Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)

Crosby, Stills & Nash is the debut studio album by the folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), released on May 29, 1969, by Atlantic Records. It is the only release by the band prior to adding Neil Young to their lineup. The album spawned two Top 40 singles, "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which peaked respectively at No. 28 during the week of August 23, 1969, and at No. 21 during the week of December 6, 1969, on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album itself peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4 million.

The album has been issued on compact disc three times, mastered first by Barry Diament at Atlantic Studios in the mid-1980s; and remastered by Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital and reissued on August 16, 1994. The album was reissued again by Rhino Records in an expanded edition using the HDCD process on January 24, 2006. On December 6, 2011, a Gold Compact Disc edition of the album was released on the Audio Fidelity label.

Background and recording

Stills dominated the recording of the album. Crosby and Nash played guitar on their own songs, while drummer Dallas Taylor played on most tracks (session drummer Jim Gordon performed in his stead on "Marrakesh Express"). Stills played all the bass, organ, and lead guitar parts, as well as acoustic guitar on his own songs. "The other guys won't be offended when I say that one was my baby, and I kind of had the tracks in my head," Stills said. Even with this dominance, Stills does not appear on the tracks "Guinnevere" and "Lady of the Island", both featuring Crosby and Nash only and a precursor to their partnership on record and stage during the 1970s.

David Crosby bristled over the plan for "Long Time Gone" as he thought he should at least play rhythm guitar on his own song. Stills persuaded him to go home for a while and when he returned Crosby was won over by the music track that Stills and Taylor had recorded. In a more recent interview, Crosby contradicted his earlier statement, stating that he had played guitar on the track. He is so credited in the liner notes to the 1991 box set.

The group performed songs from the album at the Woodstock festival in August 1969. In late 1969 the group appeared with Neil Young on the Tom Jones' TV show and performed "Long Time Gone" with Tom Jones sharing vocals.

Composition and music

"In many ways, the album helped define the California sound," Matt Friedlander wrote. "The songs blended folk, country and rock influences and featured poetic lyrics about relationships and then-current social and political issues." Crosby, Stills & Nash combined the musicians' voices and other strengths; David Crosby's social commentary and atmospheric mood pieces, Stephen Stills' diverse musical skills and capacity to fold folk and country elements subtly into complex rock structures, and Graham Nash's radio-friendly pop melodies. The album features some of their best known songs, including "Helplessly Hoping", "Long Time Gone", "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", and "Wooden Ships", a collaboration between Crosby and Stills as well as Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane.

Artwork

On the album cover the members appear from left to right as Nash, Stills, and Crosby, the inverse of the roll call in the album's title. The photo was taken by their friend and photographer Henry Diltz before they came up with a name for the group. They found an abandoned house with an old battered sofa outside, located at 815 Palm Avenue, West Hollywood, that they thought would be a perfect fit for their image. A few days later the band decided on the name "Crosby, Stills, and Nash". To prevent confusion, they went back to the house a day or so later to re-shoot the cover in the correct order, but when they got there they found the house had been demolished.

Dallas Taylor appears looking through the window of the door on the rear of the sleeve. In the expanded edition, however, he is absent. The original vinyl LP was released in a gatefold sleeve that depicted the band members in large fur parkas with a sunset in the background on the gatefold (shot in Big Bear, California). A long folded page inside displayed the album credits, lyrics, track listing, and a quasi-psychedelic pencil drawing.