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Crosby, Stills & Nash

Crosby, Stills & Nash

1969

Buy At Rough Trade
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Album Summary

Crosby, Stills & Nash is the debut studio album by British-American folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. It is the only album released by the band before adding Neil Young to their line-up. The album spawned two Top 40 singles, "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which peaked respectively at No. 28 the week of August 23, 1969, and at No. 21 the week of December 6, 1969, on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album itself peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4,000,000.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.47

Votes

14941

Genres

  • Rock
  • Country
  • Folk
  • Psychedelic Rock

Reviews

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Feb 16 2021
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5

My only complaint is that they don't use an Oxford comma in their band name. Nice combo of nostalgic and folksy rock, this might have been my favorite album so far

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Apr 23 2021
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3

Nice and chill album, I get why they were popular. Idk if it's heinous to say it but felt like the Beatles meets Simon and Garfunkel

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Dec 13 2022
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5

High school in the 80's I listen to mostly thrash metal, hard rock and some punk/hardcore with a splattering of some random things like the Cure. I starting hangin out with other kids into different music. One of my first times getting high, my friend puts this album on vinyl, Suite Judy Blue Eyes comes flowing out of the speakers filling my ears and head with those warm sweet harmonies, wow I never heard anything like this. I was hooked, on both the music and the weed. I still love this album and CSN, even though David Crosby is an ass.

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Feb 21 2021
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1

I expected this to be better and score higher, but in reality this album pretty much made me angry. It should be better, it has all the ingredients to be better, yet it is really boring, almost all the songs sound the same, and that same isn't an enjoyable song to begin with. It should probably score 2, but I'm angry at it, so 1 it is.

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Mar 23 2021
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5

CSN's self-titled debut cannot be touched! From Judy Blue Eyes to You Don't Have to Cry to Wooden Ships to Teach Your Children Well (and everything in between), there is no better folk rock record of its time. Where is the 6 star option?!

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Dec 10 2020
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5

Absolute classic album. One of the best folk rock albums ever. Great guitars, great diversity, and of course, the harmonies. Legends.

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Jan 28 2022
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5

Perfect album, shame Neil Young had to go ruin such a great group.

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Dec 28 2023
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5

Another band I've never listened to that I assumed would be pretty dated sounding, but man I really dug this one too. Marrakesh Express and Guinevere were my favorites here.

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Sep 16 2023
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3

They were better with Neil Young and Neil Young is better without them.

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Jan 03 2024
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4

Great harmony and comfortable music

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Jan 13 2021
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5

I always forget there's CSN & CSNY. This is classic easy, chill, jamming music.

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Apr 01 2024
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3

Here are some fun facts. In 1982, David Crosby crashed his car into a fence after having a cocaine seizure. Responding police found his coke and a loaded .45. When they asked Crosby why he felt the need to travel with a loaded weapon, he supposedly replied, "John Lennon." At one point, Stephen Stills started to believe he had been on missions with the US Marines in Vietnam and began wearing fatigues on stage during concerts and signing autographs “Stephen Stills, US Marine Corps”. In 2016, Graham Nash, who was in his 70's at the time, divorced his wife of 38 years to marry a 40-year old. His adult children stopped talking to him, which he said was probably for the best. These were three talented individuals and this is a pretty decent album and Deja Vu is even better. It is a shame that after making some pretty decent albums these guys spent the next 50 years ruining their lives and the lives of the people around them. Don't do drugs kids.

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Apr 23 2021
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2

Pleasant but forgettable. Unlike other supergroups these three don't seem different enough to provide an interesting contrast.

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Mar 26 2024
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5

I bought this album off my Cousin about 1973. Loved the album and it is still one of my favourite albums of all time. Teach Your Children and Guinnivere are my favourite tracks. Well worth a listen

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Jul 28 2021
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3

Nice but lacking the magic of the previous CSN&Y album I've listened too. Not bad though.

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Jan 17 2021
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5

Each track is a classic. Such good harmony and guitar on show here. Fresh.

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Mar 08 2021
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5

I usually just think of them as classic rock but I was really blown away listening to the whole album together

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Jun 04 2021
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5

I had never listened to CS&N before, but there is a warmth and feeling of familiarity that came with it anyway. Loved the album.

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May 07 2021
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5

Stellar, folksy harmonies with rock instrumentation. Makes you want to put on a shearling jacket and build a cabin.

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Aug 01 2021
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5

I was blissfully unaware that this album had been the backbone of every campfire guitar singalong. Songs like Everybody's Talking, Love the one you’re with and teach your children well are it seems the bread and butter of every acoustic guitarist.

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Jul 09 2022
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5

I could imagine Neil Young collaborating well with these young upstarts

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Jan 15 2024
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5

Impeccable vibes. This album caught me on a good day and made it even better.

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Feb 29 2024
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5

The debut album from the definitive vocal supergroup of the 60's and 70's. Crosby, Stills & Nash showcase their incredible songwriting and unworldly tight vocal harmonies, pulling flavors from their previous musical forays into a perfect blend of folk, blues, and rock. Obviously, lyrics and voices are front and center on this album, but there's also some subtly awesome instrumentation backing them, including iconic acoustic guitar, mesmerizing organ, and respectable bass and drums. A fantastic breakout album, and a taste of more great music to come. I'm very biased toward this album for personal reasons and familial history. It could have been 40 minutes of screeching brakes and just "Helplessly Hoping" at the end, and I still would give it five stars for that track alone. Stand out tracks include "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", "Marrakesh Express", "Guinnevere", "Lady of the Island", and "Helplessly Hoping".

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Jan 17 2024
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4

i like the first song a lot. nice sound

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Oct 21 2021
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3

By far the best thing about CSNY was Y. Without Y they are a one trick pony; they have the lovely harmonies but not a lot else. In particular, the songs on this LP written by C or N are weak.Some of Stills' songs are good and their harmonies make those songs very good. This is the case with Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. The four songs that follow can't be saved by the harmonies. I kind of like Wooden Ships, probably because it sounds like a Neil Young song, lol. I suppose Stills lays down the lead guitar on that track.  We must give credit where it's due. Helplessly Hoping is beautiful and the best song on the LP imo.  I just don't think a couple of good songs can get the LP north of 3.  PS I do like Teach Your Children but didn't let it influence my rating since it's a bolt on to the 2006 re-release and more appropriately considered a Deja Vu track.

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Aug 10 2022
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3

I thought this album was good, but not great. I believe Young added a certain something to the mix that just made this band pure magic, and for me, that magic is clearly lacking on this album without him. The impact of this album however, is not to be undermined. This debut album popped up in 1969, just in time to inform and be an inspiration for many 70s soft rock, folk rock, and singer-songwriter acts. They naturally had a sound and a style here that many bands would go on to covet and seek. While Crosby, Stills & Nash was not the first supergroup, they're an incredibly significant one. Before them, any group formed of members from other bands was considered a "supergroup". But Crosby, Stills & Nash all came from already pretty successful bands and created an even more successful band than any of them came from individually. Crosby, Stills & Nash, along with this album, ultimately set a strong precedent for true supergroups going forward; it's a good introduction to that 70s folk rock sound and a good foundation for things to come with this band.

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Sep 26 2023
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3

I really enjoyed the sound. I would need to listen more for the lyrics when I'm not working sometime. But enjoyable album with a sound I like

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Jan 05 2024
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3

This is the first album I listened to and rated as part of this project. I love this style of folk rock music and it provided for a very easy listening experience in which I didn't dislike any song. I felt that it started off a little boring with 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes' but I could find that growing on me after a while. I did love 'Guinnevere' and 'Wooden Ships' was probably my favorite track.

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Jan 15 2024
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3

It’s great if this is what you’re into. It won’t blow away any neutrals though.

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Feb 07 2024
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3

incredible debut; best bits on the Greatest Hits [edit: to explain, this is a 3* because it's so wussy. So much crying everywhere!]

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Feb 07 2024
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3

When the last Boomer on this critics' list rages into that good night, half of the 1,001 will quietly drop off with them, and this will be one of the leavers. But is that fair? This has some great songs (Wooden Ships slides and rocks, You Don’t Have To Cry is a classic of the dead genre of pedagogic goodbyes, Long Time Gone is panther-like yacht rock), a bunch of middling ones, and a creepy one in Guinnevere (I hated it so much on first listen that I tip-toed up to it on subsequent play throughs, worried that it’d bite). More fundamentally, I don’t know what to do with all the harmonies. CSN advance on me like a tripled hippy terminator, earnest and la la la, the threat of a syrupy “milady” keeping me on edge. The harmonies don’t repel me as they once did, but they sound doubled, with a doll-like creepiness - “I’ve heard enough,” my wife declared in the car earlier. And these harmonies are why this band exist. When they turn down the harmonies, let them loosen up, they can be pleasant, extra oomph in the choruses. I wish they’d let them get ragged. I don’t need to hear Marrakech Express again, but it’s cute novelty, albeit one drummed by roots rock’s favourite murderer, Jim Gordon. The opener dares me to hate it, so by the end I’m its pet. I prefer Déjà Vu, and that’s not down to the added Y, fnar fnar.

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Oct 21 2021
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2

Although I love Neil Young, these guys just rub me the wrong way. So without Neil, CSN is a chore. It's just excruciating for me to listen to their hillybilly harmonies and I couldn’t listen to the entire album

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Dec 05 2022
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2

No Neil Young....but still lots of classics here. It reminds me of high school. It was old then, it sounds pretty dated now. There are just a couple songs that were fun to hear again, like Teach Your Children

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Jul 20 2024
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2

I'm a big fan of The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, so you would think this would be up my alley, but this album sounded a bit samey from track to track for my tastes. Apparently there were iconic hits, but none of the tracks really grabbed me. It appears that all of their songs that I enjoy are on other albums in their career, particularly those with Neil Young, which is weird because I typically don't enjoy Neil Young's solo career. Great harmonizing but I found the songs boring pretty quickly. I'd rather just listen to another Simon & Garfunkel album. If I had to a pick a track I might want to listen to again, I guess "Marrakesh Express" was okay.

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Jan 17 2021
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5

Lots of things going on in this music, but enjoyed the tight harmonies and use of rhythm. Casual yet still precise and professional. Enjoyed listening to the lyrics as well - Teach Your Children brings back memories.

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Jun 20 2021
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5

There are several songs on here that by themselves would pull an album score up, but to have them all together is bananas. What a monumental album. Wooden Ships hit me hard when I first heard it back in probably middle school and hasn’t ever lost it. I wonder how I’d feel about this album if I didn’t have nostalgia attached to it. The vocal harmonies are timeless and the guitar is still great. I bet still 4 stars at least, but with nostalgia this is an easy 5

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Feb 16 2021
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5

Really enjoyed it, very laid back music. Considered giving it a high 4, but Spotify played a bunch of Steely Dan when the album ran out and that put me in a generous mood.

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Feb 15 2021
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5

Muito bonito, gostei bastante. Uma pegada folk maravilhosa, me lembrou muito Simon & Garfunkel.

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Mar 19 2021
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5

Took me back. Hard to believe some of the songs were from their first album

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Apr 04 2021
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5

I like this album the more I listen to it, and it’s great, but it also makes me just wanna listen to Neil Young

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Jun 14 2021
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5

My absolute favorite brand of folk rock. "Marrakesh Express" is one my favorite songs ever.

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Sep 27 2021
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5

Крутой альбом! Как и все у них

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Oct 22 2021
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5

Yeahhhh now this is some old-timey music that still crushes it. I've had some 60s folk/singer-songwriter albums of late which have been ... eh. For a most-recent example and in a musical vein that is sort of similar: I'm not a fan of Bob Dylan - maybe he could turn a phrase and accurately tap into the young mood of the time but his music just wasn't very good - almost like a quick basic template for him to write poetry over. Dylan's music for me pales to this - CSN's first album is different and you know it right off the bat - this isn't going to be 40 minutes of basic blues-based V-IV-I progressions. What I love most is that although CSN were all singers, and each excellent (those harmonies are worth the admission), these songs are legit and would be good even without the great vocals. Which is everything. Variety! Progressive rock - folk - straight up rock... often with unpredictable progressions and chord voicings ("Guinevere" is an example that's hard to categorize - lush and strange harmonies over unresolving guitar melodies) It's admittedly hard for me to be objective to music that I've heard for decades - some of these songs are just all-time world classics. Seems facile to say "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (I thought it was "Sweet Judy Blue Eyes until I was a teenager) is one of my favourites since it's so ubiquitous but it really is that great. It's essentially 3 songs in one - it's Yes before Yes were Yes. But better (and coming from a Yes fan, this). There are some points where the album slows up a bit but I think it may add to the album, giving it all an ebb and flow. "Long Time Gone" as a near-final track is as hard rock as rock could be in 1969 with soft voices and (mostly) acoustic guitars. Overall this is an indispensable album - a template of the best music of its time and holy hell this is a freaking *debut* album. Top notch. 9/10 5 stars

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Dec 14 2021
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5

It’s getting to the point- where I’m no fun anymore - I am sorry. Say, can I have some of your purple berries? It’s a 5 if ever there was one.

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Dec 28 2021
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5

This is a beautiful album, with such a beautiful sound. Their voices create such perfect harmony it almost is like just one person singing. Talk about a supergroup.

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Dec 28 2021
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5

This one surprised me, I've always kinda been "meh" and ignored CSN but wow. The songwriting and production on this is so on point

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Jan 28 2022
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5

Oh yeah, fuckin amazing record. Standout songs for me are Suite: Judy Blue Eyes and Helplessly Hoping. Fantastic vocals and guitar work all throughout this album. Some incredibly nostalgic sounding music.

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Jan 30 2022
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5

amazing album, I’m a huge fan of that vocal harmony stuff, reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel and Yes while the music itself felt very simple, it has a very likable sound that everyone should check out, I’m giving this a 10/10

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Feb 11 2022
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5

Listened to this many times before and always enjoy it.

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Feb 26 2022
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5

Outstanding as always. Defines the genre.

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Mar 15 2022
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5

Tengo que escuchar más de ellos y a este disco volveré más de una vez. Me han gustado muchas canciones y el disco en general. Favoritas: Suite: Judy blue eyes, Marrakesh express, Pre-Road downs, Lady of the island, Helplessly hoping, 49 bye-byes y Everybody's talkin'. Un 5 estrellas *****.

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Mar 27 2022
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5

This was a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon. The harmonies are beautiful and soothing. I loved rolling along with this album. Of course the two opening songs tower over the proceedings. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes and Marrakesh Express sound as great as ever. An incredible one-two punch that instantly put this band on the map right out of the gate. But I liked the rest really well as well. Really nice.

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Mar 27 2022
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5

One of my favorites. Love the melodies, the harmonies, and the layering of the vocals and guitars. This one makes me feel good.

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Mar 27 2022
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5

A lovely album! The layering of the instruments and the vocals make for a most enjoyable listening experience. The variety in tempos and style also add interest for the album.

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Mar 27 2022
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5

Another wonderful opportunity to listen to a classic album for the first time. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is a very familiar classic, of course (though I never knew that it was about Judy Collins!). Much of the album has their amazing signature harmonies, but I really enjoyed the different sounds that they brought to their first album. "Guinevere" and "Lady of the Island" were two new favorites, both apparently taking some inspiration from Joni Mitchell!

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Apr 04 2022
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5

Classic as folk gets. The 41 minutes fly by

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Apr 04 2022
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5

A classic. What a way to debut your music.

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Apr 18 2022
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5

I guess I'm pretty neutral in my opinion of this group. I mean I appreciate their great harmonies but can't say I went out and bought any of their albums. This debut has some rock radio heavy hitters in "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", "Marrakesh Express" and "Wooden Ships." It appears they took a democratic approach in the songs switching lead singers after every song. Thinking back and actually forward, their approach probably was very unique for folk with their blend of acoustic and electric guitar songs and their complex harmonies. This is a great sounding and produced album. Outside their hits, I appreciated "Guinnevere" - subtle and acoustic love song, "Lady of the Island" - another very soft song about Nash's relationship with Joni Mitchell and "Helplessly Hoping" - maybe my favorite harmonizing on the album, which surprsingly are led sung by each of the three. Not really any stinkers or fillers here to me. Although you hear enough of this album on the radio, this is definitely an album worth going back to listen to as a whole.

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Jun 07 2022
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5

Had to listen to a different album with most of the same songs. Saw them in concert s few years ago. Awesome harmonies.

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Jun 17 2022
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5

What a fantastic album, super easy listening while never being dull, boring or simple. As always I love the guitar work of Stephen stills and them combining their voices with harmonies in the majority of the songs was the last puzzle piece that I was missing from their other albums

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Jul 08 2022
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5

Quintessential hippie folk music. Listening to it makes me want to go buy a VW bus, wear a bunch of tie dye and grow out my hair. Time to turn on, tune and drop out

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Jul 10 2022
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5

A classic. Hopeful, aspirational, formative.

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Jul 11 2022
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5

Good album, I knew a few songs and will probably remember them forever

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Jul 12 2022
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5

Absolute gold! These guys were talented individually but together they are magic. The songwriting, those gorgeous harmonies. If I could give it a sky full of stars I would.

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Jul 22 2022
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5

Brilliant and beautiful -- is there a better or bolder track 1 of a debut album than "Suite Judy Blue Eyes"? The rest of the record holds true, too, and the strength of the lesser known songs is testament to the overall quality. Deja Vu might be even better. One wonders how modern production techniques would have lifted the sound, elevated the harmonies even higher.

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Jul 27 2022
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5

Pretty much a perfect album. Easy listening with some beautiful lyrics that likely go overlooked. Lots of favorites on here: Judy Blue Eyes, Guinnevere, Pre-Road Downs, Marrakesh Express, Helplessly Hoping, 49 Bye-Byes.

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Jul 27 2022
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5

Trop bon, quel talent. Un apercu de ce qui s'en vient avec young et Deja vu mais quand m^peme un super album qui résume bien le courant musical. 5

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Jul 28 2022
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5

tfw they're riding on a Marrakesh express: ☺️

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Aug 02 2022
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5

A near perfect album. Can you believe Apple Records passed on them?

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Aug 10 2022
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5

one of few groups that had their best album as their debut album. besides the commonly known songs, the album has unbelievable depth.

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Aug 21 2022
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5

Classic CSN album from '69, not the same classic status as Deja Vu, but still an easy 5 stars, just like the classic CSN album from '77 (the latter being the ultimate yacht album after all). I realized that the debut album of the modern CSN variant, Fleet Foxes, is also approaching semi-classic status status (released 15 years ago) yet that album is not in the same league as CSN(Y)...

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Sep 09 2022
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5

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes- 9/10 Marrakesh Express- 9/10 Guinnevere- 7/10 You Don't Have To Cry- 10/10 Pre-Road Downs- 10/10 Wooden Ships- 10/10 Lady Of The Island- 5/10 Helplessly Hoping- 9/10 Long Time Gone- 10/10 49 Bye-Byes- 10/10 Do For The Others- 7/10 Songs With No Words- 9/10 Everybody's Talkin'- 10/10 Teach Your Children- 8/10 Crosby, Stills & Nash- 9/10

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Oct 21 2022
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5

There's something just so satisfying about the harmonies.

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Oct 25 2022
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5

Doodoodoodoodoo DOOT doo doodoodoodoo

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Nov 02 2022
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5

становится понятно, думаю, что мне уже очень сложно ставить оценки... но это будет очередная пятёрка, потому что нет причин ставить меньше (как можно не оценить хотя бы song with no words)

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Nov 14 2022
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5

Beautifully crafted instrumentals and exquisite harmonies. It gets a highest rating from me and when you consider that they released Deja Vu the following year, I can't think of better back to back offerings from anyone.

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Dec 20 2022
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5

This album is full of hits. And it proves to me again that Nash is my favorite songwriter of the bunch, with Marakesh Express and Teach Your Children being the standouts for me.

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Dec 30 2022
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5

One of the greatest albums ever.

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Jan 05 2023
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5

David Crosby er faen et unikum med stemmen sin. Dog tenker jeg bare på den rare luen han går med nå som han er gammel. Steven Stills smeller fra seg med gitaren, noe som gjør det lekende lett å høre på. Det er så forbanna bra.. Jeusus christ... låt #3 er det villeste bruken av vokaler. 6/6

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Jan 18 2023
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5

Lovely album of soft psych tinged folk rock, rich in those west coast harmonies and vocal prowess, fantastic playing by some of the finest in the American music scene at the time, it is warm and autumn golden like honey. Alternatively it’s the sound of bloated fly blown rich asshole rock stars indulging their excessive egos with vast capitalist fantasies of self indulgence and blissful/wilful ignorance of harsh and unfair reality and suffering of others Whichever takes your pick, or a bit of both? This is the sound of the blossoming hippie ideal, albeit seen through the eyes of the sometimes unpleasant, Stoned, talented, privileged and lucky

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