Carry On

Performer: Crosby, Stills & Nash
Distributor: MSI Music Distribution

Notes: This 2 CD, 36 track collection features virtually all of CSN's hits ("Love The One You're With," "Teach Your Children," "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Woodstock," etc.), but it's not just a "best of" set. There's also an alternate mix of "Woodstock," a live version of "Dark Star," and a whole bunch of other cool stuff. This two-CD set, issued for the European and Australian markets, has proved among the most popular of Crosby, Stills & Nash's imports since its release in 1998. Not as hefty, physically or monetarily, as the 1991 four-CD box, it limits itself to the group's hits and popular and important LP cuts -- many represented by outtake versions and alternate mixes -- interspersed with popular tracks from the work of Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and David Crosby (solo and partnered together), and adds what is mostly the best of the previously unissued Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young material from the box. It's a good survey of the trio's best moments and the three members' most effective solo outings, and presents their most appealing side -- one assumes that a future Graham Nash compilation will include room for tracks like "I Used to Be a King" or "Military Madness" and that Crosby's best stuff off of his first solo album will be compiled that way as well. The inclusion of Crosby's 1968 version of "Guinevere," the early alternate mix of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and a handful of additional outtakes that surfaced on the box are the places where the set departs from a standard best-of, but that departure is justified and welcome, separating this set from the So Far album, and anyone who didn't spring for the four-CD set will be delighted. There are no notes, but none are needed either, and the only drawback for some will be the fact that the stuff isn't presented in remotely chronological order. ~ Bruce Eder

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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