And the less said about Neil’s “Country Girl” and the Neil/Stills collaboration “Everybody I Love You,” the better. Though enjoyable, Nash’s “Teach Your Children” – a fun song to sing along to in concert – and the group’s radio-staple rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” both creak with age. The fact that it ended up in an underwear commercial sorta says it all, in my book. Nash’s “Our House” – well, I like the bit about “two cats in the yard,” but…I don’t know. His “4+20,” on the other hand, is haunting and strong. Stills is in good form, too, with “Carry On” (tho’ the tag of “Questions” is, uh, questionable). The highlights of the set: David Crosby’s powerful “Almost Cut My Hair,” which ranks with my fave songs of all time and Neil’s “Helpless,” as moving a song as he’s ever written. In 2000, in the quick-hit CSN/Y discography on my old website, I summed it up as thus:Ī very good, but not great, first outing by America’s answer to the Beatles. Unlike other albums of its era, Déjà Vu sounded anachronistic to me – fine nostalgia fodder for those of a certain age, but a faded snapshot of days long past for everyone else.Īs a whole, however, even in the thrush of my initial CSN obsession, I never heard it as a “great” album. I was 18, I should mention, and a Neil fan. 22, 1983, in a back-to-back bacchanal with Neil Young’s Comes a Time – I can say so with certainty thanks to my desk calendar. I have a mixed take on it, as well, part of which I chalk up to my age. But are there any truly first rate songs here? If there are, I don’t hear them.” And John Morthland wrote that there was “something hollow about this music” in the 1979 edition of the Rolling Stone Record Guide. Rolling Stone’s Langdon Winner questioned the songcraft found on Side 2: “Here we have a splendid showcase of all the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young strong points – precision playing, glittering harmonies, a relaxed but forceful rhythm, and impeccable twelve-string guitars. 147 for the 2012 revamp…and then dropped it 73 slots to No. 148 in its original 2003 “500 Greatest Albums“ list, nudged it up to No. Times’ well-respected Robert Hilburn ended a rave review with this: “While there are some weak spots, it is one of the best rock albums ever.” The Tampa Tribune’s Rory O’Connor proclaimed the same, writing that “[i}t has the same ‘touch of sky’ that, say, ‘Highway 61’ or ‘Beggars Banquet’ have.” And in the decades since, Rolling Stone ranked it No. For instance, on March 29th, no less than the L.A. And when they did? The applause resounded. Released on March 12th, 1970, Déjà Vu received instant accolades from many in the press, though – as was customary in those days – it took a few weeks for the critics to opine in print.
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