If I Could Only Remember My Name

Was playing on my commute from work and I kept turning it down and zoning out.. as it makes good background music. Nothing that stands out

Since I had never listened to any of David Crosby’s solo work, I was excited to listen to something new on my flight to LAX. The album falls flat though, and I found myself switching back to my main Classic Rock playlist throughout the drab 38-minute record we got today. “Cowboy Movie” claims to be the highlight of the record, but it drags on far too long for what it is. “What Are Their Names” is probably my favorite song on here, but it’s a shame that I had to find it on YouTube instead of Spotify. Of all the songs on the album, “Laughing” sounds the most like Crosby, Nash, Stills & Young, but without the charm of the quartet’s gems like “Teach Your Children” or “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.” David Crosby clearly benefited from the rest of CNSY for songwriting inspiration. If I Could Only Remember My Name is by no means unpleasant, but it includes nothing memorable.

Gros bof, c’est pas mauvais mais genre bof bof bof pourquoi je devais écouter ça avant de mourrir

When I think of all the love that the 60's produced and all the good vibes, I ultimately come to think of all the egregious filth, overindulgence and excess and there passed on the ground, in the gutter amongst all the trash and human stench is David Crosby. That's not to say that I hated this album because Cowboy Movie was great. It sounds like early stoner rock. But, the rest of the album was mediocre at best and now I feel like I need a shower.

This was pretty boring. I mean, it kind of sounds like something I would like. It has nice harmonies, and the instruments are rather pleasant for a good amount of the album, but it's just so boring. Songs do not change, even if they are eight minutes long. Even the short songs don't stand out to me. It just feels like something is missing here. Thank God it was short. My favourite song was probably Traction in the Rain.

This is just barely uninteresting enough to slip into 2 stars. Orleans is a cool song, but the rest is boring. Nothing stands out. It's not virtuosic or clever enough to differentiate from the other folk and blue rock of this period.

I was expecting to like this. It was a real disappointment. Somehow manages to sound boring and self-important at the same time.

First song is really quite nice, I do like the album cover with the double exposure and the sun shining through his eyes.

Mostly dull

Why name a specific song Song with No Words when there are actually several without them? This just felt like an old man experimenting with music. Which is fine, I totally support that. But is David Crosby's fun little project worth it for the entire world to hear? Not really. Also, maybe I'm just young but I failed to feel the presence of the powerhouses featured on the record. It sounds like a one-man thing which did not grab me at all. If I could only remember anything about this album, David Crosby. If only!

David Crosby of Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young) first solo album. Songs anyone would know from the album: none. Singles: Music is Love (#95, USA) and Orleans (#101, USA). First impression: <Yawn> It got better, sounded great with headphonesmon. Rating: 2.5

I guarantee I'll forget everything about this album by tomorrow, including its name. That said: RIP, David Crosby.

An okay mellow album by David crosby. Overall it seemed to be a bit bland and condensed. His talents are definitely better used in the group aspect he was a part of. The songs on this felt like they were all aiming for the same goal but fell short of something really enjoyable. It felt better as background music for an older generation. 5.4/10

Un poco aburrido

Solid 70s country rock. Nothing more, nothing less. 2.5/5

Meh

Prima

two songs weren't available in my region, it was ok, didn't evoke any particular emotion

Vallan kivaa kitarointia, etenkin alussa ennen kuin menee vain tunnelmoinniksi.

Meh soft rock with longing vibes. Didn't really connect with me, didn't make me wanna turn it off. Generally unimpressed.

It’s like a watery dreamscape. Very much a product of the previous decade. Slightly psychedelic, slightly ashram, slightly floaty. Easy background music.

Better than the Stephen Stills effort but only just.

Ok, but less than I was expecting.

This album is ok. The music isn't super catchy or enjoyable, but it's also not offensive or painful to listen to. It's just kinda there and doesn't make me feel anything. Better than nothing. Favorite song: Tamalpais High Worst song: Traction in the rain

Meh

Un poco guitarrero, un poco místico, un poco hippie, un poco country, un poco folk... pero está muy bien y todavía se siguen copiando estás cosas al día de hoy.

I went on a Byrds tear several years ago, and I found that, more often than not, the David Crosby songs were my favorites on their albums. I just dug his sound and his fluid use of major and minor chords. Then a co-worker suggested this album to me, and the way he hyped it made me very very excited to hear it. Boy was I disappointed. Just seemed like endless noodling. When Crosby was in the Byrds and CSN, I think those guys really reined in his wilder instincts. This time around, I liked the album slightly more. Tamalpais was kind of cool, as was Laughing. But not cool enough.

Ok

Being not of the love and peace and understanding generation but of the wave era, this just is way to hippy for me....

Crosby is undeniably talented and I enjoyed parts of this album. Overall, nothing was memorable. I missed a spark somewhere.

I wanted to like this one but it just felt too ambient and kind of put me to sleep. It made me zone out a little and then it was just over. I'm sure if I was tripping balls I'd enjoy it.

Nothing super good nothing supervbad

"If I Only Could Remember Why On Earth This Is On The List ..." Another 70s folk/rock album with flower-power sensibilities. This album is more style than substance. Case in point: Song With No Words, which is an endlessly meandering mess. Same goes for I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here. I could go on. The whole album is so overblown with self-importance that Crosby somehow forgot to include any good songs. Or - worse - thought that these, indeed, were good songs. Not a total catastrophe, but utterly forgettable. 1.5/5

if I could only remember a single track from this album

Folk rock muuuuy lento. Tostonazo. Un 2.

Forgettable

Dull as ditchwater. I looked it up afterwards, and there's a host of really interesting musicians on it (Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young), but I barely noticed any of it because it offered almost nothing. It's fine background music I guess, but without anything to lift it above a million other similar albums, despite the stellar cast. I finished listening to it about an hour ago... if only I could remember a single song... 2/5, only getting that because it's not actively unpleasant to listen to.

First one that couldn't be found on Spotify. The list of collaborators on here is crazy - SNY, Santana, lots more; maybe that's what made it significant? Good guitar here, not much else.

It's sadly pretty boring. Nothing really engaging happened in this album. The lyrics didn't hit me in any real way, the instrumentals were bland, and though it's undeniable that Crosby has a good voice, it doesn't do anything to save me from nearly falling asleep.

Background Music

It's fine but I can't see myself really listening again.

Not available on Spotify. Didn’t really have the gumption to listen anywhere else. I know the gist of what Crosby’s all about. Points added for the sheer number of amazing contributors involved. But this is shit. We all know it.

An album like this just comes and goes. It doesn't leave me with any specific memories or desire to listen again. If I'd grown up with this, if I'd had specific memories associated with the songs, then it might have a different impact.

I hadn't heard his solo work before. Like a lot of people my age, I'd heard plenty of CSN/CSNY stuff over my life, and though I liked it a lot in my college years, my interest in them faded fairly quickly. I can hear how talented he is on guitar and vocally, but similarly to how I feel these days about CSN, it doesn't really do much for me. Hard to say why; might be that general 70s folksy-vocal harmonies-rock that was so crowded it was hard to stand out after a while. (I tend to like their stuff a little better when Neil Young was involved because he added a touch of grit and edge.) This is one of those albums about which I don't feel there is anything "wrong" with it, it's just not my thing.

It’s fine. Background music. They all sound very stoned. Nothing memorable at all.

Merely an okay album, not exceptionally memorable for me at all

Weird cross between muzak-level vocal-led tracks and attempts at flashy rock that fall flat. Not a fan

I've been making a point of giving albums more than one chance and there have been a bunch that really hit me on the second or third listen. On first listen, my reaction was this album was ok, but nothing special. Three listens later...no different. It's just not a very interesting album. I like CSNY but this album just didn't do much for me.

Yeah, not really feeling this. And get your damn nostrils out of my face on that cover art, Crosby.

Hippy drug addled music. 70's folk rock though some of it sounds like jams or they're half finished sketches. Best Tracks: Music Is Love; Cowboy Movie; Laughing

Some reasonable folk rock, not very exciting

Man, this is an incredibly stoned album, balanced on the edge of incoherence. I really don't give a fuck that Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, members of Jefferson Airplane and Santana took part--If I Could Only Remember My Name is as unfocused and messy as the title implies. In what universe is this an exceptional album? Nice harmonies on Tamalpais High, Laughing, and Orleans, though. I suppose that if you squinted really hard, you could read If I Could Only Remember My Name as some sort of document or portrait of a dissolute mind on the edge of collapse. You know, a series of rambling tone poems. Nah. I don't buy it. Not impressed.

Meh

Eh didn’t live it.

Pleasant. Doubt I'd ever listen again.

If I could only remember listening to this album.

Great music to help you fall asleep. Doesn’t catch my attention, but also doesn’t annoy me

Nothing happening all song the same

It was fine, not memorable for me. I just listened to the album and I'm struggling to critique the record because it just slipped right through my ears.

meh, it's alright

Not anything wrong with it but wasn't really for me

It was ok. There is some very well played music on the album. But it was just dull to me.

Wasn’t really my vibe

Okay just not my jam acoustic juried guitar a lot

Softer than I prefer but the first half is pretty rad.

The album was okay maybe I was stuck in traffic listening to it and that’s why I wasn’t that into it

Relaxing acoustic guitar vibe

Pleasantly surprised by this one, overall. But it's a low bar to clear. David Crosby has such an interminable reputation that clouds my perception of a lot of his music, so I really tried to approach this with an open mind. That said, there's a few clunkers here, too. "Cowboy Movie", while admirably raucous, is such an obvious, casually misogynist and racist metaphor for the dissolution of CSNY. It's kind of insulting how thin the metaphor is and how easily he throws around this "Indian girl" character to suit his own self-important ends. Blech. You lulled me into a false sense of enjoyment with Music is Love! Favourite track: Laughing

ok

Gave it a few listens but couldn't really focus on it coz was working. Folk-style stuff tends not to grab my attention, but hopefully I'll get more into it over time.

iets veel duh duh duh dutjes in de zang. Verder wel lekker

So so.

Net als zijn werk met die andere 3 lui; redelijk saai allemaal.

A bit too ‘take loads of drugs’ this.

Enjoyed the Rockier side of this but the Psychedelic side (and more prevalent) of things not really to my taste. No unpleasant but not something I'll likely listen to again. Cowboy Movie the highlight for me. 2/5

Hmnja, schon, aber halt auch nicht so wirklich

Sounds like he was highly influenced by eastern mysticism and a fuck ton of drugs.

I've never been a big fan of Crosby, Still, and Nash. This album hasn't really changed my mind, it was somewhat dull and doesn't flow exceptionally well. The highlight of the album is "Cowboy Movie".

Not really my thing, but some lovely guitar work

not for me

ok, i guess. it's fine but i can't see myself coming back to it in the future

I found the album listenable, but unremarkable.

Not his strongest, lots of wavy stuff.

Two and a half mustaches. Little two much pretentious guitar noodling that really just hides lack of strong song structure.

A few high points, but overall a little too mellow for me to really get into. Kept finding the album was over without really noticing it was on...

This was inoffensive enough, It sat in the background mkaing the world a little softer as it played. Nothing stoof out here though, it's just sound that it better than no sound. Sometimes sound is worse than no sound, so it has that going for it at least.

Went on forever - big waste of time

Don't like that much

The opening track is a great tool in homing in on my upper tolerance for hippie shenanigans. There are hints of interesting guitar work, but they are sadly overwhelmed by the tepidness of the idea. Cowboy Movie follows that up as the highlight of the album by far, and with the tone set we move into the rest. This seems to be a mixture of moderately interesting instrumental or instrumental-ish tracks, decent songs, and a couple more attempts at protest. Unfortunately, the instrumentals and chanting, the best bits, are subverted by a few lines of lyrics (What Are Their Names) or being directly subverted by parentheticals in their titles. Don't get me wrong, most of this would be very fun around a campfire with friends who were into it, and probably even at a show if you were. But it largely doesn't work on a recording. (Which is a shame given the harp non-sequitur, which would fit into the list of subversions above if I wasn't so charmed by it.)

1971. Key Songs: Music is Love, Tamalpais High ( At About 3)

it's fine. some cool parts, but nothing special

meh

zzz menos una

No, sorry, not for me

This album feels so forgettable. At multiple points I forgot I was listening to it and then immediately holy shit, this is still going? Considering this album is barely 40 minutes but felt so much longer, not a good thing

Naja

Musiken är precis som omslaget lite flummig och oskarp. Sämst blir det i Song with no words och de två påföljande kortspåren som avslutar skivan. Efter det finns det inget som kan hålla tillbaka ettan.

Till en början är det bara otroligt trist. Sen avslutar eländet med ordlös stämsång. Outhärdligt

nOT THE GREATEST

boring as shit

Hated it.

Not for me. 1/5

Heard Before? Nope. Notes: - my tolerance for hippy-dippy baloney has always been high, but sorely tested here. - was this produced at all? or did they just have a ban on EQ and compression? were the faders stuck? demo-quality sound fits certain artistic goals, but it seems accidental here. - directionless songwriting can also serve a meaningful purpose, but i think both "meaning" and "purpose" got lost in the haze. - the performances are all thoroughly fine, which only reinforces the impression of competent people phoning it in. - as much as i want to completely hate this, side two is quite pretty, in places. Verdict: I finally understand the Dead Milkmen lyric from "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies": "then it chewed on David Crosby / but it spit him out". Listen Again? You can't make me.

Lost me early. It’s well before my time and can’t say I was familiar with him so was curious enough to listen through the album but didn’t linger.

A song without lyrics is an instrumental asshole

Get this hippie shit out of my face.

Meh

Maybe if I'd taken some LSD I'd be totally into it...... but no.

Couldn't hold my faded interest.

Was bin ich schon wieder hörend

Dreary

Completely forgot what I listened to and only finished the album 5 minutes ago. Not for me

Somehow the instrumentals are a better use of Crosby than the songs that he sings on. The entire album seems to meander and run together and its very difficult to tell what if any point Crosby was trying to male.

quite bland

Booooooo

What a fucking boring album!

Yeah …. I’m good without this one

David Crosby was the guy everyone kept around because they could count on him to score drugs. This album is him cashing in those favors.

This felt very late night Radio 2. Too mellow for me.

nah

no.

Not unpleasant, just boring. With no redeeming features. That's about All I can say.

As part of a group, Crosby is great. Solo is not as great. Personal enjoyment: 1/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

Didn't care for the album. Felt bored throughout the album.

If I was being tortured I would like for this album to be playing in the background, that way my soul will be encouraged to leave my body sooner. 1/5

not my type

This is the perfect album for when you want to feel like you've wasted 3 hours of your life but only have 37 minutes to spare.

There has been far worse things on this list….. I was about to give this a two, until that weird chanting came on at the end of the album. Thank you, David for finishing this out strong. It really helped me think more clearly.

Dear God this album bored me to death. Not even the harmonies, which I’m usually a sucker for, could save this one. Some post hippie BS. I have nothing good to say about If I Could Only Remember My Name by David Crosby. Many thumbs down. A 1 rating is too generous, but there you go. 1/5

Nope. Not my thing although not bad

Dull, uninspiring, background music at best. Sing me a lullaby

Meh

I couldn't give lower than one. He is horrible this album is horrible and he's an even worst human being.

In a nutshell: folk rock cartharsis* *Carthartic more on David's part, not mine. He wrote most of the songs after the sudden death of his girlfriend. It was his way to grieve and to vent. This was popular because of Deja Vu's success. If this factor was removed from the equation, the only thing going for it are the backing musicians. But it's not enough to make it a great album. Overall: 2/10

I just can't hear the appeal.

I hate this.

Boring - I expected more from him

American 1970s folk with sugary melodies and vocals. Does not float my boat.

was it Prince? and were you funky?

Maybe it was because I was coming down off an Elton John high from the day before, but this was sooooo boring! It was painful to finish. Just soft and slow and every song is the same. It deserves to be played as background music in a spa, and that’s being generous.

Someone called this energizing in a review. To what, sloths? That review also called it ahead of its time. Thank goodness a bunch of musicians post-1971 never heard it.

1.5

🚮

Meh

Not really my thing. I kind of feel like i need to be high to listen to this album. It might make more sense to me. Crosby is a great musician...but this really is not in my wheel house.

Didn’t like this one.

Another boring album. This isn’t even good chill music to me. It’s just bland repetitive and slow. Feels like I’ve been listening to the same song for 30 minutes

Needs either the Byrds or Stills and Nash

If only I could remember anything about this boring dud. Actually I'm not upset at all that I don't remember anything about this album aside from it was boring and couldn't wait for it to end.

Would prefer swamp ass

Nope. Not my groove. I adore Joni Mitchell and even the treat of Joni didn’t keep me listening.

Crosby was fine in CSNY but his solo work is- unlike S/N/Y solo records - incredibly boring, no proper tunes, unlistenable.

Ok, but I'm a big fan of CSN, not Crosby by himself.

It says a lot that Crosby needs all this talent to make such a shit record. It is also telling why the super group he is famous for needed 9 grade A musicians to make a good record. This is boring dog shit. Nothing happens here. It's total trash.

not my favorite

If Only Anyone Else Could Remember My Name. The only reason you should listen to this album is for the features, and they all have much better songs. Very disappointed.

I just couldn't. Folksy jazzy blues, mostly acoustic singer-songwriter vibes. He's got a good voice but it's just not where I'm at musically. Nothing in here stood out to me and nothing made me want to keep listening. I gave each song a shot but... Welp.

Obviously not my pair of shoes. I just cannot distinguish it from other similar country/folk things.

Langweilig!

if i had a big boat i would go out sailing and get a big net and catch every crosby and nash and stills i could find and if i found any youngs i would set them back free into sea and nurse them back to health first if i hurt them a bit but the rest i would catch and bring home and fry them up in a pan or take them to the market and sell them for a tupence a pound

Pleasant and boring

God this doesn't all sound like everyone was coked out of their brains making this. Half the tracks have no lyrics. It's only 1970 and yet punk already had to happen.

So boring.

Not for me

Very boring and forgetable.

I wanted to kick my own ass for listening to this album.

Meh

Not sure what I was expecting with this one, but what we got was a pretty watered down version of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. Unfortunately, I found that to be pretty boring. It eventually devolves into just repetitive soundscapes that did nothing for me at all.

John’s, Paul’s and George’s first solo albums after the Beatles broke up were included on the 1001 list. While John’s and George’s arguably get there on their own merits, Paul’s first solo album sucked but I understand why 1001 was compelled to put Paul’s album on the list. The Beatles were very influential and four of their albums are in the 1001 top 20. Deja vu was a fine album but not good enough to justify Crosby’s first offering getting a free pass to the 1001 club. This Crosby album sucks. The one song I like is Cowboy Movie but it sure sounds like Down By The River. Both heavily use Em / Em7 chords and both songs sound like they are in the same key (key of Em or key of D - I have a hard time figuring this stuff out). So the only song I sort of like sounds sort of borrowed.

Not my type of genre I guess.

Can’t.

Actually fuck this guy couldn’t stand this album

Well, is this a contender for the worst album cover of all time? Even the font is dumb. Or worst album title. Or perhaps just worst album. Lets see. Track 1 - sounds like a drunk guy singing around a campfire. Track 2 - oh god is that the most piercing guitar sound ever on the lead? Horrible tone. Track 3 - OK, this album only goes for 37 minutes, phew. I can survive this. Track 4. - Maybe I can survive this. I may have lost the will to live at this point. Some generally OK guitar noodling and some horrible scat jazz styled do wop rubbish. (Song with no words in particular). This one can go straight to the bargain bin.

Sounds like the death throes of the hippie dream. R.I.P. 🪦

Oppikirjaesimerkki ykkösestä. Teennäinen, mielikuvitukseton, omahyväisyydessään harhautunut.

Not for me

Didn't like it, didn't enjoy it

My first 1 rating, I couldn't get into this at all. Couldn't wait for it to end. Song writing is inconsistent, boring, and frankly it's not my taste. I'm sure Crosby has better albums out there than this.

David Crosby signed his name in the great anthology of Rock Music history as being part of Crosby Stills Nash&Young and the legendary Byrds. I loved their music from my Childhood and early Teenage days. In contrast to these memories my first encounter with hid solo album was disappointing. Boring, boring, boring I mumbled to my self. Cheesy chord progressions, slow rock at it’s worst and endless guitar solos- the stuff I deeply dislike. Sorry Dave!

First impression... what a crappy album cover. Okay, I can't claim to know the details of Crosby's life at the time of this recording, but if Rumours stands as the high-water mark of cocaine-induced genius, this album appears to exemplify how cocaine can derail genius into rambling nonsense. The songs meander — one after the next — the recorded tones are not great (the solo guitar tone is awful), Crosby doesn't sound so hot. A 1-star rating seems a bit harsh, but I couldn't find anything that salvaged this.

Some tracks unavailable on Spotify

No.

Pochette horrible. Outre le fait de savoir à quoi ressemble le premier album solo de David Crosby, c’est sans intérêt pour moi.

Ikke tilgængeligt

Really makes you FEEL like... I don't remember. 2 ... 1

at first i couldn’t decide whether to give a 1 or 2 but now i know it’s a 1 because it was just awful. the album felt so ling even though it was 40 minutes. and the songs were just so awkward, the song without words just had humming and it was un listenable.

Literally awful. Not a single redeeming feature about this absolutely shit album. 💯 % stonewall gash

Oh, no.

No

I don't think I got anything out of this album. Nothing was really identifiable or distinct or unique to me.

Despite a year into the new decade, David retains his grasp on the late-sixties sound.

Super textured and layered, it had a lot in it that I did not expect. Super psychedelic and moody and usually doesn't overstay. Kinda what I imagine the credits of a movie would sound like to a western or a heist movie. The 2nd half is more chill than the first half, album really isn't long just 37 minutes on 9 tracks and the last 2 tracks don't reach 2 minutes. So the album feels like it kinda runs on you. All in all, im glad i listened to this but its not my type of music. Highlights: Cowboy Movie, Traction in the rain.