From time to time, anyone who loves music is bound to get asked: ‘What’s your all time favorite album?’ I find it impossible to answer. My favorite album today isn’t likely to be the same as my favourite album tomorrow - it depends on my mood, the weather, how old I’m feeling.
Many that come to mind are from my later teenage years and early twenties - perhaps because in those days music was relatively more expensive - it wasn’t the cheap, throwaway, convenience-item it appears to have become today. I used to get an album and play it to death before I could afford to buy another, so every note and nuance is burnt into my brain. Certain albums are linked inextricably with a specific time, or place, or person. I also seem to have had more time to listen, I mean really listen - life wasn’t so hectic. And of course back then I’d also heard a lot less music so what I did hear was likely to make more of an impression. Oh, and I was a lot less cynical.
The first LP I owned (aged 7) was ‘With The Beatles’ (apparently I share this privilege with Elvis Costello) followed by ‘The Hollies Greatest Hits’ and ‘The Best Of The Beach Boys’. I was clearly a sucker for harmony. Hence it’s no surprise that the first band I really got into was Crosby Stills and Nash (and Young when he felt like playing with them). Back then they took the whole concept of harmony in music (if not in personal relationships) to a new level.
Yet, even as a fan, I have to say I never found any of their albums as a band as wholly satisfying as some of their solo outings. Looking back, perhaps the album that started me seriously thinking about music was David Crosby’s ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name.’ Neil and Graham play on it as do most of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead - and Joni puts in her obligatory appearance. And yet despite that firepower it remains very much David’s album. I’d listen to it late at night, lying in bed in the dark. It was the first album that ‘transported’ me - that made me understand what that expression meant. Headphones would have been good, but my Dansette didn’t have that facility.
Firstly, there’s Crosby’s voice – acknowledged by many as one of the finest ever to grace vinyl. Then there are the harmonies of course. Also, the songs dictate the style of each piece - he doesn’t try and fit the music into any overall ‘style’ or ‘sound’ hence the variety of the album - if the song’s scary, he goes scary, if it rocks, he rocks - if it’s beauty you want then it’s here in spades. If it were released now, in our genre-obsessed music scene, it would be impossible to name the category into which it would fit. It’s full of dark and light, of imaginative arrangements and instrumentation. He’s not afraid to let emotion show - even highlight it. He’s prepared to go with what happens if it feels right and not tamper with things afterwards. The feel is more important than every note being perfectly in time or in tune - the music takes priority over the production. Finally, something that’s often overlooked – he’s one of the most original songwriters of the last fifty years.
So, I think, probably, David Crosby’s ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name’ has to be one of my ‘all time favorite albums’.
The album has been constantly available since its appearance in 1971, and 2006 saw the release of a remastered version with an additional track and bonus DVD. For those looking for a more rounded picture, Rhino also issued a three CD box-set ‘Voyage’ including tracks from his days in The Byrds, with various combinations of Stills, Nash and Young, from his solo career and also from his more recent work in CPR. Best of all, there are 16 previously unreleased tracks. It’s a musical education in itself. Jamie
Many that come to mind are from my later teenage years and early twenties - perhaps because in those days music was relatively more expensive - it wasn’t the cheap, throwaway, convenience-item it appears to have become today. I used to get an album and play it to death before I could afford to buy another, so every note and nuance is burnt into my brain. Certain albums are linked inextricably with a specific time, or place, or person. I also seem to have had more time to listen, I mean really listen - life wasn’t so hectic. And of course back then I’d also heard a lot less music so what I did hear was likely to make more of an impression. Oh, and I was a lot less cynical.
The first LP I owned (aged 7) was ‘With The Beatles’ (apparently I share this privilege with Elvis Costello) followed by ‘The Hollies Greatest Hits’ and ‘The Best Of The Beach Boys’. I was clearly a sucker for harmony. Hence it’s no surprise that the first band I really got into was Crosby Stills and Nash (and Young when he felt like playing with them). Back then they took the whole concept of harmony in music (if not in personal relationships) to a new level.
Yet, even as a fan, I have to say I never found any of their albums as a band as wholly satisfying as some of their solo outings. Looking back, perhaps the album that started me seriously thinking about music was David Crosby’s ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name.’ Neil and Graham play on it as do most of Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead - and Joni puts in her obligatory appearance. And yet despite that firepower it remains very much David’s album. I’d listen to it late at night, lying in bed in the dark. It was the first album that ‘transported’ me - that made me understand what that expression meant. Headphones would have been good, but my Dansette didn’t have that facility.
Firstly, there’s Crosby’s voice – acknowledged by many as one of the finest ever to grace vinyl. Then there are the harmonies of course. Also, the songs dictate the style of each piece - he doesn’t try and fit the music into any overall ‘style’ or ‘sound’ hence the variety of the album - if the song’s scary, he goes scary, if it rocks, he rocks - if it’s beauty you want then it’s here in spades. If it were released now, in our genre-obsessed music scene, it would be impossible to name the category into which it would fit. It’s full of dark and light, of imaginative arrangements and instrumentation. He’s not afraid to let emotion show - even highlight it. He’s prepared to go with what happens if it feels right and not tamper with things afterwards. The feel is more important than every note being perfectly in time or in tune - the music takes priority over the production. Finally, something that’s often overlooked – he’s one of the most original songwriters of the last fifty years.
So, I think, probably, David Crosby’s ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name’ has to be one of my ‘all time favorite albums’.
The album has been constantly available since its appearance in 1971, and 2006 saw the release of a remastered version with an additional track and bonus DVD. For those looking for a more rounded picture, Rhino also issued a three CD box-set ‘Voyage’ including tracks from his days in The Byrds, with various combinations of Stills, Nash and Young, from his solo career and also from his more recent work in CPR. Best of all, there are 16 previously unreleased tracks. It’s a musical education in itself. Jamie