Demos

Performer: Crosby, Stills & Nash
Engineer: Henry Lewy; Larry Cox; Russ Gary; Bill Halverson
Producer: Graham Nash; Neil Young; Stephen Stills; Joel Bernstein; Graham Nash (Compilation); Joel Bernstein (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Graham Nash (vocals, guitar, piano); Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar, drums); Neil Young (vocals, guitar). Recording information: A&M Recording, Hollywood, CA (06/13/1968-02/08/1971); Rising Sun Studios, New York, NY (06/13/1968-02/08/1971); Wally Heider Recording, Hollywood, CA (06/13/1968-02/08/1971). Photographer: Joel Bernstein. Composed mainly of stripped-down, mostly acoustic versions of some famous Crosby, Stills & Nash songs, DEMOS affords a fascinating glimpse of the singer-songwriter movement in its infancy. Make no mistake--these are no lo-fi collector's curiosities. Tunes like "Marrakesh Express," its bright, fresh harmonies intact, and "You Don't Have To Cry" compare quite favorable with their official versions. The David Crosby songs, "Almost Cut My Hair" and "Deja Vu," especially benefit from the unplugged treatment--one finally gets a sense of their meandering, free-floating charms, complete with vocal/guitar nuances and dynamics (some nice scat singing from David) mostly absent from the older albums. It also is true that many of the Woodstock-era lyrics here are pretty much of their time and place, but the songcraft is indestructible. As part of their ongoing reissue of the Crosby, Stills & Nash catalog, Rhino put out Demos, a collection of early home recordings of staples from the CSN catalog, demos recorded both alone and together between the years of 1968 and 1971. Unlike some similar collections, not much here is especially revelatory; apart from "Love the One You're With," here almost droning at the beginning, there are no great differences in lyrics or approach, with such solo recordings as "Almost Cut My Hair" pointing clearly to their latter full-blown incarnations. Apart from "Long Time Gone," recorded by Crosby and Stills before Nash joined the group and bearing a full electric arrangement, everything here is simple and spare, recorded with just acoustic guitars and pianos, often lacking harmonies. All this makes the songs themselves the focal point -- and it makes the handful of tracks with some combination of the group stand out, particularly "Music Is Love" with Crosby, Nash, and Neil Young -- and it's easy to appreciate their construction when they're heard stripped down to their bare bones as they are here. Ultimately, what Demos winds up doing is offering a newfound appreciation for what Crosby, Stills & Nash bring to each other, for as good as these demos are -- and there's not a bad cut here -- none of it sounds as complete as when the three harmonize together. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Spin (p.91) - "Surprisingly clean sound fidelity displays the abundant talent, as well the sense of discovery the three clearly felt upon joining forces." Record Collector (magazine) (p.80) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]hese demos are of songs by three gifted musicians at the peak of their powers."

One of the first "supergroups," Crosby Stills & Nash came to typify the direction of rock on the cusp of the 1970s. Their tight, three-part harmonies and acoustic/electric instrumentation typified the expanding folk-rock sound, and their introspection and self-possession were touchstones of the singer-songwriter movement. The group's self-titled debut immediately catapulted the group to greater success than any of the members' previous bands (Byrds, Hollies, Buffalo Springfield), and the follow-up, DEJA VU, which added Neil Young, was another hit. Internal squabbles split the band at their peak, but sporadic reunions over the following decades kept audiences hoping for a return to glory.

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