CSN Turkey Tracks
Author: Wayne Marshall
Source: So Far Issue #10
Date: May 1998
One of the delights of "So Far" has been the friends I've
made through our mutual love of music. My tape collection is now a lot bigger through the
kind hearted generosity of my fellow readers. I wonder if the following item below will
cost me my new found friends.
I want to suggest that not everything CSN/CSNY recorded was perfect. In
fact they are guilty of their fair share of atrocious songs, especially Neil Young. I feel
a lot of Neil Young songs have aged badly and now sound quite boring. What follows is my
own list of CSNY Turkeys.
What do others think of my choice? I'm limited in that I haven't
listened to all the Nash & Young solo albums.
My Turkey's are (not in any order)
1. Old King - I wonder what the Neil Young loving, CSN
hating critics make of this really atrocious song.
2. Drivin' Thunder - a pointless homage to road-rage.
'American Dream' would have been a much better album without this song. To call it
embarrassing would be to pile on too much praise.
3. Coverage - an irritating song that has no place on a
Crosby album. 'Fare Thee Well', the B-side of Hero would have been a far better track to
include.
4. Hawaiian Sunrise - Corny lyrics and one more proof of
fallibility to all those who claim Neil Young is 'God'. I could include a massive list of
Neil Young songs if I wanted to. So why not another one ...
5. F***in' Up - Crude and pointless.
6. Panama - Stills' ode to losing his virginity. He could
have used a lot of far better songs i.e Isn't It So? would have been ideal for CSN's
harmonies.
7. Tomboy - Live it Up wasn't that bad an album.
Unfortunately this song is and one of Stills' worst ever. Haven't We Lost Enough? and Got
To Keep Open are real gems. So why include this horror?
8. Another Sleep Song - One choice I wish Nash had
omitted from the box set. I find this song very irritating and difficult to listen to
without indexing to another track.
9. Too Much Love To Hide - boring and very ordinary
10. If Anybody Had a Heart - As above. Surely they would
have used 'Chuck's Lament' or one of their unreleased songs instead of this one.
Have I lost all my new found friends of the 'So Far' Family. CSN have
produced a lot of great music. Far more in fact than their critics would ever concede.
What I find remarkable is how the list was difficult to compile. Ten out of all the albums
I have isn't, in fact, very many.
