Customer Reviews

Thousand Roads

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

 

 

I bought this album on a nostalgic whim and what a whim it turned out to be. This is the David Crosby Masterpiece! Spellbinding and humbling music because when you hear an album like this you realise the difference between pure genius talent and the rest of us! Every single track is between 4 and 5 stars with Hero, Too Young to Die, Old Soldier and Through your Hands being the absolute standouts. Too all of us who survived the suicidal moments of our teens - Too Young to Die is an anthem in rememberance of those wild nights out on the road. "Too fast for comfort, too low to fly, too young...to die" And I ask any parent to attempt to stay dry eyed listening to "Through your Hands" "when you ask, why am I not noticed, I say - Your voice does not command! In time you will move mountains and it will come through your hands..." - this everybody, is celestial songwriting. Columbus Natalie and Coverage are superb and very distinct tracks. The whole album can be listened to as one piece of music again and again and again and again - and again!!!
I was always a big Steven Stills fan but this album has opened my eyes (and ears) to the genius of David Crosby. To allow him to sign of this review...

"And I wonder, yes I wonder! How do you make sense of this? When the Hero...Kills the Maiden.. with his Kiss...

There was a time in rock and roll history-the mid to late 70's-when singer songwriters were releasing stuff that flew in the face of the current "chic" music movement-back then it was punk. (Think Jonathan Edwards, Emmylou Harris) These albums were probably not ever "hits." They were not easily grasped on first listen. These-like Thousand Roads-took time to be digested. First you have to accept that this Crosby album isn't "If I Could Only Remember My Name" Crosby. This one should be taken on its own. Guess you can still say it sucks, but this reviewer likes it more every time. Don't know about all the "comeback" talk here in these reviews. Fans will agree the Crosby doesn't need a "comeback"-he never left. Another album, another phase. If it was like "Name," people would be complaining that he wasn't growing-so what are you gonna do? Forget the preconceived notions and enjoy this good music. If you are still looking for CSN&Y and "Name" sounds, the title track would sound great with Stills and Young battling in out. I think that Crosby can interpret a song well and I love him when he does his own stuff. You choose.

If you ever listened to the Byrds Pre-Flyte album of demos that the Byrds made to get their original Columbia recording contract, you might remember a slow song by Crosby (one of his first recorded efforts) called "The Airport Song."

On this album almost 30 years later the Croz returns to that lilting slow folk-melodic style. However, because 1000 Roads was recorded during the end of the synthesizer in pop music craze it has a lot of synthesizers backing him up. His voice actually changed little in 30 years.

The songs are, as the reviewers below state, uneven. I agree that "Old Soldier" is a standout track and would have held its own on any Byrds or CSN album if Croz had back then been old and wise enough to write it.

The title track Thousand Days is also excellent along with Hero and the second song about Croz racing cars as a kid.

Croz's previous album Yes I Can was a disappointment, and it made me think No He Cannot. But on Thousand Days He Could and Did.

Here, David Crosby claims his place in the upper tier of velvet-voiced, romantic singers of our generation, contemporarily equaled possibly only by Art Garfunkel. I'm so glad Crosby make this record, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm! Previous to this lovely collection of music, we've heard David Crosby as intelligent rocker with mostly only glimpses of his quieter vocal subtleties, which bloom in full here.

"Too fast for comfort
too low to fly
too young to die."

That's David Crosby for you.

Listen to this record. It's a treat.

I was always a fan of CSNY but didn't really know anything about Crosby's solo work until this album was released back in 1993. To be honest, I mostly bought this album becuz the hit single "Hero" was all over the radio at the time and I am also a big fan of Phil Collins. So I knew i'd get at least one great song but I wasn't expecting too much for the rest of the album. Well I just gotta say, I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of work here and there really aren't any throwaways. The first half of the album has most of the best tracks but the second has a few gems as well. "Hero" is the best track & as you'd expect has excellent harmonies by both Phil & David. Phil also provides solid drumming as always. But I also really enjoyed "Too Young to Die"(a duet with Graham Nash that's right up there with CSN's best work), "Old Soldier", "Through Your Hands", "Yvette in English" and "Natalie" are all exceptional as well. All in all, a really good album with some really great songs that is definitely worth a listen. Especially if you're a fan of CSNY.

As I'm in the process of rounding out my David Crosby collection, it was finally time to get "A Thousand Roads." I knew nothing about the album, and after reading all the reviews here and elsewhere, I downloaded it with one eye closed and a slight grimace.

The good news is that I was well-prepared for what was to come. Based on what I'd read, I knew there was going to be a lot of "stuff" behind David that I wasn't used to, and there was. Right off the bat with "Hero," I shuddered a little. It's not offensive, it's just not the sound you'd expect from a David Crosby song (although it's exactly what you'd expect from a Phil Collins song). The tracks got better from there.

Even though there's only one song fully penned by David (the title track), the songs are beautifully written and complementary to his incredible voice. Of course some I liked better than others, notably "Yvette in English," the Joni Mitchell track. Think about it. Could David Crosby singing a Joni Mitchell song possibly be bad?

And hearing the occasional familiar voices in the background (Jackson and Graham) and Jeff Pevar's unmistakable mastery on the guitar was an added treat.

There's only one song that I really dislike on the CD and that's "Coverage." It's just not David in any way, shape or form.

Overall, I would say if you're like me and just absolutely love David's voice, by all means get this CD. If you're a fan craving more of "If I Could Only Remember My Name," then you should probably skip it.

Below is a track list with the songwriters' credits so you can see who wrote what:

HERO (Phil Collins/David Crosby)
TOO YOUNG TO DIE (Jimmy Webb)
OLD SOLDIER (Marc Cohn)
THROUGH YOUR HANDS (John Hiatt)
YVETTE IN ENGLISH (Joni Mitchell/David Crosby)
THOUSAND ROADS (David Crosby)
COLUMBUS (Noel Brazil)
HELPLESS HEART (Paul Brady)
COVERAGE (Bonnie Hayes)
NATALIE (Stephen Bishop)

I must admit that this CD has some stand out tracks and those few I listen to often. But overall this is a disappointing effort from one of the legends. I definitely expected much more!

After hearing the lackluster "Oh Yes I Can", I was skeptical of the next Crosby solo shot. Even the cheap/ugly cover artwork turned me off and still does for that matter. But once you get past all that and the first 2 tracks, which are a bit long, then it becomes clear that David still has something left to give. "Old Soldier" should be his theme song. This tune is great with its extended instrumental ending. "Through Your Hands" is another very original tune which is top quality. "Columbus" is a good efort. "Helpless Heart" will make anyone who is or has been in love, misty eyed. "Natalie" is another good effort. Overall 3 stars, but there are some 5 stars tunes on this one.

This is an album easily misunderstood. The songs are varying from delicate (Helpless Heart) to solid rock (Coverage). The composers who helped him with this songs are truly interested in a then comeback for David Crosby. The openingtrack Hero with Phil Collins is a statement. Every song is a jewel. Everything on this album is a demonstration of craftmenship. Musicians, vocals and production. The lead is his voice from bronze sounding as a churchbell; "Listen To Me", "Listen To Me", "Listen To Me".
I suggest: Do That!!

"Thousand Roads" was David Crosby's third solo album and his least successful effort by far (it did not even come close to the Billboard Top 100). The reason for this was simply that for the most part Crosby was not singing his own songs: he wrote the title track and co-wrote a pair of other songs, including the one single from the album, "Hero," with Phil Collins. The rest of the songs were written by notable songwriters such as Jimmy Webb and Stephen Bishop. Crosby was trying to prove himself to be an interpretive singer, a phase that was quickly abandoned. The chief part of Crosby's charm was that he was such a distinctive vocalist, and on "Thousand Roads" he moves away from that. This is a bit disappointing because the album starts off with its three strongest tracks in "Hero," "Too Young to Die," and "Old Soldier." But overall there are too many times when David Crosby does not sound like David Crosby for this to be anywhere near as good as "Oh Yes I Can" or as great as "If I Could Only Remember My Name." If those are four star and five star albums respectively, then this one has to be a three. If you are a fan of Cosby's vocals that is not going to matter, but this is not an album for the casual listener.