Customer Reviews

American Dream

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is commonly said that CSNY came together for this CD for all the wrong reasons. Even the individual members of the band confess that AMERICAN DREAM was not the album they should have made. Young is quoted as saying that he promised to return to the band for an album if David Crosby kicked his crack habit. Well, as luck would have it, Crosby got himself arrested one time too many and into the Big Clink he went. Soon Crosby found himself in with a better class of people and walked out of the jail months later clean and sober. Much to Young's chagrin his pledge came back to haunt him and so rather than take back his promise into the studio he went. The resulting album then got some equivalent of a "Dog of the Year" award from Rolling Stone magazine-that being the kindest praise it received.

I take a different point of view. One of the virtue of CD-players is you can "program out" certain selections. It is surprising how "good" albums become "excellent" albums when particular debris is given a "rest".

I hate to say this because I like the guy. I've seen him in dozens of television interviews and listened to him many times in radio interviews speak extensively about music and many other subjects. He is very articulate and intelligent and I would love to drink a few beers with him and shoot the breeze. He probably knows more and remembers much more of the truth behind the great events in Rock history than most who were there or claimed to be there. Nevertheless, I find that there is nothing wrong with AMERICAN DREAM if you program out Graham Nash's songs.

Somewhere along the line, Nash became convinced that he had emerged as the creative force in CSN. His "Wasted on the Way" and "Just a Song before I Go" were among the brighter spots on CSN and DAYLIGHT AGAIN as well as becoming modest hits on the radio. However, the balance of his songwriting suffers from a wooden quality lyrically and is mediocre musically. Both of these deflects are magnified when Nash gets a little preachy. This has puzzled me for a long time since I liked Nash's first album, SONGS FOR BEGINNERS, as well as his collaborations with David Crosby in GRAHAM NASH/DAVID CROSBY and WIND ON THE WATER.

When Nash gets together with David Crosby, the blend of their voices is so graceful and pleasing that together they are major stars in their own right as well as "A-list" backup singers to other artists' projects. But on this album Nash's songs are just dead weight.

Putting Nash's contributions aside and considering the rest of the album, one gets the funny notion that this really started out as a Steven Still/Neil Young album and then Crosby and Nash were included when the album was over half done. It has been strongly rumored for years that the first Stills/Young album, LONG MAY YOU RUN, started out as a CSNY project and somewhere during the process Still and Young parted ways with the other pair and erased or removed their voices and contributions to the project. Needless to say, Crosby and Nash were none too pleased and may account for some of the snotty things Nash says about Stills and Young every now and then. Aside from the renewal of David Crosby's life, one has to wonder if this album was an attempt to make up for that past offense.

Whatever the truth may be the rest of the album sparkles. Stills' contributions do not match any thing like "Carry On" or "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"; but his "Got It Made" is one of the most enjoyable songs on the album. Neil Young's songs are...well, Neil Young. I think they are fun and wonderful. Then again I think nearly everything Young has done is in a stellar class by itself. Others do not share my enthusiasm so you'll just have to make up your own mind. Crosby's two songs are a hit and miss. "Nighttime for Generals" is just his typical paranoid political views on parade-not even among the best of those at that. But his far more personal "Compass" is a tender and introspective song of wisdom bought with personal tragedy, youthful foolishness, and self-destructive mistakes. Well worth the price of the album by itself.

So take my advice. Listen to this album judiciously with artistic discrimination. It will reward you and you will enjoy it much more.

I have read some bad comments about this album, but I like it. It does have some problems, especially Nash's songs except "Clear Blue Skies", and some of Still's stuff, like "That Girl" and "Nightsong." The best stuff though is by far Crosby and Young's songs. "American Dream" is a great tune as is "This Old House" and "Feel Your Love," the latter being one of my favorite Young songs with CS&N. Crosby with his only two songs has a great rocker with "Nighttime For the Generals" and "Compass," quite possibly his best song after his imprisonment. Anyway, it is a good album, not their best but still good, and I would buy it. Let us now look forward to their new album coming out later this year.

Don't let the naysayers convince you that this album is bad. On the contrary, this album from 1988 is one of the best CSNY has ever produced & as long as you aren't biased against the band's more modern pop/rock sound that they took on, you are in for a real treat. It is chock full of catchy melodic songs & has a few pleasant surprises. Neil Young starts things off with a great folk rocker, "American Dream" & contributes many more great folk/rock songs throughout the album. My favorite being "Feel Your Love" which is a catchy & upbeat mid-tempo love song. David Crosby's "Compass" is a haunting & teriffic acoustic ballad & is right up there with the groups best work. Then Crosby does a total 180 & rocks out with "Nighttime for the Generals". Probably the hardest rocking & coolest song the group has ever done. It explodes with grinding guitars, thumping bass & heavy drums and it's subject matter was never more relevant than it is today. Both of these tracks should've been singles. The one song that was released as a single, & is also my fav track on the album, is the incredibly catchy "Got It Made" which was sung to perfection by Stephen Stills. He also does another catchy mid-tempo love song called "That Girl" which has really nice harmony vocals & a harder rocking song called "Drivin thunder" which isn't bad. Last but not least, Graham Nash takes on the songs about the more serious issues. Sometimes Graham takes alot of flack for being too political or preachy but I for one don't mind. Everything he sings about on this album should be important to anyone with a conscience. "Clear Blue Skies" is a great mid-tempo song about taking care of our environment & "Shadowland", which sounds somewhat Japanese, is a really atmosheric song (complete with jungle & helicopter sound effects) about the PoW's that got left behind in Vietnam. And even if you don't care about the subject matter, these tracks are enjoyable just from a music standpoint. So to sum it all up, if you are a fan of these 4 rock legends & want to hear what they sounded like with a harder rock edge to them but with their trademark harmonies still intact, this is the album to get cuz it is fantastic from start to finish & contains no filler whatsoever. It's also my favorite & IMHO, their last truly great album.

My first reaction; What is this? This one gets better each time I listen to it. With Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young adding to the mix there is something for everyone to love and to complain about. (I could do without Drivin' Thunder); but someone else might really get into it. With programable CD players, edit out the 2 - 4 songs you don't like, then you have another CSN&Y classic. But don't start editing until you listen more than once.

Any record (put out by anybody) that has a song like "Compass" on it automatically has something to recommend it. It's true that there are a couple of clinkers here, and the instrumentation is a bit selfconsciously "modern". But the voices are still there, and there are flashes of the old songwriting and musical brilliance. Still better than Norah Jones.

There's no denying that this album is easy to pinpoint chronologically but the songs are solid and the performances are fine. The rare addition of Neil Young to the group adds the bite that makes this the best of CSN's later efforts. I seem to remember when this record was released that there was a sense of songwriting competition involved and it worked to their advantage. There's no mistaking who wrote what and that is one of the cool things about CSN&Y's material. Neil Young's songs are probably the most distinctive but all are absolutely appropriate to the CSN&Y body of work. Given the diversity of the material, it's the vocal harmonies that bring it together as a whole. 'Feel your love' is particularly well crafted vocally. Neil Young has probably never sounded more controlled vocally and the group is remarkably tight overall. This album got a fair amount of airplay at the time and it deserved it. It seems completely forgotten now, even by the group and that is a shame. Very solid songs. If you can accept the production decisions that probably seemed appropriate at the time (nothing that ruins any of the songs) then I can't imagine anyone that likes Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young's stuff would not want this in their collection. A CSN&Y album for the eighties. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

American Dream is my favorite CSNY album; actually, it's my favorite CSN album as well. That notwithstanding, Neil Young is a major reason for this album's beauty and staying-power. After spending most of the '80s making worthless trash, Young returned to song-writing form here and then made a solo comeback with Freedom the following year.
This album could have been done by Stills, Nash & Young (and guest-featuring David Crosby). Crosby doesn't do much at all on this album besides contributing two tracks, the introspective gentle acoustic "Compass" and the anti-military rant "Nighttime for the Generals." Maybe Crosby was recovering from one of his legendary drug binges.
Most of the material was written and played by Stills, Nash and Young. Graham Nash wrote most of the political material on this album: "Shadowland," which continues the theme of "Nighttime for the Generals," the environmentalist plea "Clear Blue Skies" and the naively hopeful "Soldiers of Peace." The problem with "can't we all just get along" songs like this is that there are no people with similar views in the Islamofascist world, or if there are, their voices are quickly stilled by state repression and drowned out in the cacophony of America-hatred. Nash is a sentimental hippie, but he does have a lovely voice and he can write simple love songs as well - "Don't Say Goodbye."
Stephen Stills has a powerful rock voice and shines on his tracks, "Got it Made," Drivin' Thunder," "That Girl" and "Night Song" (three of which were co-written by Young). But the real musical beauty of this album comes from the songs performed by Neil Young. From the simple bass guitar-driven satire of a fallen televangelist in "American Dream," to the lovely acoustic guitar on "Feel Your Love," Young is simply pleasing to the ear. Even his political writing here - "Name of Love" - is not heavy-handed but just a simple exhortation. It could have come from Jesus. "This Old House" is also a beautiful but sad track about a family losing its home.

American Dream came out during a very difficult time in my life and every time I listen to it, it takes me back to 1988. I could write about 100 other albums that helped get me through the late 80's and early 90's but every song on American Dream has an emotional strength that never fails to pull me in. Take the songs together or listen to them separately, the guitar licks and vocal harmonies are outstanding. For those of you who advocate deleting some of the "weaker" songs, go ahead but don't forget the songs that you leave out. Be glad that you get all 14 of the original songs. Some record companies pick and choose songs in order to make everything fit on a single CD and then they just disappear from subsequent printings. Who really has the gall to decide what songs an artist should have left out of an album? Personally, every time I listen to American Dream, it is like welcoming an old friend back into my living room. Try not to worry too much about the professional critics. They get paid to bitch and whine.

Take modern keyboards, repetitive drum beat sounds (typical of the 80's) as if programmed by a drum machine, good electric guitar riffs and transpose the harmonies of 70's-sounding CSNY and you have this album. Ok, I am not a fan of 80's music or modern music but I do possess a bit in my collection. Some of the songs remind of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" and others of some Stevie Ray Vaughn (with CSN harmonies), etc.. This album reflects commercial pressure imposed upon CSNY to fit in with the 80's sound. In the context of their classics from 1969 to 1977, this album pales big-time and is not even in the same ballpark. However, in the context of what else was being released in the 1980's, this album is "ok" and sounds similar to what else was being released in the late 80's. I'd give this a **1/2 but 1/2 ratings are not acceptable. It's better than ** though. If you don't like 80's music, skip this. If you want to hear vintage CSNY harmonies amongst the backdrop of modern 80's digital music, this is the album to get. Seems like their attempt to retain old fans (with their 70's like vocal harmonies and even an accoustical ballad or 2 that does not sound modern) but also to capture newer younger fans with the modern digital sound that the youngster's like. Personally, I think an approach like that will fail every time. To me, this album is not terrible but it's not good either. Other's may like more than I. Although the Still's songs are not that hot, he still has a rockin' voice. Neil Young sounds like he has a head cold on this album as his vocals tend to destroy his compositions.

Bending from traditonal CSN and CSNY music but still a very good album.