Songs for Survivors [ENHANCED]

Graham Nash

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 30, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 30, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Artemis Records
• ASIN: B0000696R7
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,667 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dirty Little Secret

2. Blizzard of Lies

3. Lost Another One

4. The Chelsea Hotel

5. I'll Be There For You

6. Nothing In The World

7. Where Love Lies Tonight

8. Pavanne

9. Liar's Nightmare

10. Come With Me

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With his fifth solo outing, Graham Nash ends a song cycle he kicked off with his 1971 solo debut, Songs for Beginners. Song for Survivors, finished just before his 60th birthday, finds the Hollies/CSNY vet making an uneasy peace with himself and his choices. Nash is still a tiger, but here he rails against growing old and docile and, worse, repeating himself. The brooding "Blizzard of Lies" conveys a churlish exasperation at finding himself on the same well-worn terrain he traveled years before. He returns to the theme again with the atmospheric "Chelsea Hotel," which carries the whiff of decay ("We will carry on / Searching for truth with perpetual youth that will fade and be gone in a blink of an eye / The world will be passing us by"). Salvation for Nash lies in love and enduring friendships, and he celebrates the former with three love songs for his wife and the latter with a paean to pals, "Nothing in the World." --Jaan Uhelszki

Product Description

Songs for Survivors is the first solo album in 15 years by Graham Nash. Nash is accompanied by a band of veteran West Coast musicians including Russ Kunkel (drums, percussion), Dan Dugmore (pedal steel, acoustic & electric guitars), and Victor Krauss (acoustic & electric bass). The recording experience, Graham explains, has been "one of the most rewarding of my life."

Having played on hundreds of recordings, performed in numerous countries and written over 200 songs including, "Our House", "Teach Your Children", "On a Carousel", "Wasted on the Way" and "Marrakesh Express", Graham is one of the most durable musical figures to have emerged from the 1960s. As one of the founding members of the Hollies, Graham achieved international success as part of the British Invasion in the 60’s. Shortly after, he joined Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, who are now in their 30th year of recording and performing together. In May of 1997, Graham (along with Stephen Stills and David Crosby) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his remarkable career. Nash recently finished a 2002 nationwide tour with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and plans to headline a run of solo dates this fall.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Graham just being Graham -- and that's just right, May 3, 2003

By	michael d. bado (Bloomingdale, IL) - See all my reviews

Altough a long time coming, Graham has finally placed a third masterpiece alongside "Songs for Beginners" and "Wild Tales".
Nash's "Earth and Sky" was nice enough, but, in its production saught too hard for monumental reaches. "Innocent Eyes" (with the exception of "Glass and Steel"), sadly, was nearly worthless and revealed little about the artist.

While "big production" and horrilbe pop synths sunk "Earth and Sky" and "Innocent Eyes", neither of these mistakes is duplicated here. The production of "Songs for Survivors" is just right. Delicate, yet powerful.

The instrumentation on this album is beautiful -- there is just so much for the listener to dig in and listen to. None of it is "in your face" --the listener just notices it slowly.

The lyrics, too, are supurb. "The Chelsea Hotel" are some of the best that Graham has ever written. A lot of wonderful allitteration! "Liars Nightmare" is Dylan-esque in its sweeping reach and approach. The song could have jumped off of "Time Out of Mind"!

"Nothing in the World", though, is the understated gem of this record. It's got that stomping writing technique that Graham learned from Neil Young. When the band kicks in on the third verse, it's just like classic Graham.

It's good for all of us that Graham doesn't try "too hard" on this album. It's relaxed, confident and a joy to hear.

Beautiful music by the "man in the mirror". It's obvious that, these days, when Mr. Nash looks in the mirror in the morning, he likes what he sees. We like what we see, too, Graham!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than might be expected, August 22, 2002

By A Customer

One might be quick to conclude that a 60-year-old hippie whose primary causes have been saving the world and society to produce a bland album of boring romantic and political pop.

This album, however, is almost the exact opposite of that.

Perhaps it isn't quite as strong as Songs for Survivors (or even Wild Tales), but it does come close at times. "Lost Another One" and "Blizzard of Lies" are two of the strongest songs Graham has written in years (far better than his contributions to the last CSN&Y album). True, there are a few duds ("Nothing in the World"), but the fantastic performances and arrangements make up for them.

It's incredible how well Nash's voice has held up (compared to how both Stills' and Young's have dropped an octave). The harmony vocals are also well done, although it rarely sounds like CS&N.

In reality, this would be a five-star album if one did not have to compare it to Songs for Beginnners and Wild Tales. This album shows how easily Nash could have built a career as a solo performer years ago, had he chose to. All in all, a very solid album from a wonderful pop songwriter.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Songs from a Friend, March 21, 2003

By	Lee Armstrong (Winterville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Graham Nash has always seemed like a peacemaker, someone you'd enjoy having for a close friend. His new set is a welcome return to form. The opener "Dirty Little Secret" was written with Russell Kunkel; it pulses with a nice energy & appears to be about some incident from the past dealing with race relations, laced with Rodney King's quote, "Can't we all get along?" "Blizzard of Lies" has some classic Nash harmonies with David Crosby. Nash writes about experiencing the death of friends on "Lost Another One." Joni Mitchell who was once romantically linked to Nash wrote "Chelsea Morning"; here Nash writes "Chelsea Hotel," a gathering place for artists, with his sweet acoustic guitar setting the pace. Nash's "I'll Be There for You" shows sentiments of friendship with gorgeous harmonies on a somewhat perfunctory melody. Dan Dugmore shows that pedal steel doesn't have to only be in a country song on "Nothing in the World." "Where Love Lies Tonight" is a touching track about finding love that could only have been enhanced with a more imaginitive melody. Today as I watched Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces being blown apart by American bombing, I find myself listening in a special way to Richard & Linda Thompson's "Pavanne," "At the presidential palace a thousand people saw his excellency leave his car & never make the door; the blood flows through his fingers as he clutches at the stain & staggers like a drunken man lies twisted in the rain." Nash takes a Jean Ritchie melody and does his best Dylan song construction on the long but entertaining "Liar's Nightmare." There's a huskiness in Graham's voice that is charming on the closing ballad "Come With Me." "Songs for Survivors" is a charming CD with great vocals & arrangements. With a really blockbuster track or two with memorable melodies, it'd be totally outstanding. As released, it is a welcome return from a voice as gentle as a true friend. Enjoy!