The Nash vs. Crosby Feud

Well as for me. Sometimes people might get the impression I am a nice guy. Other times they might get the impression I am a total arsehole. I think this is true of many if not most people. Even the biggest jerk can come off as a nice guy in certain situations. And even a truly good person can come off as a total jerk in certain situations. I am lucky if I bat .500.

But I have always said there is a distinct difference between a "nice" person and a good person.

 

I'm wonderful and sometimes people don’t like me. Go figure.

 

Well, if we're going to cancel artists "guilty" of a "crime of the heart," I think most of our music/film/art/book collections are going get a pretty severe trimming.

I'm going to stick with the records - they still sound great to me.

 

Really, me too. I just think about PY and SN. There's just a sorrow, that's all.

 

I've been a butthead far more than I should be. I sit in regret of it more than I should, as well, because it disrupts the time I could be walking a little more on the right side. I have learned a lot after bumping my head hard, but I still bump my head against the wall and slip from wonderful quite a bit. Stay wonderful; enough people will recognize it in you, TD.

 

I've banged on Nash pretty hard in this thread, but honestly I have been listening to both Songs For Beginners and the 1972 Nash/Crosby album a bit lately and I admit that Nash was writing a lot of good material in that period. I also like his vocal timbre in that period...his voice carried more emotion and urgency than it did even a few years later. That '72 album is the real hidden gem to my ears...I like it much more than Wind On The Water, for example.

 

the '04 crosby*nash album is the most hidden gem of the entire CSNY catalog.

a perfect 10 out of 10 album that even most CSNY fans have not heard.

 

Nash had a great run from 72-80, probably his strongest years as a songwriter.

 

It seemed too generic and MOR when I first got it and haven’t listened to it much since. No particular tune struck me as comparable to their early work, and I think it felt too long as well, IIRC. But after the positive takes I’ve read here I need to break it out again. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance to sink in.

 

It's yet another double album that would have made a solid single disc instead. First 2/3 of it is good and consistent but the last 1/3 drags...especially Nash's songs. Good news is that you can hear the beginnings of Crosby's recent solo excellence on this album.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting graham and Susan once back stage in his dressing room. I have shared this story on the forum before but let me just say he was incredibly kind and generous with his time and engagement. 10 minutes but I am sure he does that with SO many people. Also he did something for a family member of mine that was incredibly generous and selfless, that most people would never hear about. So arrogant? Maybe... ego maniac. Possibly (aren’t they all) but also very kind and selfless in many ways.

 

Had it been released a single album, it would have been a stronger album. But then I would have learned about all the stuff they left in the can, and I would have spent the past dozen years complaining that those songs were not released, and never will be released. So, for better or worse, I’ll take it all.

 

Indeed. It's very new agey, and there's no reason why it should it have been 2 discs. I go back to it every now and again to see if there's something i'm missing, but it still doesn't resonate with me. It lacks bite without Stills.

 

Yes. And I never understood how his '86 album "Innocent Eyes" effort could get SOOO bad.

 

It's my least favourite album by Graham but I don't think it's a total disaster. His own songs are decent but the ones from outside writers are a bit too generic though. However, you do have to have a tolerance for Eighties production tropes to get any sort of enjoyment from this record, I reckon.

 

Will try to give it another chance

 

There is a single disc “highlights” version - I do not have it, unfortunately (maybe it was an import) does anyone that has both think they made the right cuts for the single disc or that it works better as an album?

I agree with you - and had a similar thought around the double...I’d rather have it all as opposed to possibly getting a few here and there in retrospective sets (or not at all).

 

crosby*nash - highlights

1. "Lay Me Down" (James Raymond) – 3:37
2. "Milky Way Tonight" (Graham Nash) – 3:25
3. "Don't Dig Here" (Raymond, Nash, Kunkel) – 6:10
4. "Penguin in a Palm Tree" (Nash) – 3:50
5. "I Surrender" (Cohn) – 4:15
6. "Through Here Quite Often" (David Crosby, Dean Parks) – 4:05
7. "They Want It All" (Crosby) – 5:35
8. "Puppeteer" (Raymond) – 4:06
9. "Live on (the Wall)" (Flannery, Nash, Plunkett, Proffer) – 3:22
10. "Grace" (Raymond) – 0:46
11. "Jesus of Rio" (Nash, Jeff Pevar) – 4:12
12. "How Does It Shine?" (Crosby) – 5:21
13. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (Traditional) – 1:43

 

Well, @rjp, Penguin in a Palm Tree, Don't Dig Here and They Want it All are not quite my favourites from the album. I would replace them with Half Your Angels, Michael and Samurai.

But tbh, I'm fine with the album as is, although disc 1 is definitely stronger than disc 2.

 

I listen to the '72 album often, I think it's pretty great. Seems to be usually dismissed or just forgotten about by most. I also like it more than WOTW.

 

the best part of this whole discussion is the fact that the entire 2 CD set fits on one CD!

which begs the question: why did they make it a 2 CD set? my only logical answer: $$$$$

 

Absolutely agreed. Nash's singing and vocal timbre on the 1972 album are the best I've ever heard from him in any context. I have very mixed feelings about his voice a lot of the time, but on that record he sounds superb.

 

This is such a bizarre release. No unique tracks, just a shorter version of a previously released album?

 

Graham tried a little too hard to be current in the 80s and, also, I didn't care for hamfisted politics. He was better at writing politically with subtlety in the 70s, or maybe just the songs were better. His Songs For Survivors and Crosby/Nash songs were a big return to form for me.

 

He was on form for both of those. What are your thoughts on This Path Tonight?