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MUSIC HISTORY:
JAZZ / ROCK / BLUES / ETC.
Reviews, News, Commentaries
and Music Biographies by Randy
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(L to R) Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, and David Crosby in Atlantic City
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Concert Review
(February 1998)
Crosby, Stills & Nash at the Circus Maximus
Atlantic City, NJ, February 27, 1998
Crosby, Stills & Nash rolled into the rather inappropriate Caesar's Casino in Atlantic City this past weekend, for a three night stand of performances that were as vital and energetic as those performed at the same venue last year. They were received enthusiastically, and proceeded to play one of the best shows that this writer has seen them perform. The band was supremely tight, with solos and vocals that were nearly flawless. Perched in a front row seat in front of Stephen Stills, I witnessed a concert by seasoned pros that included the usual array of onstage jokes and band mate banter, as well as the fabulous interplay between each of the musicians.
The show began on Friday with the bluesy, reworked version of “Love The One You're With” that the band have been playing for some time, with Stills firing off distorted blasts of his familiar and stunning lead guitar work, as the band (bassist Gerald Johnson, drummer Joe Vitale, and keyboard player Michael Finnigan) kicked in solidly behind him: an acoustic rock classic redefined as an equally classic, smoldering hard rock tune. Stills seems to have had a real return to form in terms of delivering great lead vocals, and continues to play guitar in what seems to be an ever-increasing degree of fire and spirit.
Graham Nash's “Immigration Man” (from 1972's Graham Nash/David Crosby) was up next, and this too was given the updating treatment, as was versions of Stills' “49 Bye-Byes”, and Nash's astute sociopolitical commentary “Chicago”. Graham Nash's harmonies were clear and sharp throughout; he's been considered one of the greatest harmony singers in rock's history for some time, and he still is.
Aside from more of a rock oriented approach to the lead guitar parts (as opposed to the studio version’s Wes Montgomeryesque lead runs), little has changed with Crosby's "Deja Vu", which was so sophisticated and ahead of its time in 1970 (with its references to jazz) that it still sounds contemporary and intoxicating today. As is usually the case, Crosby's voice and vocal range were exhilarating.
The aforementioned songs are all top-notch works; few songwriters of today can turn a phrase as sharp and insightful as David Crosby, or build a chorus as strong and memorable as Stephen Stills. The classic songs of CSN don't need rearranging to make them fresh. Their songs have always come off far less dated than those of most of their contemporaries. The fact that they decided to change them to shake things up a bit is an extra bonus. But this selection of songs (i.e. “Dark Star”, “Delta”) is virtually the same as what they offered during the last two years of live shows, and in some cases (“Teach Your Children”) many years previous.
What was actually done with the arrangements of the older material demonstrates quite clearly that this is a band that still has a tremendous amount to offer, but what it needs to offer is more new songs. Graham Nash said in the summer of '96 that between the three of them, they had written over 40 new numbers. Unfortunately, only three were played that have been written since then: Stills' staggering “No Tears Left,” one of the strongest songs he has written in recent years; Crosby's “Morrison,” another innovative Crosbian case study of being lost and without direction, with Jim Morrison as a cameo example. In it, Crosby | |||||||||||||||