CSN (album)

For the box set of the same name, see CSN (box set).
CSN
Studio album by
Crosby, Stills & Nash
ReleasedJune 17, 1977
Recorded1976–1977
GenreRock
Length43:50
LabelAtlantic
ProducerDavid Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash with Ron Albert and Howard Albert
Crosby, Stills & Nash chronology
So Far
(1974) 		CSN
(1977) 		Replay
(1980)
Singles from CSN
  1. "Just a Song Before I Go"
    Released: June 17, 1977
  2. "Fair Game"
    Released: 1977

CSN is the third studio album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, released on Atlantic Records on June 17, 1977.[1] It is the group's second studio release in the trio configuration. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; two singles taken from the album, Nash's "Just a Song Before I Go" (No. 7) and Stills' "Fair Game" (No. 43) charted on the Billboard Hot 100. It is currently the trio configuration's best selling record, outselling 1969's Crosby, Stills & Nash by 200,000 copies.[2] It has been certified quadruple platinum by RIAA.[3]

Content

[edit]

Following their tour in the spring and summer of 1970 to support Déjà Vu, Crosby, Stills and Nash had only completed one project together, a 1974 reunion tour of CSNY. David Crosby and Graham Nash had recorded three albums as a duo, with Crosby releasing a single solo album (in addition to a Byrds reunion album) and Nash a pair. Stephen Stills pursued other projects including the release of four solo albums, a short career with Manassas that yielded two albums, as well as a tour and an album with Neil Young, which itself nearly became a CSNY project.

CSN featured strong writing from all three members, the last time for seven years that the band would compose songs and handle vocals without major assistance from outside sources.

Many of Stills' songs on the album echo his marital problems,[4] with "Dark Star" returning to the Latin rhythms he had favored all the way back to his Buffalo Springfield days. Crosby continued the existential probings consistent with much of his past work, and Nash offered both a radio-ready acoustic ballad with "Just a Song Before I Go", and an elaborate set piece re-creating a vision of an LSD experience that he had in Winchester Cathedral with "Cathedral".[4] Many tracks included a string section, a first on a CSN project.

The album was released for compact disc an initial time in the 1980s,[5] then again at Ocean View Digital from the original tapes and reissued on September 20, 1994. It was remastered once more by Steve Hoffman in April 2013, for an Audio Fidelity 24kt gold disk release in the summer of 2013.

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Christgau's Record GuideD+[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

Cash Box said that "Fair Game" "combines a snappy Latin rhythm, neatly interlocking harmonies, and layers of Stephen Stills' thoughtful acoustic guitar work."[9] It commented on the "surging guitars and piano" and "harmonic hooks" and "powerful rhythmic elements" of "I Give You Give Blind".[10]

Record World called "Fair Game" a "mid-tempo Stills song with samba touches, with the trio's trademark vocal harmonies again standing out."[11]

Track listing

[edit]

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Shadow Captain"
Crosby, Stills & Nash4:32
2."See the Changes"Stephen StillsStills with Crosby & Nash2:56
3."Carried Away"Graham NashNash with Crosby2:29
4."Fair Game"Stephen StillsStills with Crosby & Nash3:30
5."Anything at All"David CrosbyCrosby3:01
6."Cathedral"Graham NashNash with Crosby5:15

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Dark Star"Stephen StillsStills4:43
2."Just a Song Before I Go"Graham NashNash2:12
3."Run from Tears"Stephen StillsStills4:09
4."Cold Rain"Graham NashNash2:32
5."In My Dreams"David CrosbyCrosby5:10
6."I Give You Give Blind"Stephen StillsStills with Crosby & Nash3:21

Personnel

[edit]
  • David Crosby – vocals; rhythm guitar on "Fair Game" and "Dark Star"; acoustic guitar on "Just A Song Before I Go" and "In My Dreams"; string arrangements on "Cathedral" and "Cold Rain"
  • Stephen Stills – vocals; guitars on all tracks except "Carried Away", "Cathedral" and "Cold Rain" electric piano on "Anything at All"; piano, string arrangements on "I Give You Give Blind"; timbales on "Fair Game"
  • Graham Nash – vocals; piano on "Carried Away", "Cathedral", "Just A Song Before I Go", and "Cold Rain"; harmonica on "Carried Away"; string arrangements on "Cathedral" and "Cold Rain"

Additional musicians

  • Joe Vitale – drums on "Carried Away", "Fair Game", "Cathedral", "Dark Star", "Run From Tears" and "I Give You Give Blind"; organ on "Shadow Captain", "Fair Game", "Anything at All", "Dark Star"; electric piano on "Carried Away", "Just A Song Before I Go"; percussion on "Cathedral", "I Give You Give Blind"; flute on "Shadow Captain"; timpani on "Cathedral"; vibraphone on "In My Dreams"
  • Craig Doerge – piano on "Shadow Captain" and "Anything at All"; electric piano on "Shadow Captain" and "Dark Star"
  • Mike Finnigan – organ on "Run From Tears"
  • George "Chocolate" Perry – bass on "Shadow Captain", "Fair Game", "Anything at All", "Cathedral", "Dark Star", and "I Give You Give Blind"
  • Jimmy Haslip – bass on "Carried Away"
  • Tim Drummond – bass on "Just A Song Before I Go"
  • Gerald Johnson – bass on "Run From Tears"
  • Russ Kunkel – drums on "Shadow Captain", "Anything at All", "Just A Song Before I Go", and "In My Dreams"; congas on "Shadow Captain", "Dark Star"; percussion on "Just A Song Before I Go"
  • Ray Barretto – congas on "Fair Game"
  • Mike Lewis – string arrangements on "Cathedral", "Cold Rain", and "I Give You Give Blind"
  • Joel Bernstein – string arrangements on "Cathedral"

Production

Charts

[edit]

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (1977) Position
Canadian Albums Chart[30] 52
Italian Albums Chart[31] 65
Dutch Album Charts[32] 40
US Billboard 200[33] 83
US Cashbox Charts[34] 15

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[35] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Tour

[edit]
1977–1978 Reunion Tour
Tour by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Start date11 May 1977
End date10 August 1978
Legs3
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young concert chronology
Tours[36]
1977 Tour – Leg #1
Date City Country Venue
11 May 1977 South Bend United States Athletic & Convocation Center
2 June 1977 Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre
3 June 1977
4 June 1977
7 June 1977 Landover Capital Centre
8 June 1977
10 June 1977 Buffalo War Memorial Stadium
11 June 1977 Pittsburgh Civic Arena
13 June 1977 Providence Providence Civic Centre
14 June 1977 Boston Boston Garden
15 June 1977 Hartford Hartford Civic Centre
17 June 1977 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
18 June 1977 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
21 June 1977 New York City Madison Square Garden
23 June 1977 Philadelphia Spectrum
24 June 1977
25 June 1977 Saratoga Saratoga Performing Arts Centre
28 June 1977 Los Angeles The Forum
29 June 1977
30 June 1977 San Diego San Diego Sports Arena
26 August 1977 Houston Six Flags Astroworld
1977 Tour – Leg #2
Date City Country Venue
18 October 1977 Portland United States Portland Memorial Coliseum
19 October 1977 Vancouver Canada PNE Coliseum
20 October 1977 Seattle United States Seattle Center Coliseum
22 October 1977 Oakland Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
23 October 1977
25 October 1977 Salt Lake City Salt Palace
27 October 1977 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
28 October 1977 Lincoln Pershing Municipal Auditorium
29 October 1977 Ames Hilton Coliseum
31 October 1977 St. Paul St. Paul Civic Center
1 November 1977 Chicago Chicago Stadium
4 November 1977 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
5 November 1977 South Bend Athletic & Convocation Center
6 November 1977 Lexington Rupp Arena
9 November 1977 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum
10 November 1977 Murfreesboro Murphy Athletic Centre
12 November 1977 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
14 November 1977 Atlanta The Omni
15 November 1977 Birmingham Jefferson County Civic Center
16 November 1977 Mobile Municipal Auditorium
18 November 1977 Jacksonville Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
19 November 1977 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
20 November 1977 Miami Sportatorium
22 November 1977 Houston The Summit
23 November 1977 Fort Worth Tarrant County Convention Center
24 November 1977 Oklahoma City The Myriad
1978 Tour
Date City Country Venue
7 July 1978 Indianapolis, IN United States Market Square Arena
8 July 1978 Louisville Freedom Hall
11 July 1978 Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theater
12 July 1978
13 July 1978
14 July 1978
15 July 1978 Detroit Masonic Temple
16 July 1978 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
17 July 1978 Saratoga Saratoga Performing Arts Centre
18 July 1978 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum
20 July 1978 Providence United States Providence Civic Center
22 July 1978 New York City Madison Square Garden
23 July 1978 New Haven New Haven Coliseum
24 July 1978 Saratoga Springs Saratoga Performing Arts Center
26 July 1978 Pittsburgh Civic Arena Pittsburgh
28 July 1978 Landover Capital Center
30 July 1978 Uniondale Nassau Coliseum
31 July 1978
1 August 1978 Springfield Springfield Civic Center
2 August 1978 Boston Boston Garden
4 August 1978 Philadelphia Robin Hood Dell West
5 August 1978
6 August 1978 Hampton Hampton Coliseum
8 August 1978 Huntington Huntington Civic Center
9 August 1978 Cleveland Richfield Coliseum
10 August 1978 Cincinnati Riverfront Arena

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Greene, Andy. "Flashback: Crosby, Stills and Nash Perform 'Just a Song Before I Go' in 1977," Rolling Stone, January 9, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2021
  2. ^ "RIAA – Soundscan". Greasylakes. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2018-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ The date constantly given for first generation remastering for digital as issued on compact disc, October 25, 1990, is the earliest date for which amazon.com has records regarding compact disc releases. So, for any CD that came out prior to that, they simply put in that date rather than an actual one since they do not have it. Every single first generation compact disc was not issued on October 25, 1990.[citation needed]
  6. ^ Newsom, Jim (2011). "CSN – Crosby, Stills & Nash | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  8. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 168, 169.
  9. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 1, 1977. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  10. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 31, 1977. p. 24. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  11. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 1, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  12. ^ "CROSBY STILLS NASH & YOUNG | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  13. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2013-04-16). "The RPM story". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  14. ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  15. ^ "New Zealand charts portal". Charts.nz. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  16. ^ "InfoDisc : Les Albums (CD) de 1970 par InfoDisc". 2016-01-02. Archived from the original on 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  17. ^ "Swedish Charts" (PDF). Hitsallertijden.nl. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  18. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  21. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1977". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  22. ^ "charts.org.nz - New Zealand charts portal". Charts.nz. Archived from the original on 2018-12-30. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  23. ^ "クロスビー,スティルス,ナッシュ&ヤングの売上ランキング". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  24. ^ a b c "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  25. ^ a b c "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  26. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1990). Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies. Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-076-8.
  27. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  28. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2020-12-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ^ a b "RPM Top Singles Chart" (PDF). RPM. RPM archives. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. January 30, 1971. OCLC 352936026. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1977". RPM. 31 December 1977. Archived from the original on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  31. ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1977". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  32. ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  33. ^ "BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: American music magazine 1920's to 2017". Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  34. ^ "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". Worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  35. ^ "American album certifications – CROSBY, STILLS & NASH – CSN". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  36. ^ Zimmer, Dave (2008). Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography. Da Capo Press.

Further reading

[edit]

Herbst, Peter (2011). "Crosby, Stills and Nash: CSN : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2011.

[edit]
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