Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Déjà Vu” 1970. I’m taking CSN&Y’s second LP for a spin to commemorate David Crosby, who died Wednesday (January 18th) at the age of 81. CSN&Y has been a somewhat guilty pleasure of mine since I was a teenager into punk and new wave, and I continue to adore their songwriting and harmonies. I feel like it was acceptable to dig Neil Young (“godfather of grunge”- I saw him perform in ’92 with Sonic Youth and Social Distortion opening) but throw Crosby, Stills and Nash into the ring and it’s all like “hippie.” I’ve heard David Crosby was a raging asshole much of his life but damn, his music and voice were beautiful.

Déjà Vu is one of the best-selling records of all-time and makes most of the best-of lists out there. It hit #1 virtually everywhere in ’70 and continues to resonate; a 50th anniversary edition was released in 2021 (a year late, for obvious reasons). It spawned four singles: “Woodstock” (written by Joni Mitchell, sung and arranged by Stephen Stills who collaborated on the arrangement with Jimi Hendrix – my favorite line is “And I dreamed I saw the bomber jet planes riding shotgun in the sky, turning into butterflies above our nation) and the album opener “Carry On,” both of which I love, plus “Teach Your Children” and “Our House,” both written by Nash, neither of which I’m a fan of. Totally sappy and overplayed. Crosby’s contributions are the title track “Déjà Vu” which is super-trippy, proggy and complex – I’ve always liked this one – and “the anti-war “Almost Cut My Hair.” I also love Young’s song “Helpless.”