Crosby - Nash
2004

From: sanctuaryrecords.com

As a duo, longtime creative partners David Crosby and Graham Nash
bring out the best in each other, their distinct yet complementary
styles balancing an equation that delivers a seamless and inspiring
musical whole. Two-thirds and one-half, respectively, of Crosby,
Stills & Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, these Rock and Roll
Hall of Famers are legendary for their airtight and crystal-clear
vocal harmonies, as sublime when delivered by simply these two
together as they are from the larger configurations. It is a sound
that's one of the true touchstones of the rock `n' roll era.

Their first joint LP was 1972's Crosby & Nash, of which online music
authority allmusic.com wrote, "This self-titled release is one of—if
not arguably the—most impressive side project to arise from CSN."
Both spotlighting and weaving together the individual sounds of these
two equally literate and melodic singer-songwriters, the disc
delivered the Top 40 hit "Immigration Man," as well as the also-Nash-
penned classic, "Southbound Train." In 2004, two more albums in
tandem and three-plus decades later, comes the pair's fourth-ever
studio release, Sanctuary Records' double-disc Crosby-Nash.

Produced by David Crosby and Graham Nash along with the father-son
team of Russell and Nathaniel Kunkel, the 2CD Crosby-Nash is their
first album of original material in almost 30 years, following up
1976's Whistling Down The Wire (and 1975's Wind On The Water). Time
has diminished none of the stars' vocal power or skill at composing
insightful and moving songs, and the work is in fact enriched by the
friendship and personal and artistic growth these two have long
shared. Like the best legacy brands, it is timeless. "It was really
strange, and really wonderful," sums up Nash, "that it was so easy.
It felt like we'd just carried on where we'd left off 28 years ago."

Nash amply credits the players for their contributions to an album
that, while it may have felt effortless to make, sounds as intricate,
layered, emotionally resonant, and thought-provoking as anything
they've ever done. "The musicians we worked with were completely
amazing," he says, "they shortened the distance between our minds and
the music." Comprising the ace Crosby-Nash team are veteran rock
virtuosos Dean Parks (guitar), Leland Sklar (bass) and Russ Kunkel
(drums), as well as Crosby's son James Raymond on keyboards and Jeff
Pevar—the `P' from Crosby and Raymond's trio CPR—on guitar. The
Kunkels, says Nash, "flew miles above everybody else, helping us with
the organization, engineering, and production of it all." Russ
Kunkel's collaboration with C&N dates back to playing on their '72
album, and Russ and Nathaniel also produced Nash's 2002 solo album
Songs For Survivors.

Among the stand-outs on Crosby-Nash is the disc one opener "Lay Me
Down," written by James Raymond, with an enchanting lead vocal
courtesy of David Crosby. Citing it as one of his favorites, Nash
describes the track as "a brand new melody with today's
sensibilities, but somehow, it sounds ancient, hundreds of years
old." The soft and pensive "Through Here Quite Often," a Crosby
composition, features his keen lyrical observations of a waitress and
the small kindnesses she brings to peoples' days.

Crosby and Nash's work, both solo, duo and with CSN (& sometimes Y)
has always been associated with social commentary, and Crosby-Nash
carries on the tradition in fine style. "Don't Dig Here," a co-write
by James Raymond, Nash, and Russ Kunkel, tackles nuclear waste and
the futility of storing it away at Yucca Mountain. "They Want It
All," Crosby's searing and muscular address to Enron and corporate
greed, has unfailingly roused the crowd at recent CSN concerts. All
in all, the double album's twenty diverse tracks, all making their
recorded debut, run the gamut as to when they were created. Nash's
dreamy "Milky Way Tonight" "was written the morning it was recorded,"
he says, while "Other Side Of Town," he adds, "was written when my
son Jackson was a year old, and now he's 26."

David Crosby and Graham Nash first met in 1968. Crosby had just
produced Joni Mitchell's acclaimed debut, and had begun collaborating
with Stephen Stills. They invited Nash to Joni's Laurel Canyon home
during an L.A. stop on a Hollies tour, and played him two songs of
Stills' they were writing: "Helplessly Hoping," and "You Don't Have
To Cry." Nash joined in on harmony, and according to Crosby, "I
thought I was gonna die. I thought my heart was gonna jump right
through my mouth. It was about the rightest thing I ever heard."
Millions of fans agreed—the trio's stellar, self-titled '69 debut was
a smash, and, in addition to the two aforementioned tracks, delivered
the classics "Suite: Judy Blues Eyes," "Marrakesh Express,"
and "Guineverre." CSN won the 1969 GRAMMY® for Best New Artist, made
musical history at Woodstock, were inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1997, and continue to record and perform together (as
do CSNY).

Crosby and Nash each brought their own considerable previous success
to that now-fabled joint venture. Native Californian David Crosby,
son of an Oscar®-winning cinematographer, began his career as a folk
singer, spending two years on the road playing clubs and coffeehouses
across the country. Back in L.A. in `63, he won renown for his
songwriting and charismatic presence with The Byrds, also featuring
Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke. Through
his work with the seminal folk-rock band—Rock and Roll Hall of Famers
since '91--Crosby helped co-invent the era-defining fusion of
acoustic folk and electric rock that influenced early `60s
contemporaries Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and scores of musicians who
followed.

Blackpool, England-born Graham Nash began performing at the age of 14
with hometown pal Allan Clarke, in a style heavily influenced by the
Everly Brothers. The pair committed to a musical career and first
billed themselves as the Two Teens, who, after several evolutions and
name changes, became The Hollies (named after Buddy Holly). With Nash
singing high harmony, Clarke on lead, and Tony Hicks underneath, The
Hollies created some of the most stirring 3-part harmonies in popular
music—before CSN—and became one of the most commercially successful
acts of the British Invasion phenomenon, with hits including "Bus
Stop," and "Carrie Anne."

Each artist continues to pursue solo passions. David Crosby tours and
records with CPR, the jazz-inflected rock ensemble he formed with son
James Raymond in 1995. He has also won widespread acclaim for Stand
And Be Counted, his book and television program documenting the
activism and social awareness of contemporary musical artists, and
for his efforts in support of campaign finance reform. Graham Nash's
2002 solo album, Songs For Survivors, marked the first time a major
artist premiered a new album in 5.1 DVD-A prior to its stereo
release. Nash has also pursued a career as a photographer and digital
imaging pioneer parallel to his work in music, and his first book,
Eye To Eye: Photographs By Graham Nash—featuring over 180 black &
white images--has just been published.

Together, though, they generate a magic that transcends their
individual resumes…you can hear it on their classic 1970 live album,
Another Stoney Evening (recently re-released in digital 5.1). It's a
concert experience that fans will be able to get first-hand when
David Crosby and Graham Nash tour as a duo later this year in support
of Sanctuary Records' 2CD release Crosby-Nash, which carries their
legacy of timeless songwriting, indelible vocals, and peerless
harmonies, into the future.