Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

The following op was written as my entry for the 29th_Candidate's "Dinosaur Rock-Off"; a tribute to the memory of rock legend, John Entwistle, recently departed bass player of The Who, and a true artist in every sense of the word.

And speaking of true artists, as a group, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (and even without Young) may not have recorded many albums, but they certainly were artists of the most true kind. Their forte ...
...a mixture of voices that blended in unsurpassed harmonies. No other group of artists contributed so much to the genre of Rock music, with so little output. Yes, little output. All told, this group has only put together a handful of albums. And when I say handful, I mean just that - this quartet only released five albums, and one of them is of a live concert. (Of course, several more albums were released without Neil Young.)

But let’s ... more

The following op was written as my entry for the 29th_Candidate's "Dinosaur Rock-Off"; a tribute to the memory of rock legend, John Entwistle, recently departed bass player of The Who, and a true artist in every sense of the word.

And speaking of true artists, as a group, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (and even without Young) may not have recorded many albums, but they certainly were artists of the most true kind. Their forte was in their composition and delivery of their songs, with a mixture of voices that blended in unsurpassed harmonies. No other group of artists contributed so much to the genre of Rock music, with so little output. Yes, little output. All told, this group has only put together a handful of albums. And when I say handful, I mean just that - this quartet only released five albums, and one of them is of a live concert. (Of course, several more albums were released without Neil Young.)

But let’s take a look at this particular album - Déjà vu - and find out what it is that makes it so special.

The album starts out with the song “Carry On”, and what a song to start with. The harmonies in the chorus to the simple, but hopeful words /Carry on/Love is coming/Love is coming to us all/ pull the listener in, and do, indeed carry us into the song and on to listen more.

The next track is probably one of their most famous songs - “Teach Your Children”, and the one that probably influenced my life (as well as the lives of many others) more than any single song ever written. This song, written during the Vietnam war era, became a banner for many who grew up and out of those eclectic and fascinating times. The melody to this song could hardly be called rock, and might even have spilled over into the pop genre, had the lyrics not meant so much more than some silly moon/June/spoon rhyme. With the opening lines of /You, who are on the road/must have a code/that you can live by/ one can see that this song has a message that was as relevant to the teenaged youths that first listened to this song, as it is today for those same people who are now parents of teenagers themselves. In fact, some would say that this is probably more of a folk song than any rock band would allow themselves to ever record. But that is the beauty of this album and group - they didn’t confine themselves to only one genre, and used a combination of them instead, to get their music and messages across. Check out these lyrics at http://www.mylyricarchive.com/teach_yo.htm and you’ll see what I mean. Just reading them gives me chills, and reminds me that life is a circle. We think we know it all when we are young. We grow, have children and then see our own offspring holding the same attitudes we held at their age. Probably the only other song that effected me in this way, and that still effects me today is Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” from his Tea for the Tillerman album.

The next song “Almost Cut My Hair” is more of a rock song with blues overtones, which echoes both the rebellious attitudes of why men were growing their hair as well as the idea that it, in itself, was also a type of conformity. The next song, Neil Young’s “Helpless” is pure poetry, but often thought of as the least impressive track on this album since music doesn’t quite match the deep emotions expressed in the words.

The next track, “Woodstock” is the only one on the album that wasn’t written by any of the group. This song, written by Joni Mitchell is a real classic of the era, a ballad of one person’s experience with the famous outdoor rock concert from the protest era with lyrics that have an almost drug-like quality such as /and I dreamed I saw the bombers/riding shotgun in the sky/turning into butterflies/above our nation/.

The title track “Déjà Vu” is next on this album, and it is here in a glorious 4:10 of drums and vocals that the group shows off its rocker’s status. The song has a fast-paced opening, with a slower refrain and it opens up into a perfect setting for some excellent jamming. I remember when I first heard this song, and it seems to me that the song contributed to the expression becoming a popular one in the English language at the time. I could be wrong, of course, but I know I’d never heard it before, but afterwards, everyone seemed to be saying it. I believe a much longer version of this song appears on their “Four-Way Street” live album, and the jamming there is something to be treasured.

The song “Our House” is a personal favorite of mine. In this song, Graham Nash (the only Brit in the group) takes a different look at a love song. The lyrics describe a couple and how they live in their home together. Without ever saying it straight out, you feel the love of these two people and one wonders why more love songs couldn’t be as creative.

The last songs on this album “4 & 20”, “Country Girl” and “Everybody I love you” are fine examples of Neil Young’s contribution to this album. “4 & 20” is a slightly blues song as far as lyrics are concerned, but the melody is more folk. “Country Girl” is my least favorite track on this album - it just never did anything for me. While the lyrics are interesting, it has an abstract, unfocused quality that always rubbed me the wrong way. The final song “Everybody I love you” is just pure fun - a sort of fanfare farewell final which brings easy lyrics, a catchy melody to a last minute opportunity for the group to jam.

In conclusion, while many could say that this album isn’t perfect, I’d certainly say that there is little on it to date it (except perhaps “Almost cut my hair”), and the music still can inspire us over 30 years after its initial release. Not many albums can say the same thing. If you’re looking for an album that would give you the very best of 70’s music, this would be the one. It has rock, folk, jazz, blues and even a little bit of pop. What’s more, its one hell of an enjoyable album - what more could you ask for.

*****
Some facts about the album:
Released - March 11, 1970, Atlantic Records. Produced by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young
David Crosby - Lead and Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Stephen Stills - Lead and Backing Vocals, Lead, Rhythm and Bass Guitars
Graham Nash - Lead and Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards
Neil Young - Lead and Backing Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars, Harmonica, Keyboards

Additional Personnel:
Dallas Taylor - Drums & Pecussion
Greg Reeves - Bass Guitar
Jerry Garcia - Steel Guitar on "Teach Your Children"
John Sebastian - Harmonica on "Deja Vu"

All songs written by members of CSN&Y except Woodstock written by Joni Mitchell.

This album is available today, digitally re-mastered, on CD at any good record shop, including Amazon.
 

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