I could tell the story of my life through the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album. Of course this record has a history and a story all it’s own. Here’s my take on it, song by song, Side I to Side II.
Side One
Those first notes, ringing like the crystal light of dawn, are the clarion call to this journey. The suite for Sweet Judy, she of the legendary blue eyes, is a rollicking lament of longing and love. Stephen’s heart is bare for all the world to see; losing love and lamenting it big time. David and Graham are there by his side to help him see this through. The trio’s voices soar and soothe and dip and dive as one. The song deftly shifts tempos throughout until the last movement of the suite. Those “do, do, do, do, do’s” with Stephen singing above them, in Spanish no doubt, are as joyous a moment as you’ll ever find in music.
Next we’re on the train to Morocco, Marrakesh to be exact. The train car is jammed with men in gelabiyas and women in burkas. Strange smells fill your nostrils. Ducks and pigs and chickens also share this car with you. Listen: Rising above the din, is that a snake charmer’s horn? No that’s Stephen, Captain Manyhands as he’s known on this record. He somehow coaxes a horn sound out of his guitar and that line snakes through the song like a cobra. The train arrives and you get out, a stranger now in a strange land.
The pink light of dawn colors the sky on this misty morning. Peacocks wander aimlessly through the lush green foliage. Everything is muted and the world feels so soft. A hypnotic guitar line drifts through the air and like an apparition Guinnevere appears, her golden hair flows behind her, her green eyes flicker like a cat, her body is lithe and graceful. Her garden is filled with trees and flowers of all varieties and colors, branches and stalks bend with the weight of ripening fruit. Sweet Guinnevere lovingly tends to her garden, her movements are fluid and poetic.
Stephen is hurting and channels all of that sadness into his music. She’s gone now, living a reality that he left years ago. His tears fall onto the page and smear the ink, tiny blue pools obscure the words but he writes on. He says all that he needs to say in one short verse. “Let’s sing it again” cries Graham, so lucky us we get to hear it twice, the verses separated by that resonant little rap on Stephen’s vintage Martin D-45.
Getting ready to hit the road and spread the joy of your music, touching people’s lives with each note, each soaring three-part harmony. You kiss your lady goodbye, lingering as long as you can. You’ll be missing her very much but take solace in the fact that your love is secure and that she’ll be there when you return. They’ll be long, black limos and adoring crowds, your music is the soundtrack to their lives. The hotel rooms are strange but home for now. You won’t need an exterminator to hide the roaches that you and your bandmates leave behind.

Side Two
The muted chunka, chunka of an electric guitar counts in the tune as we board the wooden ship. We’re all brothers and sisters who’ve had enough of this fucked up world. This ship is the vessel that will take us all to a kinder, gentler place, at least that’s what we’re hoping. We pass around smiles of understanding because of course smiling is something everybody everywhere does in the same language. We pass around baskets of purple berries too, they’re one of the last reliable sources of food and take comfort in the community of love, music, kindness and acceptance that we’ve created. The captain furls the sails, we prepare to sail off into an uncertain future.
The darkened room is lit only by the dancing flames of our fireplace. We’ve moved the feather bed in front of the fire. Our lovemaking is erotic and deeply satisfying, our bodies are a perfect fit as we lay there in the afterglow, safe and warm in each other’s arms. Your blue eyes flicker in the fire glow, your copper hair glimmers like gold. This is one of those moments, a touchstone in our life together. I never want to finish what I’ve just begun with you.
Here we have three voices and one guitar, as naked and honest as music can be, an astonishing amalgam of alliteration. The harmonies enter the ears, swirl around the heart and send tingles of electricity up the spine. We wordlessly watch the couple in this song dance around all of the possibilities and uncertainties in their relationship. How can you be together with someone and at the same time feel so utterly alone? Stephen is searching, casting about for answers and wishing he could just fly away. His lady is lost too.
It appears to be a long, long time before the dawn. Was this song written yesterday? Then as now, the foul deeds of power-drunk men cannot stand the light of day so they desperately try to keep them hidden. All of David’s righteous indignation comes pouring out. Speak out against the madness, he urges us. He did then and sadly we are forced to do so now. I take solace in and firmly believe that it is always darkest just before the dawn.
Side two has played out and so marks the end of our journey, 41 minutes in real time but oh so much longer in the cosmic scheme of things. With heavy hearts we say “bye, bye”, 49 of them to be exact. Captain Manyhands is at the top of his game here, deftly layering guitar, bass and organ while the harmonies reach heretofore unseen heights. The fellow in this tale of lost love is happily drifting along with his lady because they’re the oldest of friends. Everything is copacetic between them until one day along comes The Drifter and “poof” she’s gone. “You know I love you’, cries the fellow. “But go if it means that much to you.” The song ends with the slightly dissonant notes of guitar and organ as the Minstrels of Laurel Canyon drift off into the lazy hues of the setting sun.
Masterpiece of masterpieces. Thanks for the loving exploration of it.
Louie! For some reason I haven’t received these missives for a while. Last night I read the C,S,N to Glenn and loved it! We could hear each song in our minds as you described it so beautifully. Thanks for the memories.❤️