Saturday, August 21, 2010

Crosby Stills & Nash - Jones Beach 8/20/10: Everything a Great Rock Band Should Be!

You would think, after more than forty years on the road, the Crosby Stills and Nash would lose their edge or their love of playing. That at some point gigs would become "Just another day at the office." That they would lose their desire and just live on their laurels as so many of the older Rock bands do. Well, if you did you'd be wrong. Judging by their show at Jones Beach last night, CSN aren't in danger of doing that anytime soon. To me they are, and remain, everything a great Rock band should be.

CSN have been idols of mine since the first Woodstock album came out.

"Great" is a word that is thrown about much too easily these days, especially when it comes to Rock and Roll. There are many young (and older) bands out there aspiring to the mantle, but last CSN showed once again while they are the template for a Great Rock band.

First, let's contemplate what makes a great Rock band.

Let's talk about songwriting. A great band has great songwriters and a large body of work. CSN easily qualifies in this category. They could play three nights in a row, never repeat a song and still put on a satisfying show. They have so many signature songs and so many huge hits that everyone knows they can't play them all in one night.

No other Rock band gets cheers specifically for their vocal harmonies!

Let's talk about singing. CSN have long been, and remain, the best-singing Rock band I've ever seen. OK, I saw them thirty years ago and their voices are a bit the worse for the wear and tear now. Their keyboard players have to carry the load on some of the high notes. But CSN still haven't lost their collective ability to harmonize and blend their voices with the unique beauty for which they are deservedly famous. In all the hundreds of Rock shows I've seen over the years, CSN is the only band I ever saw get cheers specifically for their vocal harmonies.

Let's talk about playing. While Crosby and Nash are certainly both competent instrumentalists, the real standout was Stephen Stills and his amazing guitar playing. When fans talk about the great Rock guitarists the name "Stephen Stills" rarely if ever comes up, but it really should.

Let's talk about showmanship. One thing that easily jumps out at you when you see CSN play is how they still love doing what they do. There is a lot of joy in their playing, maybe because they're older and they've learned to appreciate it more. But their enthusiasm comes across and it helps them engage the audience, who helped out on several sing-alongs.

But for all that, the thing that impressed me the most about CSN was how they have not been content to rest on their laurels. They are still writing new songs and performing new material. They are still very proudly liberal and anti-war, at a time when America needs to hear the message of peace. It needs to be said even more now than it did during the Sixties, because there are so fewer people out there saying it now. This was underscored by playing songs like "Chicago," "In Your Name" from the last tour and a new song, "Who Are These Men?" about the people who really run America.

To their credit though all three are two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, CSN are not content to rest on their laurels. Nor have they muted their message of peace and love.

As far as songs, they did pretty much what they've been doing on this tour. They served up an abundant helping of old favorites like "Wooden Ships," "Long Time Gone, "Guinevere," "Woodstock" and "Southern Cross." They threw on some solo songs like "Military Madness and Buffalo Springfield songs like "Bluebird" and "For What It's Worth."

A new wrinkle in the band's set is that they are performing cover songs. As David Crosby put it, "We're playing songs we wish we had written." Hey guys, YOU WROTE SO MANY OF THE SONGS I WISH I'D WRITTEN!!! CSN really has no need to play other peoples' songs but they're doing it, as Crosby quipped, "Because the record company wants us to." I read in Rolling Stone that they're putting together an album of covers.

The cover material was well done, although some of the songs lent themselves to CSN's vocal style better than others. Their unique harmonies gave the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" a whole new dimension. Another highlight was The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes." But CSN's treatment of The Stones' "Ruby Tuesday," Dylan's "Girl From the North Country" and the Allman Bros. staple "Midnight Rider" left me a little cold. It didn't annoy me as much as seeing Aerosmith spend half their show playing Blues standards, but to be honest would I rather have heard "Helplessly Hoping" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."

But despite the minor flaws in the show, Crosby Stills and Nash remain everything a Rock band should be. They have a great acoustic thing, a great electric thing, and they're still relevant when many of their contemporaries have to play their hits in package shows like Hippiefest to get people to come see them.

It was hard to believe CSN couldn't sell out Jones Beach, because they are really a must-see.

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