave these guys the fresh perspective they had, too bad EGO and excess killed these guys off so soon as a unit! Their harmonies luscious , and while I dont care for the "balls out" rockers, Carry On and Deja Vu are fabulous tracks, the finest!
Funny, "super -groups" are stictly a "rockmusician", and mostly Anglo-American concept.
Jazzmen, for example , or the fine Bossa/MPB artists from Brasil seldom had the problems of the EGOMANIACAL rockers from US and England in respect to cooperation in making "a joyous noise" Super sessions here were always heralded as "something special", a real big deal(???). Willie Colon and Ruben Blades made great salsa music without alla the ego antics, and Brasilians most ALWAYS share songs interchangeably and participate on each others recordings without fail!
Regarding the comment above,It is probably a real achievement that the 1st 2 lps were issued at all, but they were, and there's a lotta nice music here! Great going,no??
Speaking of my "pun" of a title, "Almost Cut My Hair" may be dated lyrically(though current events may change that status..), but Crosby's empassioned vocal delivery displayed to me that he has "the cry"- that passionate "deep from within sound"- that i feel essential in a musician.
Yea, he hit it both guns blazing on that song, while his reading of Deja Vu is pure "soul", (in the non- James brown conotation)-- Jokes aside, the music was deep within him.
(I like Crosby the best, even though he made a "babbone di prima classe" of himself a few years ago in screwing up his life).
Finally, cant forget the pure "3rd harmonies" of Graham Nash, MAN that guy can sing-- he made the HOLLIES listenable, hehe!
Much has been said already on this recording, just thought to put my "10 cents" in (inflation)!! Like it ALOT!!
More than 5 stars here( pick how many you want), and I forgive Graham Nash for writing "Our House", hehehehehehehe ciao !
Free Music Review: rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice...
Hit: 5 Stars
10 seconds in to Carry On and whooooosh, you will be lifted! this is perhaps the most stirring and fired up affirmation of a utopian dream since Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' But seriously, this is a beautiful and sad album - sad because in a way, messrs Crosby, Stills and Nash have already lost their whimsically poignant innocence and folksiness that was so wonderful on their debut.it is regained somewhat on the 4 way street live album and on CSN.
apparently awash with misery, the sessions for deja vu nevertheless created some real gems. though the album does not gel as much as a whole as the 1st album it has more of that 'classic masterpiece' feel than the debut. the problem lies in one or two tracks which somehow detract (though still brilliant) from the whole - Young's 'Country Girl' is a staggering composition but compare it to other 'Wall of Sound' songs of his like 'Expecting to Fly' and it pales in comparison. It does include, though, a wonderful harmonica solo by John Sebastian. And Our House can come across as a bit twee and dated at times - though I am being somewhat cynical here. Almost Cut My Hair - though a good song is a little too jingoistic and anthemic for its own good at times - overselling the point it makes somewhat.
but moving on to the positive side! teach your children is a charming affair, brimming over with good will and a comforting lyric that will make you glow and feel warm if you leave your cynicism at the door.
helpless is a melancholic neil young affair that gives us an 'After the Goldrush' style lyric and song that is at once lazy and drugged and also childlike and heartfelt - about man's helplessness to nature.
woodstock, while overdubbed ( i agree with neil young on that) is a great interpretation of a joni mitchell song. turn up the bass - greg reeves shines on this. and nash hits notes consecutively that will turn hairs on your back.
deja vu is a brilliant song, with rimshot echo snares, wonderful playing by stills and more great john sebastian playing. and an early example of the doo-wop ad-lib singing and harmonising that would make crosby such a muscial pioneer - sadly to pass out of vogue too swiftly.
4 + 20 is i think their best song - though it is really a stills solo
and everybody i love you is far better than most people say - sung passionately with a fire that would dry the ganges, this is a paeon to the days of the era - an era sadly to fade as quickly as it arose.
a great swansong to the hippy era - with its faults and all.