Crosby, Stills & Nash and Neil Young CDs and releases, Deja Vu, CSNY

Buffalo Springfield (1966)

Although the Byrds may receive more credit, Buffalo Springfield, in some respects, were just as responsible for the country-rock and singer/songwriter explosion that continued through the full flight of the Eagles and later mutated into '90s neo-country. This 1966 debut reveals the precocious songwriting talents of both Neil Young and Stephen Stills; check out Stills's Beatlesque "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" and Young's weird (for '66!) but classic "Burned." Their next album, Again, is widely considered their best effort, but tics is an excellent debut, made even stronger with the addition of their hit, the single-only "For What It's Worth." The CD offers both stereo and mono versions of each track.

Buffalo Springfield Again (1967) TIP

Here's where Stephen Stills and Neil Young's on-and-off partnership fell apart for the first time. The liner notes to BS's debut album had announced, "Steve is the leader, but we all are" and described Neil Young as "hot and cold," which in retrospect seems like a warning. Young appears to have at least one foot out the door already, the ambitious "Broken Arrow" and "Expecting to Fly" clearly pointing toward a solo career. And for all the timeless excellence of Young's "Mr. Soul," it's Stills's "Bluebird" that defines Buffalo Springfield Again, much as his "For What It's Worth" defined its predecessor. In one song, the group demonstrates astonishing versatility (from rock to folk to bluegrass), without the saccharine touches that mar Stills's post-Springfield work. But for all their considerable recorded achievements, Buffalo Springfield always felt like a band that never reached its potential.

Last Time Around (1968)

One of America's seminal 1960s rock bands, Buffalo Springfield's brief career yielded just three studio albums before its various members splintered into a variety of successful solo career and new group endeavors (including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Poco, and Loggins & Messina). In fact, one of its chief architects bolted before this, their last album, was even completed. Fortunately for both the band and their fans, Neil Young left behind a pair of pop gems--the band showcase "On the Way Home" and the country-tinged "I Am a Child." Stephen Stills largely picked up the slack in Young's absence, penning a slate of tunes as ambitious as they were eclectic (his "Questions" here eventually evolving into CSNY's "Carry On"), while Richie Furay weighs in with three tunes, including the clear Poco precursor "Kind Woman." A bit more pop-oriented than its predecessor, the often haunting Buffalo Springfield Again, but nearly as memorable.

Mr. Tambourine Man (1965 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED & REMASTERED] )

This is certainly the greatest Byrd album ever made, & only the first Airplane album (the only of theirs that I categorize as folk-rock, the others being psychedelic). The record is built upon Dylan songs as well as the band's own & other covers, but you never feel as if these songs were not The Byrds' own. Also, all the non-Dylan songs are about as strong as the singles, especially 'I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better' (a timeless classic). The bonus tracks heave the album into the heavens, making it a must-have for anybody with the slightest interest in either the sixties, peace'n'love, folk, rock, or acoustic or electric guitars. Anybody who cares about sound...

Mr. Tambourine Man (1965 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED & REMASTERED)

Arriving just months after the folk-rock call to arms of their brilliant debut, the Byrds' second album closely follows the same formula, but what a formula: durable American folksongs (from Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and even Stephen Foster) and their own strong originals are laced with the band's keening vocal harmonies and chiming guitars in a mix since institutionalized as a perennial rock dialect. With Seeger's classic title song, the Byrds brought Ecclesiastes onto the charts, importing the urban folk movement's social and political consciousness to the pop mainstream. Meticulously remastered, this restored version also boasts unreleased tracks and B-sides, including "She Don't Care About Time," noteworthy for a 12-string solo lifted from Bach.

Younger Than Yesterday (1966 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED & REMASTERED )

Four of the five original Byrds were aboard for this folk-rock landmark. Within months of its release in the summer of 1967, David Crosby would move on and the group would enter a permanent period of flux. Younger Than Yesterday, however, finds songwriters Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and Chris Hillman prodding one another with varied but complementary triumphs. "My Back Pages" is one of their best Dylan covers (and the Byrds had plenty of them), while "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (written as a jab at the Monkees) represents two minutes of compressed pop cynicism that's as valid today as it was when it hit the airwaves.

Fifth Dimension (1966 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED & REMASTERED)

First, the opening track, "5D" is one of their best. Of course any Byrds album with "Mr. Spaceman" and "Eight Miles High" is a winner, despite the internal strife afflicting the band at that time. Crosby's paranoia is starting to emerge, sweetly wrapped as it is in his lilting, beautiful tenor. While the Byrds never really recovered from Gene's departure, they both still managed to make a ton of great music afterward. This reissue's bonus tracks fill out the Byrds' studio work surrounding the album, including the single (flip-side of "Eight Miles High") "Why" and an alternate studio version, each of which differs from the album track that would turn up on "Younger Than Yesterday." The alternate take of "Eight Miles High" trades the hint of mania in the released single for a slight Revolver-like drag. The closing track finishes out with a lengthy piece (over 13 minutes) by McGuinn and Crosby that appears to be a fill-in-the-DJ interview.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED & REMASTERED)

First good news for David Crosby fans: this reissued CD features "Triad"!
The Notorious Byrd Brothers captures the Byrds between the seminal folk-rock glories of their better-known mid-'60s triumphs and the equally influential country-rock that would soon follow, but the album is no holding action: with onetime Beach Boy associate Gary Usher producing and Roy Halee engineering, the band weaves its signature vocal harmonies and chiming guitars through a lusher, more impressionistic art-pop tapestry that stops just short of post-Sgt. Pepper clich�, employing phased vocals, sound effects, Moog synthesizer, and horns. Thematically, the project pits utopian innocence ("Tribal Gathering," "Dolphins Smile") against a new wariness ("Artificial Energy," a cautionary look at amphetamines, and the Vietnam vignette of "Draft Morning"). In a field of well-paced, inventive songs, the zenith is the silken, wistful "Goin' Back," Carole King's poignant meditation on childhood and innocence.

Butterfly (1967 - ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED)

Digitally remastered reissue of the U.K. edition of the hit British Invasion act's 1967 album in a digipak. Their first record to flirt with psychedelic sounds, it contains three tracks ('Pegasus', 'Elevated Observations?' & 'Try It') NOT included on the U.S. edition, 'Dear Eloise/ King Midas In Reverse'. Contains both mono & stereo versions of all 12 tracks, for a combined total of 24 selections. Also features the original cover art. Digipak. 1999 release.

Evolution (1967 - EXTRA TRACKS, ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED)

1999 Sundazed reissue of their 1967 album (originally released on Epic) now featuring 5 bonus tracks, 'When Your Lights Turned On', 'Water On The Brain', 'Jennifer Eccles', 'Signs That Will Never Change' and 'Open Up Your Eyes'. 15 tracks total, including 4 that are not on the U.K. reissue.
Recommended to fans of sixties pop who are thirsting for something good beyond what they might already be familiar with.