*CSN&Y : Deja Vu* One of the best LPs ever?

me thinks so, does you?

 

Absolutely! Though it's a close fight with the first CSN (couch) album.

 

4 way street is another damn great music no matter what we have all been here before

 

Definitely one of the best. A truly classic album.

 

Love this album...

for years I tried to find the fantastic Japanese Mini LP CD-long OOP...

 

Great album. Some people say the first one was better but I seem to go to this one more often. Now if somehow someway Steve could get to the tapes and work whatever magic possible and remaster it.

Then again,from what I have read here in threads, dont know how much there is to work with as far as how the original recording was done in the first place.

But definitely a classic among classics.

 

No. After a strong debut, the CSN trinity was already running out of songs. On Deja Vu they were saved from disaster only by late addition, Neil Young - and an assist from Joni Mitchell. Think about it. Stills' songwriting contributions were:

Carry On - a reworked Buffalo Springfield tune, albeit a good one. I'll give it an 8.
4+20 - a song fragment he apparently couldn't finish . I'll give it a 5.
and a co-write with Neil on "Everybody I Love You". A piffle - I'll give it a 4.

Nash contributed:

Teach Your Children - one of the most ingratiatingly insipid songs ever recorded. The nadir of hippie composition. Redeemed (only slightly) by Jerry Garcia's pedal steel guitar. I'll give it a 3.

Our House - Trite, but sweet. I'll give it a 6.

Crosby contributed:

Almost Cut My Hair - Utterly embarrassing Hippie crap. I'll give it a 2.

Deja Vu - OK, but I liked this one better when it was recorded by the Byrds and called "Tribal Gathering". I'll give it a 5.

To the rescue -

Neil Young with Helpless, a 10, and the beautiful chamber pop medley Country Girl... a 9 perhaps... and of course Joni's Woodstock = an amazing 10.

Not a bad album per se, but it would have been a disaster if they had carried on as a trio - just like it ultimately was. "Live it Up", anybody?

 

Can't agree with the poster above, I love the album.

 

when this came out, and was quickly followed by the "ohio/find the cost of freedom" single, my friends and i really thought we had a new "beatles". the posiibilities seemed endless.

who'd knew at the time it would be 18 year until their next studio album.

renny

 

good one, really good one, but hardly in my top 100 list, sorry.

maybe for US listeners and elderly (those grown-up in the 60ies) this might be different.
Most touching - OUR HOUSE + 4 and 20 years ago
Most meaningful - Teach Your Children Well
Most rocking - Almost cut my hair..
Most guitar work - De Ja Vu

but there are some mediocre moments in it, too...

esp. that Neil Young stuff sounds uninspired to me - Helpless (sigh) Man needs a maid - (come on you crazy ?)
plus a cover that sounded better in it's original - Woodstock (Joni Mitchell)
Carry On ? with that arrangement it sounds like lame Country Rock 2 me


So not exactly a 5 STAR album 4 & half STAR ? hardly - but for it's influential importance back in the days i'd say yes -

 

Yeah i'll take ''the couch'' album over this one,i don't think it's a close call at all.The CSN album is a true classic,every song is great,the CSN&Y album just doesn't hold up as well for me.Sure there are some good songs on it ''Helpless,Teach Your Children,Carry On,Our House'' but the rest is mediocre at best.

 

A truly great Album indeed in my opinion ! I Agree it stands the test of time very well and it pretty much stays in my rotation.

 

Read the Neil Young chapter in the book "The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music" and Deja Vu becomes very hard to listen to again. I will stick with my Neil albums.

 

I think it's an absolute classic, as is the first CS&N album. When I discovered these in my college years, I could hardly believe how good they were. They raised the bar. I disagree with almost all of the criticism of the songs on Deja Vu. I'll take the CS&N version of "Woodstock" over Joni's morose version any day (although I love Joni's) -- it better represents the spirit of the event. "Deja Vu" is one of the most unique and original songs in rock, and it's hardly a rewrite of "Tribal Gathering." I think Nash's songs are tight, simple tunes that really succeed. If "Teach Your Children" may sound trite to some modern ears, but at the time it was a great song with a great, timely message, and if I listen to it with a sense of history, it doesn't sound trite at all. "Carry On" is an anthem. So what if he had part of it for years? Even though it's often dismissed, "Country Girl" has always been one of my favorites. And I think "Everybody I Love You" is a great little throwaway with a great groove.

If you look at what came out on solo albums the next few years, it's hard to argue that the songwriting had dried up. These guys were all in their best years as songwriters. The thing about "Deja Vu" is that it was a reflection of the times much more than the first album, and I think that's why it sounds like dated hippie crap to some people. I guess I understand that, but to me it represents a lot of what was good and hopeful about that time.

For me, not a weak cut.

 

Olson, can you summarize the Neil Young chapter in "The Dark Stuff" as it pertains to "Deja Vu?" I haven't read it.

 

I generally agree with mighty quinn's review. I was mad about Déjà Vu as a teen but could not help outgrowing it. (This is not a snide line, I haven't outgrown A LOT of stuff!) Didn't want to, believe me. I have bought (and cleaned the hell out of) an original LP of this and also "CS&N" just last year. Gave them a thorough, dedicated listen, and resold them as quickly as I could. Joni Mitchell had quite superior artistry IMO, even by that time. Come to think of it, I find most of David Crosby's solo "If I Could Only..." more enjoyable than CSN&Y's LP, even though this one does have a few great "hits". Crosby's a more coherent production.

 

Oh an easy top 100 list for me.

 

Good, but lets not get carried away..

 

Excellent album. A top five favorite. However, Teach Your Children and Our House are the two tracks I have to skip when I play the album. Not bad songs, just the radio exposure kind of ruined them for me. Hey, theres another thread. Great albums with a hit song you don't like.

 

Teach Your Children - I always remember this song from the movie "Melody". The rest of the songs are pretty good too.

 

That is the best song of their whole catalogue, IMO.
I'm gonna play it right now actually !

 

I can't rate any album that features "Almost Cut My Hair" as a classic. I think that both the disc's and group's reputation rests more on boomer nostalgia than on much of anything that transcends it.

 

I actually purchased this album before the CSN album that had been released a year before. I also remember purchasing Deja Vu right around the time of Kent State in May 1970. This has always been one of my favorite albums that I own and play the CD a lot.

I think a lot of people will disagree with your sentiments. This was a great group and their popularity has been very strong for nearly 40 years. Also, I like the song Almost Cut My Hair. Sure it's dated, but artists were writing about relevant issues at the time. They weren't worried that this song would sound dated years later.

 

I agree with mighty quinn's assessment. A very good record, a fun listen for the most part, and the original vinyl sounds great.
But one of the best LPs ever? Not to me.
I came to this album as a Neil Young fan. If this were only CSN I wouldn't even own it.