CSNY 1974

CSNY 1974
Live album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Released July 8, 2014
Recorded August 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, September 14, December 14, 1974
Genre Rock, folk rock
Length 196:15 (full version)
78:16 (single disc sampler)
Label Rhino Records
Producer Graham Nash, Joel Bernstein
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young chronology
CSN 2012
(2012)		 CSNY 1974
(2014)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Blurt Magazine[2]
AllMusic[3]
Rolling Stone[4]
Drowned in Sound(8/10)[5]

CSNY 1974 is the nineteenth album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, their seventh in the quartet configuration, and their fifth live album, the third as a foursome. Issued on Rhino Records in 2014, it consists of concert material recorded in 1974 on the band's tour during the summer of that year. It was issued in several formats: a standard compact disc box set consisting of three audio discs and a standard DVD; as one pure audio Blu-ray disc and a Blu-ray DVD; and a more expensively packaged limited deluxe edition consisting of the material on six vinyl records along with the Blu-ray discs and a coffee table book. Two single disc samplers were also issued, one of the acoustic material exclusively available at Starbucks in the United States and Canada, and another at normal retail outlets. Each of the non-sampler sets also contained a 188-page booklet, and all formats were released the same day. The three-disc and DVD package peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200, while the Starbucks sampler peaked at #37 and the selections sampler at #81.[6]

Background

After the split of CSNY in the summer of 1970, through 1971 David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Neil Young released solo albums, while Stephen Stills issued two. All were gold records, as were the three issued in early 1972 by the quartet: Harvest; Graham Nash David Crosby; and Manassas; proving the group to be appealing commercially apart as well as together.[7] Indicative of this commercial clout, only the separated Beatles as a group also achieved gold records with regularity during the same time period, reinforcing the notion of CSNY as the American Beatles.[8] The foursome showed little interest in regrouping given their individual success, but with the real Beatles defunct and Bob Dylan not touring, public enthusiasm remained unabated for CSNY as the new counterculture leaders to record and/or do concerts together, acknowledged by manager Elliot Roberts with his 'pissing in the wind' quote.[9]

Young toured solo in late 1970 and early 1971, Stills undertook his first solo headlining tour with a new band in the summer of 1971, about the same time that Crosby and Nash toured 'unplugged', for the first time as a duo.[10] Crosby and Nash toured by themselves again in 1972, while Stills assembled his Manassas band to tour after their album.[11] There had been sporadic reunions, with Young showing up to Crosby and Nash shows, Young recording a one-off single "War Song" with Nash, and CSN in three different pairs providing backing vocals on Young's Harvest album.[10][12]

In 1973, their individual fortunes began to falter. Stills toured again with Manassas, but their second album did not do as well in the marketplace. Young undertook two tours colored by the death of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten; the album from the first with Crosby and Nash in tow Time Fades Away falling well short of the previous year's Harvest sales-wise. Crosby's reunion with the Byrds and Nash's second solo album also did not do very well critically or commercially.[13] An attempt to make the second CSNY studio album in the summer of 1973 after a reunion in Hawaii fell apart.[14]

Crosby and Nash put together their first electric band tour in late 1973, and Stills continued to tour with Manassas into 1974, but the seed had been planted.[15] In January and February 1974, impresario Bill Graham successfully directed the return of Bob Dylan to the concert stage with a winter tour of basketball and hockey arenas. Manager Roberts proposed to CSNY something more ambitious: a summer tour of baseball and football stadiums.[16][17] Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young agreed, Graham signed on as tour director, and the tour was set to begin in July. Rehearsals took place at Young's ranch in La Honda in May and June.[18]

Tour

Besides the four principals on guitars and keyboards, supporting musicians had previously worked with different members. Tim Drummond had been the bassist for Young's Stray Gators band and had recently played on Wild Tales by Nash and On the Beach by Young. Drummer Russ Kunkel appeared on the debut album by Crosby & Nash, and percussionist Joe Lala was part of Stills' Manassas band.

The tour commenced on July 9 at the Seattle Center Coliseum and played 30 dates in 23 locations, ending the North American tour proper at the Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York on September 8.[19] A 31st and final show took place on September 14 at Wembley Stadium, with opening acts including The Band and Joni Mitchell.[20] The Beach Boys, Santana, Joe Walsh, and Jesse Colin Young also appeared as support acts during the tour.[21]

Although large multiple-bill festivals such as Miami Pop, Woodstock, and Watkins Glen had taken place, and CSNY, the Rolling Stones, and others had played infrequent stadium shows, no band except for the Beatles had ever attempted a tour of this magnitude.[22] Whereas the Beatles had done a series of stadium dates over two weeks in 1966, the scope of this tour and its logistics were unprecedented; as a liminal signpost toward the commercial ascent of stadium rock, the tour itinerary also encompassed a smorgasbord of indoor sports arenas, race tracks, and smaller college stadia, including Chicago Stadium, Nassau Coliseum, Boston Garden, the Capital Centre, Jeppesen Stadium at the University of Houston, and the St. Paul Civic Center.[22][23]

Production and box set content

Nash and Joel Bernstein, who had assembled the three individual box sets Voyage, Reflections, and Carry On for Crosby, Nash, and Stills respectively, collaborated again to produce this set. Nash stated that he became the group's archivist both because of his interest in preserving their history[24] and because "I just think I’m the only one with the patience for it."[25] Nash had also produced the 1991 box set for CSN, and Bernstein was the photographer for the 1974 tour. Nash and Bernstein selected the best take for each song from the dozen or so performances available. Nash claimed there were absolutely no overdubs: "If something was out of tune, I would either tune or I’d find it from another show – I’d find something at roughly the same tempo and I’d put it on."[25] The commitment to not overdubbing any tracks led to his decision to not include one of Stills' best known songs, "Carry On", as he could not get a good take even by splicing songs together. Fortunately, Stills was not upset.[26]

Recording locations during the tour as per the dates below were the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York; the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland; Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois; and Wembley Stadium in London, England.[27] Additional recording after the tour took place at a benefit for the United Farm Workers Union on December 14 at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium.[28] The concerts in Landover and London were filmed and provide the video footage for the DVD.

While the set list consisted of material taken from both group and solo projects, many songs performed on the tour and included in this box set had not been issued before the tour. Some of these tracks may have been intended for the aborted Human Highway CSNY project of the previous summer.[lower-alpha 1] "Carry Me" and "Time After Time" by Crosby would show up respectively on the Crosby & Nash albums Wind on the Water and Whistling Down the Wire. "Myth of Sisyphus" and "My Angel" by Stills would appear on his next solo album. "Fieldworker" by Nash would also be included on Wind on the Water. "Mellow My Mind" by Young would be released on Tonight's the Night, and "Long May You Run" would be the title track for the album Young would record in tandem with Stills. "On the Beach" and "Revolution Blues" would be released during the tour via Young's On the Beach. CSN's cover of "Blackbird" had been recorded in the studio in early 1969, but would not be issued until the 1991 box set. Five songs by Young – "Traces", "Goodbye Dick", "Love Art Blues", "Hawaiian Sunrise", and "Pushed It Over the End" – had appeared on bootlegs and imports but never on an officially sanctioned release before.

The box set presents an idealized concert from the template of the shows themselves: discs one and three full-band electric sets flanking a middle second set of acoustic songs in solo, duo, trio, and quartet configurations. The 188-page booklet contains photographs, articles, and song information compiled by Bernstein, including which model instruments were used on each song. Crosby had wanted to title the set What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, but that was nixed by the others.[17]

Legacy

Crosby dubbed this 'the doom tour,' in reference to both the difficulties in playing such large venues and the collateral excesses.[31] In order to have something in the stores coinciding with the tour, Atlantic Records compiled So Far from two studio albums and both sides of the stand-alone "Ohio" single. Nash found this absurd; nevertheless the album topped the Billboard 200, and its cover drawing by Joni Mitchell would indulgently appear on everything from dinner plates to pillowcases as part of the group's travel accessories.[31][32] Cocaine was also another of the tour's accessories, and tales of the group's behavior have been well chronicled.[17] The tour gross was approximately $11 million (56 million in 2015 dollars); however, with a tour staff of 86 and the various extravagances, Crosby maintains that the four principals took home a surprisingly small percentage of the proceeds.[33]

The first stadium tour, CSNY in 1974 set the precedent for every similar outing to follow.[34][35] Bill Graham would work in the same capacity for the Rolling Stones on their American tours of 1975, 1978, and 1981, adding more stadium dates with each subsequent excursion. As lucrative stadium tours with their large attendances became more feasible during the 1970s, so documents of the tour such as Frampton Comes Alive! and Kiss Alive II became equally more lucrative. The promotion business of rock and popular music has not looked back since.

In the autumn after the tour, another attempt to record a new CSNY studio album in Sausalito came to naught.[33] There would be yet another aborted attempt during the sessions for Long May You Run, that album result of the short-lived Stills-Young tour of 1976, but it would also end in acrimony.[36] The next time they completed a group album, it would be the trio and not the quartet for CSN in 1977.

Track listing

Disc one

No. TitleWriter(s)Studio source Length
1. "Love the One You're With"  Stephen StillsStephen Stills 6:05
2. "Wooden Ships"  David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Stephen StillsCrosby Stills & Nash 6:36
3. "Immigration Man"  Graham NashGraham Nash David Crosby 3:47
4. "Helpless"  Neil YoungDéjà Vu 4:45
5. "Carry Me"  David CrosbyWind on the Water in 1975 4:41
6. "Johnny's Garden"  Stephen StillsManassas 5:20
7. "Traces"  Neil Youngpreviously unreleased 3:17
8. "Grave Concern"  Graham NashWild Tales 3:11
9. "On the Beach"  Neil YoungOn the Beach 7:40
10. "Black Queen"  Stephen StillsStephen Stills 8:25
11. "Almost Cut My Hair"  David CrosbyDéjà Vu 7:07

Disc two

No. TitleWriter(s)Studio source Length
1. "Change Partners"  Stephen StillsStephen Stills 2 3:51
2. "The Lee Shore"  David Crosby4 Way Street live album; CSN (box set) in 1991 4:48
3. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"  Neil YoungAfter the Gold Rush 3:28
4. "Our House"  Graham NashDéjà Vu 3:38
5. "Fieldworker"  Graham NashWind on the Water in 1975 3:07
6. "Guinevere"  David CrosbyCrosby Stills & Nash 6:14
7. "Time After Time"  David CrosbyWhistling Down the Wire in 1976 3:48
8. "Prison Song"  Graham NashWild Tales 4:02
9. "Long May You Run"  Neil YoungLong May You Run in 1976 4:13
10. "Goodbye Dick"  Neil Youngpreviously unreleased 1:40
11. "Mellow My Mind"  Neil YoungTonight's the Night in 1975 2:33
12. "Old Man"  Neil YoungHarvest 4:23
13. "Word Game"  Stephen StillsStephen Stills 2 6:16
14. "Myth of Sisyphus"  Stephen Stills, Kenny PassarelliStills in 1975 4:44
15. "Blackbird"  John Lennon, Paul McCartneyCSN (box set) in 1991 2:48
16. "Love Art Blues"  Neil Youngpreviously unreleased 2:57
17. "Hawaiian Sunrise"  Neil Youngpreviously unreleased 2:56
18. "Teach Your Children"  Graham NashDéjà Vu 3:16
19. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"  Stephen StillsCrosby Stills & Nash 9:25

Disc three

No. TitleWriter(s)Studio source Length
1. "Déjà Vu"  David CrosbyDéjà Vu 8:29
2. "My Angel"  Stephen StillsStills in 1975 4:35
3. "Pre-Road Downs"  Graham NashCrosby Stills & Nash 3:30
4. "Don't Be Denied"  Neil YoungTime Fades Away live album 6:40
5. "Revolution Blues"  Neil YoungOn the Beach 4:21
6. "Military Madness"  Graham NashSongs for Beginners 5:04
7. "Long Time Gone"  David CrosbyCrosby Stills & Nash 6:05
8. "Pushed It Over the End"  Neil Youngpreviously unreleased 7:52
9. "Chicago"  Graham NashSongs for Beginners 4:43
10. "Ohio"  Neil Young1970 single 6:00

DVD

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"  Neil Young  
2. "Almost Cut My Hair"  David Crosby  
3. "Grave Concern"  Graham Nash  
4. "Old Man"  Neil Young  
5. "Johnny's Garden"  Stephen Stills  
6. "Our House"  Graham Nash  
7. "Déjà Vu"  David Crosby  
8. "Pushed It Over the End"  Neil Young  

Single disc sampler

Audience noise was trimmed from tracks to ensure that they all fit on a single compact disc.

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Love the One You're With"  Stephen Stills 6:02
2. "Wooden Ships"  David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Stephen Stills 6:20
3. "Immigration Man"  Graham Nash 3:45
4. "Helpless"  Neil Young 4:33
5. "Johnny's Garden"  Stephen Stills 5:09
6. "The Lee Shore"  David Crosby 4:47
7. "Change Partners"  Stephen Stills 3:24
8. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"  Neil Young 3:28
9. "Our House"  Graham Nash 3:20
10. "Guinevere"  David Crosby 5:51
11. "Old Man"  Neil Young 3:57
12. "Teach Your Children"  Graham Nash 3:09
13. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"  Stephen Stills 8:33
14. "Long Time Gone"  David Crosby 5:44
15. "Chicago"  Graham Nash 4:46
16. "Ohio"  Neil Young 5:37

Starbucks sampler

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart"  Neil Young 3:28
2. "Change Partners"  Stephen Stills 3:51
3. "The Lee Shore"  David Crosby 4:48
4. "Johnny's Garden"  Stephen Stills 5:20
5. "Guinevere"  David Crosby 6:14
6. "Our House"  Graham Nash 3:38
7. "Prison Song"  Graham Nash 4:02
8. "Old Man"  Neil Young 4:23
9. "Blackbird"  John Lennon, Paul McCartney 2:48
10. "Hawaiian Sunrise"  Neil Young 2:56
11. "Teach Your Children"  Graham Nash 3:16
12. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"  Stephen Stills 9:25

Personnel

Production personnel

Tour personnel

Charts

Charts (2014) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[37] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 75
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[39] 59
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] 11
Italian Albums (FIMI)[41] 51
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 41
UK Albums (OCC)[44] 37
US Billboard 200[45] 17
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[46] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[47] 4

Tour dates

Date City Country Venue
Tour[19]
9 July 1974 Seattle United States Seattle Center Coliseum
10 July 1974 Vancouver Canada Pacific National Exhibition Coliseum
13 July 1974 Oakland, California United States Oakland Alameda County Coliseum
14 July 1974
16 July 1974 Tempe, Arizona Tempe Stadium
19 July 1974 Kansas City, Missouri Royals Stadium
21 July 1974 Milwaukee County Stadium
22 July 1974 St. Paul, Minnesota Civic Center Arena
25 July 1974 Denver Mile High Stadium
28 July 1974 Houston Jeppesen Stadium
31 July 1974 Irving, Texas Texas Stadium
5 August 1974 Boston Boston Garden
6 August 1974
8 August 1974 Jersey City, New Jersey Roosevelt Stadium
9 August 1974 Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City Race Course
11 August 1974 Buffalo, New York Rich Stadium
14 August 1974 Uniondale, New York Nassau Coliseum
15 August 1974
17 August 1974 Norfolk, Virginia Foreman Field Stadium
19 August 1974 Landover, Maryland Capital Centre
20 August 1974
21 August 1974
23 August 1974 Tampa, Florida Tampa Stadium
25 August 1974 Memphis, Tennessee Memorial Stadium
27 August 1974 Chicago Chicago Stadium
28 August 1974
29 August 1974
31 August 1974 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
2 September 1974 Toronto Canada Varsity Stadium
8 September 1974 Westbury, New York United States Roosevelt Raceway
14 September 1974 London England Wembley Stadium

Notes

  1. ↑ There have been many attempts at reconstructing that album but, as no one from the band has ever confirmed a song list, these are all informed speculation.[29][30]

References

  1. ↑ "Album review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
  2. ↑ Zimmermann, Lee. "Album review". Blurtonline.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
  3. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (July 2014). "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: CSNY 1974". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Browne, David (July 8, 2014). "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: CSNY 1974". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Lavery, Aaron (2014-07-02). "Album review". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2014-09-07.
  6. ↑ CrosHal Entertainment Group website retrieved 19 July 2015
  7. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum searchable database
  8. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 127–128
  9. ↑ Carr (2004), p. 129
  10. 1 2 HyperRust website Chronology retrieved 22 August 2015
  11. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 154–157
  12. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 157–158
  13. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 161–163, 169
  14. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 165–166
  15. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 167–168
  16. ↑ Anonymous (2014), p. 14
  17. 1 2 3 Rolling Stone The Oral History of the infamous 'Doom Tour' retrieved 22 August 2015
  18. ↑ Zimmer (2000), pp. 171–173
  19. 1 2 Anonymous (2014), p. 90
  20. ↑ Anonymous (2014), p. 73
  21. ↑ Anonymous (2014), p. 43
  22. 1 2 Anonymous (2014), p. 30
  23. ↑ Sugar Mountain website retrieved 23 August 2015
  24. ↑ Daily Record website retrieved unknown
  25. 1 2 Music Radar website retrieved unknown
  26. ↑ Digital Trends website retrieved unknown
  27. ↑ Anonymous (2014), p. 178
  28. ↑ 1974 CSNY concerts retrieved 22 August 2015
  29. ↑ http://albumsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2013/12/crosby-stills-nash-young-human-highway.html
  30. ↑ http://thefrodisroomrockblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/crosby-stills-nash-and-young-human.html
  31. 1 2 Zimmer (2000), p. 176
  32. ↑ Anonymous (2014), p. 32
  33. 1 2 Zimmer (2000), p. 177
  34. ↑ Wall Street Journal retrieved 22 August 2015
  35. ↑ Creative Cow website retrieved 22 August 2015
  36. ↑ Crowe (2004), p. 183
  37. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974" (in German). Hung Medien.
  38. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  39. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974" (in French). Hung Medien.
  40. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  41. ↑ "Artisti – Classifica settimanale WK 28 (dal 07-07-2014 al 13-07-2014)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  42. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974". Hung Medien.
  43. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – CSNY 1974". Hung Medien.
  44. ↑ "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  45. ↑ "Crosby, Stills & Nash – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Crosby, Stills & Nash.
  46. ↑ "Crosby, Stills & Nash – Chart history" Billboard Folk Albums for Crosby, Stills & Nash.
  47. ↑ "Crosby, Stills & Nash – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Bibliography

  • Anonymous (2014). CSNY 1974: liner notes. Rhino. R2-541729. 
  • Carr, Roy (2004) [August 31, 1974]. "Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young and Bert". In Dave Zimmer. Four Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader. Da Capo Press. pp. 125–138. ISBN 0-306-81277-0. 
  • Crowe, Cameron (2004) [June 2, 1977]. "The actual honest-to-God reunion of Crosby, Stills & Nash". In Dave Zimmer. Four Way Street: The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Reader. Da Capo Press. pp. 177–196. ISBN 0-306-81277-0. 
  • Zimmer, Dave (2000). Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80974-5. 
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