Live It Up - Crosby, Stills & Nash

All Music Guide Review
William Ruhlmann

More than the harmonies or the scandals, what made CSN a major force was that they wrote great songs. That's what is missing on their first full-fledged trio album since CSN in 1977. They sing earnestly and well, and they are augmented, as ever, by the small, efficient army of players, such as Craig Doerge and Joe Vitale, who have made a career supporting them, but they just don't come up with the big songs they've led listeners to expect. (In fact, there are quite a few songs by others.) As a result, this is the least satisfying of CSN's studio albums. Not surprisingly, It flopped badly in record stores.