Crosby, Stills & Nash (1st Album, Expanded and Remastered) [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Crosby Stills & Nash | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 24, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B000BYCAJE
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,627 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

2. Marrakesh Express

3. Guinnevere

4. You Don't Have To Cry

5. Pre-Road Downs

6. Wooden Ships

7. Lady of the Island

8. Helplessly Hoping

9. Long Time Gone

10. 49 Bye Byes

11. Do for the Others

12. Song with No Words

13. Everybody's Talkin'

14. Teach Your Children

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

As much as any record, CSN's 1969 debut ushered in the early '70s singer-songwriter boom. Yes, this was a group, but it was one made up of three coequal composer/vocalists, each with a heady resume--Crosby an ex- Byrd, Stills in Buffalo Springfield, and Nash a former member of the Hollies. Each supplied distinctive material and contributed to CSN's trademark harmonies. The addition of Neil Young made the supergroup an edgier outfit. There's a purity to the original trio recording, however, that would never be recaptured. --Steven Stolder

Product Description

One of the most enduring musical partnerships of our time, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Crosby, Stills & Nash are revered for their peerless vocal harmonies, inspired songwriting and musical virtuosity. When the trio first sang together at a friend's Laurel Canyon house in 1968, their uncanny harmonic convergence was immediately apparent, and CSN took shape. Each member came to the new venture from other high-profile bands-Crosby from the Byrds, Stills from Buffalo Springfield, and Nash from the Hollies-and together, they formed that rarest of musical entities, a "supergroup" that lived up to its billing. CSN's 1969 self-titled debut album is one of the true masterpieces of the rock 'n' roll canon, and 1982's Daylight Again is a brilliant portrait of their musical evolution. Still touring and recording together, CSN is an American treasure.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

203 of 206 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why did I buy this?, August 3, 2006

By 

tunestony "music freak" (Dayton, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1st Album, Expanded and Remastered) (Audio CD)

The music gets five stars. The 3 stars are for the lousy remastering job. There are so many problems here, let me list them for you:

1. I did a direct comparison between this new remaster and the older remaster job from the mid-90's. The older version blows this one away! This new remaster lacks any high end, making a lot of the songs sound flat.

2. The beginning of "49 Bye Byes" is cutoff. Crosby sings "You better come on in my kitchen / because it's going to be raining outside." This part is missing. Apparently, the estate of Robert Johnson objected (why now, after all these years?).

3. If you're thinking of buying this disc for the bonus tracks, save your money. The best one, "Song With No Words" is already available on the CSN boxset. The others are nice demos, but don't really lend themselves to repeated listening.

4. THE KICKER: They removed a picture of Dallas Taylor from the back of the CD booklet. On the original LP and subsequent CD issues, drummer Dallas Taylor is seen peering through the door. Since he is currently in litigation with the band, they saw to it to remove him from the album jacket!

The sound is NOT an improvement, the bonus tracks are lackluster and one track is actually edited. Stick with your older copy and save your money.

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nearly perfect, July 27, 2006

By 

Craig Burgess (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1st Album, Expanded and Remastered) (Audio CD)

I just received and listened to Rhino Record's new reissue of CSN's first album (Rhino has recently done sonically wondrous things with early Chicago albums, especially their first, "Chicago Transit Authority"). The sound is pretty glorious throughout, and now that I've had a chance to give it a really critical listening, I can definitely say it's better than Atlantic's and Joe Gastwirt/Ocean View Digital's first digital remastering that was released a few years back (not to be confused with the initial CD transfer, which fell very flat sonically, as did most CDs of that time). During my first listening, I particularly noticed that the atmospeherics of "Guinnevere" stand out, as does the clarity of the vocal lines in "Helplessly Hoping." In fact, all the vocals are outstandingly clear, making the trademark three-part harmonies much easier to follow individually. In general, the whole album is a little more 3-dimensional, allowing you to hear into the mix a little bit better. And during the moments when it gets loud, it doesn't get quite as congested as the earlier remaster. The differences are subtle, but definitely audible.

The release has some new liner notes, including comments from the three principals, plus 3 previously unreleased versions of songs that would appear later in their collective and individual careers: Crosby's "Song with No Words," Still's "Do for the Others" and Nash's "Teach Your Children," plus a Stills cover of Fred Neil's "Everbody's Talkin'" (the song that provided a big hit for Harry Nilsson). The booklet also includes a reproduction of the original lyric sheet with artwork, which I remember hearing never made its way into all copies of the original LP.

Strangely, however, they changed the cover photo so Dallas Taylor, the drummer on the original album, is no longer shown peering through the glass in the door of the house. At first I thought he had been photoshopped out of the picture until I did a little research and learned that he wasn't at the original photo shoot to begin with and his image was added later before producing and printing the cover art. I'm all for purity and everything, but since one could argue that the whole point of the reissue is to restore the original as much as possible, why bother changing it? The public had never seen the photo without Taylor, so what was gained in leaving him out?

Another change, and one that I find extremely disappointing, is the elimination of Crosby's barely audible "Long Time Gone" tag, in which he sings Robert Johnson's phrase, "You better come in my kitchen because it's going to be raining outside." Wikipedia tells us that it was removed at the request of Johnson's family, though no further reason is given. Various message board participants claim that Johnson's estate wanted a great deal of compensation for its use. That answer seems more likely, as it would appear that no real benefit could accrue to Johnson's family simply by eliminating recordings of his songs where they had previously existed. Whatever the reason, removing it creates a diminished package, in my opinion. At least the previous Atlantic remastering still contains it, where it appears as the intro to "49 Bye-Byes." I'm glad I have that versison, and don't plan on getting rid of it despite getting this new and sonically improved version.

One other small but important change - the songwriting credit for "Wooden Ships" now lists Paul Kantner as a cowriter, along with Crosby and Stills, which I'm told is the way the song was credited when it appeared on Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers."

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hippie Day Dream Before the Nightmare of Drugs and Ego, January 27, 2006

By 

o dubhthaigh (north rustico, pei, canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1st Album, Expanded and Remastered) (Audio CD)

Rightly so, this CD remains a cornerstone record that deserves a place in everyone's library. The writing was superb, and Nash for one, would rarely come up to this standard after this. Stills was determined to prove he was the best damned musician working in the States at that time, and Crosby, oddly enough, was the inspirational glue that held it all together. It wouldn't last, but who knew at this point?
The remastering is the issue here, and this music has always set a fidelity standard that you could measure every other recording by, again, thanks to Stills. Whether on vinyl or in digital formats, there is a presence to this music that is hard to quantify, but its quality is undeniable. The current remastering, on the heels of the superlative solo outing from Stills and the consistently brilliant work by Crosby post clean-up, offers you an intimacy and warmth I hadn't heard on even the very best pressings before. Forget the extra songs, even though they alone would justify a re-purchase, it is the original album that carries the day again and with a dynamic that shows all of Stills' perfectionist tendencies in the best of all possible lights. I'm looking forward, kind of, to the remastering of Daylight Again, and more importantly to Deja Vu, CSN, and Four Way Street, all scheduled for the next two years. Maybe it will be enough to fire up the creative juices for an original release.
Whatever, the point is that this is a worthy remaster that will enlighten the already converted and wow the novitiate. Well done, Stephen.