Customer Reviews

Reflections

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I write this, Graham Nash has just had a big weekend. He spent it on 'sacred ground' in Clear Lake, Iowa, celebrating the music and life of Buddy Holly. Today, February 3rd, he gives us a wonderful present on the day after his sixty-seventh birthday -- this new box set, REFLECTIONS. Have you opened it yet?

We receive a retrospective here, of course - three CD's with a total of sixty-four songs, some well-known, many catchy, others very moving - every single one heartfelt. The case even has the texture of a well-worn photograph album. He invites us in the first pages of the booklet tucked in there to sit back and enjoy -- after all, as articulate, gifted and committed as he might be, Nash, as he says to this day about Holly, is really one of us. He has shared little anecdotes about every song, and on every facing page he has chosen a picture to go with it.

Oh, we'll respond, too, all right, about how sweet a confession 'Right Between the Eyes' is in that mix, and how angry Nash really was when he stormed home and wrote 'Immigration Man'... and so on. But friends, even ones we don't know in person, rouse our sympathies just that way. Long time fans of his music already know that all too well. The new mixes are like a deeper dive into familiar reefs or a further trip into a beloved retreat. The new SONGS are not to be missed. If there were such a thing as a CD single yet, 'Try and Find Me', 'Lonely Man' and 'In Your Name' would be an unbeatable combination on its own.

Graham, apparently the last to toot his own horn, has said in recent interviews that making up REFLECTIONS was painful for him. But may he be well rewarded for this. You see, every heart he touches warms up and every note he sings turns to golden sunlight. I myself second his recommendation and congratulate him with all my heart in return.

The release of this set, a few months after the introduction of a remastered Songs For Beginners, mirrors the same path taken for the 2006 David Crosby Voyage set, and the remastered If I Could Only Remember My Name.

Both of the remastered solo releases pre-dated the release of each set. However, someone decided not to utilize the superior sound of the solo editions.

It's not to say that the audio on both sets is bad, but when A/B'd against the two solo remasters, the dichotomy is stark.

This is extremely disappointing, especially since all four releases were compiled at Rhino. However, ever since Rhino was "Warner-i-sized", this is the kind of oversight one has come to expect from that once great label.

Graham Nash is unique in that he first appeared with a well known British singles band, The Hollies, then formed C,S & N with Americans Stephen Stills and David Crosby. Their debut album and appearance at Woodstock won them a grammy and stardom. The addition of Neil Young, a Canadian, led to the release of "Deja Vu" one of the finest albums of the early 1970s. At the same time Nash was releasing solo material, and showing his political leanings with his debut album "Songs For Beginners" which included the classic medley "Chicago/We Can Change The World." This 3 disc set does a great job of distilling Nash's work with The Hollies, C,S&N, C,S,N&Y, C&N, as well as his solo work. Nash's songs are full of political commentary and hope, the latter being something we could use a lot of today. The high definition mastering is excellent and the annotations by Nash himself make this a gotta have companion to the 3 disc David Crosby box set Nash produced in 2008. Don't miss out or you'll be sorry.

I am not a big time fan of CSN, but some how I always felt that there is a distinguished voice among them, until one day I bought the cd called American Dream. When I listened to the two songs "Clear Blue Skies" and "Soldiers Of Peace", I knew that this is the man that made the band. I always wondered why doesn't he have a box set? Then a week ago I was in a music store looking for something new, something different, when I came face to face with Reflections. I had in my hand what I was looking for, or what I was hoping for. It was a must buy for me. I know it is very expensive, but it comes down to paying almost a dollar a song. Not bad. This guy has an Angelic voice. What ever he sings, I'll listen. By the way, if you listen to "Liar's Nightmare", it is the music of "Masters Of War", by Bob Dylan.

Peace.

If you liked Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, you will appreciate this boxed set from Graham Nash. The set is a very eclectic mix of early and late Graham Nash. I understand that Nash is currently working with Stephen Stills on his boxed set. If Stills' is as good as this, I will purchase that one also.

As for almost everyone my age, CSNY in their various forms was a major part of my musical life. It was Nash and Young whose solo work I also purchased, though I now intend to pick up the related Crosby and Stills sets to go with this one.

The first cd here along with a few songs on the 2nd disc makes up the Nash material I was familiar with. It's hard to believe that within the space of 3 cds, there was no room for one of my (and other people's) favorite songs from Nash, "And So It Goes" -- perhaps he doesn't like the song. What struck me most in the 3 cds came from one of those old songs: "I just want to hold you, I don't want to hold you down" -- I don't think there will ever be a better expression of that anguished feeling than those words combined with Nash's voice singing them.

There was a lot of material I didn't know here. Some I like, some I'd just as soon never hear again. The low point for me was the first few tracks of the 3rd cd (from a bad CSN album)-- I was thinking I'd never play it again but before long some songs I liked a lot appeared. Three discs of Graham Nash might be a bit much for most people; I would have preferred a two disc set which could easily have gotten 5 stars from me, but then he might have left out more of the songs I like.

Physically, this is the most beautiful set I've seen with the weathered appearance of the box combined with a quality book with many photos along with info and comments on each song. One cd is so tight on its holder I was afraid I was going to break it. As for the many new mixes, I have only vague memories to compare them with. Only "Chicago" seemed to sound notably different to me and less powerful than the original.

You forget until you hear them all at once how many good songs Graham wrote and performed as a member of the Hollies, CSN (and CSN&Y), with David, or on his own. The back stories on the songs in the detailed booklet are enlightening but the name-dropping may put you off a bit.
But if i knew those people as well as him i might be happy to say so, too...

Nash's influence goes well beyond the music. You could ask David Crosby and Jackson Browne just to name two.... This compilation is the best contextual view of the the man's music. The remastering is remarkable-it doesn't "re-make" the songs. It is all really great stuff. You don't have to have "been there" either.

What an incredible flashback of great times...the songs remember when....wow...love the song "Chippin' Away" ...brings back the lovely memories of the Berlin Wall coming down....Everyone needs to have this great pary album or just to listen to in your convertible while driving down the coast....oh yeah....go Graham Nash!!!!

I was a bit reluctant to buy this for some reason, but I needn't have worried. The hits are all here, of course, as well as lots of remixes and alternate takes, and a gem of a new song (to God) "In Your Name". The booklet has comments on all the songs, and lots of good photos by Nash (a noted shutterbug) as well as Joel Bernstein, Henry Diltz, and others. The only improvement would be a lower price. Alternatively, you can download the songs you want on Amazon or itunes. But the booklet is half the fun.