139. Crosby, Stills and Nash — Crosby, Stills and Nash (1969)

Just three dudes on a beat up ol’ couch

1. By the time David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash got together, they’d already spent the prior five years dropping enough classic music between them for a lifetime. Crosby’s work with The Byrds and Stills with Buffalo Springfield in particular have been covered ad nauseam on this blog. This isn’t the first supergroup we’ve encountered, but it’s one of the most potent; a trio of musicians who complement each other wonderfully, from their vocal harmonization to their acoustic guitar skills to their grasp of folk pop melody. It’s no wonder their work together here feels like a logical progression of each of their own work.
2. The album opens with a stunner, a perfect seven minute folk tune in “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” written about Judy Collins, before launching into the Paul Simon-esque “Marrakech Express.” It’s no wonder these two tunes found top-40 success (each peaking at #28). The rest of the album flirts with a harder rocking sound at times, but mostly shines as a harmony-forward, folk-emphasized rock and roll ablum. Really, a lot of this feels reminiscent of an early Simon & Garfunkel tune, but bigger — the recordings are more lush, the harmonies more complex and exotic.
3. If there’s a knock against the album, it’s that it sounds almost too easy for these guys. There’s no edge, and not nearly enough of the tension I’d almost hope for when tossing three like-minded musical talents together. The band would later add Neil Young to the mix, and I can envision his harder rocking instincts providing the sound that’s missing. Still, if you’re looking for some 60s folk rock, you could do a lot worse than to put on the soothing sounds of Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Next up: Al Kooper hits us with that Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

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