American Dream (1988)

This project was subject to huge expectations, with the return of both Crosby (from prison and addiction) and Young (from his solo career). Like a Beatle reunion, it was probably doomed to disappoint. American Dream is very much like the Byrds reunion in 1972. The material is a mixed bag. The production is all wrong for the band.

And the public and critical response doomed any follow-up recording or touring by the foursome.

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Crosby, Stills & Nash

Replay - Best Of (1980)

This is the second retrospective released by Crosby, Stills & Nash, appearing in 1980 on the Atlantic Records label. A strange compilation, not a "greatest hits" as it contains several album cuts taken from outside the parent CSN discography, and misses charting singles in "Teach Your Children," "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and "Woodstock." This may have been deliberate, however, to avoid duplication with songs on the still available So Far. Replay contains no material with Neil Young; it peaked at #122 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
All songs were previously released, with four having appeared on non-CSN albums. "Love the One You're With" originated on Stephen Stills and includes Crosby and Nash on vocals; "Change Partners" is from Stephen Stills 2; "First Things First" from a Stills' solo album on Columbia, Stills; and "Critical Mass/To the Last Whale" from the Crosby & Nash album, Wind on the Water. Two other songs received alteration; Stills edited "Carry On," lopping off the "Questions" tag section, adding a new lead guitar solo along with overdubbed bass and drums. Also, the string arrangement was removed from "I Give You Give Blind."

Daylight Again (1982 - REMASTERED in 2006) TIP

In 1982, Stephen Stills found himself unable to secure solo record deal, so he and Graham Nash decided to work together as a duo, using the likes of Art Garfunkel and Timothy B. Schmidt to fill in for Crosby’s missing vocal parts. Their album was rejected and they were forced to invite back outcast drug addict David Crosby to get the record released. Inevitably, it feels a bit cobbled together. The balance of songs reflects the project’s genesis...

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Allies (1982)

As far as the content of the disc is concerned... it's certainly good, but not great, and it has a patchwork quality that renders it the misfit in the CSN catalog. The tracks are drawn from three sources. The first source are two new studio tracks, the aforementioned 'War Games', a feisty Stephen Stills anti-military-industrial complex tune. Stephen was a pioneer in the use of the moog synthesizer, and it is used to great effect on both new songs, but especially on the charging 'War Games'. The follow-up is a Stills-Graham Nash composition, 'Raise A Voice', another protest tune, but this one possesses a bright, optimistic sound. It is interesting how the songwriting styles of both Stills and Nash can be heard in the elements of this song, and once again we are treated to a tempered and creative use of the synthesizer, a device which became infamous for it's overuse, misuse, and abuse later in the decade.

David Crosby

Oh Yes I Can (1989  - ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED)

During most of the 80s Crosby were not especially creative because of his addiction, but this was a great comeback. It doesn't sound 80s at all. There are a lot of good songs on it, especially "Tracks in the dust" and the production and collaboration with the other musicians is really great.
I dusted this one off this morning and was amazed how many GOOD songs are here! I gave it four stars because there are two songs (in my opinion) that keep it from being a true 5 star effort. But that leaves 9 wonderful David Crosby songs...particularly Melody and Tracks in the Dust. Wow! Bonnie Raitt's voice soars up on Lady of the Harbour and other guest voices you will hear here are James Taylor, Graham Nash, and Jackson Browne. I'm glad I own this CD and I'll be playing it much more frequently. Give this one a try!

Graham Nash

Earth and sky (1980  - ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED)

Basically, this album sounds exactly like you would expect. It's a soft rock album all the way, totally sounding like it was recorded in 1979 or '80--a booming drum sound, chorused rhythm guitars, tinkling electric pianos, etc. If you're a sucker for that kind of sound, like I surely am, you'll really like this album.
It's often great though. The title track has that trademark lilting Graham Nash melodicism (it features instantly recognizable slide guitar from Joe Walsh). "Love Has Come" and the waltzing "It's All Right" are wonderful soft-rock ballads. The starkly-arranged, yet dreamy, minor-keyed "Out On The Island" is simply blissful; and heard today, it curiously seems to foreshadow the title track for David Gilmour's "On An Island", the latter of which Nash even sings background vocals on! The anthemic "Barrel Of Pain (Half-Life)", another late '70s song written about the dangers of nuclear waste, is quite powerful. And the rousing, quick-paced album-closer "In The '80s" is infectiously upbeat, optimistic, and catchy.

Innocent Eyes (1986)

Released in 1986, "Innocent Eyes" is Graham Nash's fourth solo album, and it ain't hard to see why it would have a lousy reputation among fans of Nash and the 'law firm'. Why? Because it sounds way different than what most anyone would probably associate with Mr. Nash, plus of the 10 songs, four of them weren't at all written by Graham. This album is flat-out EIGHTIES-style rock with a vengeance: super-slick production, booming electronic drums, 'metallic' and/or heavily chorused guitars (courtesy of session ace Michael Landau), in-your-face synthesizers.
Graham wrote a couple of great ballads for the album as well. "Glass And Steel", the one song on the album NOT to feature a drum machine, sounds as though Graham may have written it about David Crosby. And "Sad Eyes" is an uplifting love ballad, with great vocal contribution from James Taylor.
It certainly doesn't hurt that Nash is in peak form vocally throughout the album, often double-tracking his lead vocals to excellent effect. If you're looking for concrete proof of Graham Nash as a brilliant singer-songwriter, proceed directly to "Songs For Beginners". But if you're already a Nash fan and are able to appreciate fun, well-executed '80s synth-pop, then tap into your sense of humor a little, give "Innocent Eyes" a try, and you'll get a real blast out of it. "Innocent Eyes" is a true winner!

Stephen Stills

Right By You (1984)

With his 1984 album "Right By You", Stephen Stills adopted such common mid-'80s trappings including the synthesizers and in-your-face electronic drums/ percussion, and on 'side 1' of the album, he proves he can put them to excellent use. The haunting, edgy pop-rocker "Stranger", and the minor-keyed, Latin-flavored dance-pop tune "50/50" are infectiously catchy gems. "No Problem" is simply awesome--a rousing, impassioned rant, with exciting, gutsy vocals from Stills and an irresistible rhythmic feel. "Flaming Heart" is a super-fun bluesy rocker--Jimmy Page offers somewhat rote-sounding guitar solo on it, but it's a minor gripe. "Love Again" leans a little too much toward generic '80s synth-pop, but is still really catchy. 
So, all in all, "Right By You" isn't as great as earlier Stills albums such as "Stephen Stills" or "Stills", but any true fan will find it a solidly worthwhile and underrated effort by a tremendous artist. 

Neil Young

Hawks And Doves (1980  - ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED)

Originally released on vinyl in 1980, side one is the 'Doves' side. It features some lovely acoustic music, especially tracks one and three. 'Little Wing' (not the Jimi Hendrix composition) and 'Lost In Space' occupy a light, airy, stream-of-consciousness perch that few artists ascend to. The longest track on the disc, 'The Old Homestead', is actually a mid-1970's Neil composition. It runs almost eight minutes in length, and contains a great deal of difficult-to-make-sense-of imagery. Like abstract art, you could spend more than a few hours drawing meaning from this one. The closer on side one is 'Captain Kennedy'. I'm not anything near to being an expert in musical structure, but this song sure sounds like a knock-off of The Blind Fiddler, a traditional folk tune used by Stephen Stills on his 1991 'Stills Alone' CD. It's a fine melody and Neil's lyrics are interesting, but I wonder how conscious the similarity is.

re-ac-tor (1981  - ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED)

There is a certain segment of Neil Young's fan base that is in it primarily for the decibels. They want to hear "Hey Hey My My", not "My My Hey Hey". They want Crazy Horse, and it better not be "Greendale". While I share their passion, I do have a corresponding affinity for much of Young's kinder and gentler fare, such as `Comes a Time'. There does come a time, however, when the mood strikes for something striking, and nothing can strike that chord like Neil's "re.ac.tor". In that sense, this may well be Neil's most underrated effort.

Trans (1982)

Neil Young has become notorious for the abrupt genre-hopping he has done, particularly throughout the '80s. That said, "Trans", which was originally released in December of 1982/ January of 1983, is a pretty bizarre album any way you look at it, and it's an album that you can't easily summarize. With the exception of "Mr. Soul", Neil doesn't deliver any of his trademark noisy guitar soloing here. Don't get the wrong idea though--even with the abundance of synthesizers/ electronics on the album, there are still a lot of guitars. There are prominent, crunchy guitars on "We R In Control" and "Computer Cowboy", plus smooth double-tracked guitar on "Computer Age".
All in all, "Trans" is definitely a worthwhile record from Neil Young, thanks to his obvious passion and his consistently high quality songwriting.

Everybody's Rockin' (1983)

Nestled somewhat uncomfortably between a hay wired electro-pop experiment, 1983's Trans, and the countrified Old Ways, this rockabilly curio now stands as one more wild swing from Neil Young during a particularly shaky phase. Backed by the five-member Shocking Pinks, Young works his way through a selection of covers and slight originals. In retrospect, Everybody's Rockin' presages 1988's This Note's for You; this is roots-rock Neil, a fellow with a taste for swamp-pop (the Slim Harpo weeper "Rainin' in My Heart"), easy-rollin' blues ("Bright Lights, Big City"), and raveups (Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes," his own "Kinda Fonda Wanda"). Young sounds amused but less then committed, as evidenced by the fact that he'd soon wash the grease out of his hair and disband the Shocking Pinks.

Old Ways (1985)

Neil Young's most dependable route has always been to head for the back roads. Country-flavored releases Harvest (1972), Comes a Time ('78), Harvest Moon ('92), and Silver & Gold ('00) are among the most commercially popular titles in a fitful career, which makes Old Ways something of a anomaly. Released in 1985 as the mid-title in a misbegotten five-LP stint with Geffen, it failed to exhibit the kind of roughhewn muscle of its more robust country cousins. With Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson making vocal contributions and a mix of longtime Young sidemen and Nashville cats laying down a bed of fiddles, steel guitar, and banjo, it would seem to be cruising right up Music City's main drag of the mid-'80s. But Young being Young, he goes around the bend with "Misfits," which summons an indelible image of space-station astronauts watching reruns of Muhammad Ali fights. It happens to be the most memorable number on Old Ways, which perhaps explains why those new fans never showed up and the old ones found other things to do for awhile.

Landing On Water (1986)

Landing on Water may not be Neil Young's worst album, but it's probably the least noteworthy collection he's assembled. For what turned out to be his penultimate Geffen album, Young rebuffed his regular set of co-producers in favor of West Coast journeyman Danny Kortchmar--seemingly in the interest of honing a more radio-friendly sound. As a result, the singer finds himself bobbing his way through layers of synthesizer fills and Steve Jordan's strident drumming; the whole thing feels like a bland '80s rock soundtrack. None of these songs have even become concert salvage projects--evidence that their composer doesn't hold them in high regard. The one standout here is "Hippie Dream," a scathing death-of-the-counterculture screed inspired by David Crosby's then-life-threatening drug problems: "Another flower child goes to seed / In an ether-filled room of meat hooks / It's so ugly" Young wails, and one can't help but wish the music had half as much bite as the lyrics.

Life (1987)

This isn't one of Neil's masterpieces, but it's a pretty good effort. Those who say it's weak, or lacks emotion just don't get it. This cd is packed with emotion, it's just more subtle than his casual fans expect. One listen to "Prisoners of Rock-n-Roll" should confirm his state of mind. Of course, most of the schleps who want "Hey Hey, My My" on every cd won't like this one. This cd is pure Neil.

This Note's For You (1988)

One might assume the first album Neil Young put out upon his return to Reprise Records in 1988 after a misbegotten stint with Geffen would signal a comeback for the temporarily misplaced singer-songwriter. Actually, This Note's for Young's successor, 1989's Freedom, is Young's late-'80s hallmark release. This one's the last in a series of titles from Young in the most capricious phase of a fickle career. Here he's on an Albert Collins kick, tackling blues-based tunes backed by his short-lived, horn-powered Blue Notes. While the anti-endorsement title track kicked up some dust at the time, the 10-song collection is weighed down by undistinguished, one-note workouts like "Ten Men Working," "Married Man," and "Sunny Inside" (the titles pretty much sum up the songs). Thankfully, Young returned to his own shade of blue after this curious bar-band one-off.

Freedom (1989) TIP

Freedom was Young's return to form after almost a decade of electronic experiments and mediocre novelty music. "Rockin' in the Free World," a howling anthem about homelessness, depression, and drug dealing, bookends the album--and, in 1989, proved the singer/songwriter hadn't completely dropped into obscurity. The romantic ballads ("The Ways of Love"), grunge-predicting guitar-rockers (a siren-screaming version of "On Broadway"), and one amazing, punk-like story-song ("Crime in the City [Sixty to Zero, Part I]") constitute Young's strongest writing in years.