Crosby, Stills & Nash, a supergroup combining remnants of Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, and The Hollies, were riding high in 1969 thanks to a self-titled debut album that hit big in the States.
Roping in Stephen Stills’ former bandmate Neil Young, their second-ever gig was at Woodstock, and they also appeared at Altamont. In between, the re-christened CSN&Y hit New York’s Fillmore East and thanks to some multitrack tapes of exceptional quality, mixed by Young and Stills, we get to hear what all the justified fuss was about. Divided between acoustic and electric sets, this is a joy from start to finish.
You can hear a band still in thrall to each other, basking in their own greatness in the early peak of a slightly slower Suite: Judy Blue Eyes where the harmonies between David Crosby, Graham Nash and Stills are nothing short of breath-taking. Little wonder they’re whooping and hollering at each other.
Helplessly Hoping, despite being slightly marred by giggles, Guinnevere and Lady Of The Island could bring tears to a glass eye and even Our House, Nash’s cloying ode to Joni Mitchell, has a charm absent from the more familiar version on the following year’s Déjà Vu. The electric set is nearly as good again, especially a 16-minute Down By The River which proves that Young’s hiring was a good idea even if it couldn’t last. Lost tapes worth rediscovering.
