Crosby, Stills & Nash

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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?!

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

Needs more Young

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

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.

Great harmony and comfortable music

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Fan-fucking-tastisch album

Love it

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

if its maybe a lil lopsided its only because the highs are so ridiculous. could just survive on being great songs performed by the ever reliable band structure of Guys Who's Voices Sound Really Fucking Good Together but theres also tons of nice little instrumental/arrangement flourishes and details...more than anything, that plus the obvious clashing/melding personalities create a v distinct sound (earthy with a celestial tinge) yet i never once feel like its repeating itself. but i sure did think "oh theyre just casually throwing out the best song ive ever heard in my life" at least a couple times

No one does folk rock quite like CS&N, and they let you know that with their first swing up at bat. The vast majority of tracks here are timeless.

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".

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

I could imagine Neil Young collaborating well with these young upstarts

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.

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

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.

yeah

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

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

great album by them!

very good album

After a bunch of 3's and a 1, I was soooooo revielved to hear an actually well-made album. They actually seemed to have a vision/concept for the ablbum and the whole thing felt very cohesive. Very pretty sounds, and nobody can harmonize like CBN. I am giving it a 4/d because I could do with maybe 20% fewer "do do do's" But definitely want to listen again.

Another gem of classic rock. You probably heard all of these songs before - actually pretty timeless.

i like the first song a lot. nice sound

It's a pretty good listen, although I prefer them with Neil Young.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Samey, strummy, denim-clad dullness. Marrakesh Express is quite fun though.

tired of 60's folk rock

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

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

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!! ich hab gehofft, dass das bald kommt. 3 lieder bei mir dauernd auf repeat: wooden ships (!!), suite und helplessy hoping. die stimmen, lyrics, gitarren … verleihen gänsehaut. fazit: meine haut hats gfreut.

Fantastic album with so many nice, calm songs. Allright, this is hippie stuff but still..

Oh FUCK yes I got so excited when this one got picked. Barring some of my favorite jazz and string trios-- and I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say this-- this might be the most significant musician trio to have ever existed. this album is emblematic of everything happening in the late 60s and into the early 70s: there is some fascinating genre interplay, some unique sounds that don't really get replicated by later artists, and obviously significant homage paid to country, blues, and folk roots in an album that also employs elements of rock and jazz. this album is fucking *stacked* with five-star songs. What gets me about this album is that CS&N could have been wed to a single sound; the Paul Simon-esque "Lady of the Island", the smooth ballad work of "Guinevere", but damn if they don't pull out all the stops and remind me about the danger of musical expectations. just when you think you know the album, they hit you with something interesting. i find that it's almost impossible to be bored listening to this record. it's probably my favorite of 1969 (and that's a stacked year, with Abbey Road, ITCOTCK, Zeppelin's II, etc.) If I had to rank my ten favorite albums of all time, I don't *think* this would place, but that's only because there's so much good music out there. On a good day where I'm feeling my roots, I'd maybe stick this one in the #10 spot. It's just so good.

Another album that was presented to me when I was young as the pinnacle of music. Except this one holds up! The harmonies are the most attractive feature of any CSN or CSNY project, they just do it like no other. But as far as opening tracks go, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is up there with the best. Looking forward to our inevitable ‘Deja Vu’ review.

I'm older than everybody on this cover art and that's pretty fucked up. And I think the title is in the Twin Peaks font. CSN(and sometimes Y) are interesting because they're a supergroup that is arguably more popular than its predecessor bands. Like, I'd definitely call them more popular than Buffalo Springfield or the Hollies and probably the Byrds. David Crosby and Graham Nash are about as good at harmonizing and melody-crafting as anyone this side of Lennon/McCartney. And Stephen Stills is the second best songwriter/guitarist from Buffalo Springfield who subsequently joined this band. Neil Young is his own beast but he’s not here yet. One time I saw Graham Nash at the Lexington Opera House and he introduced every song by telling the story of what inspired it and like half the time the story was just the lyrics of the song. I don't even think it was intentional but it was really funny and for that reason, I will always love him. This album is a breeze to get through and there's always something pleasant or at least interesting going on. Vocal layers, lyrical complexity, the token “after a nuclear war” song that every single folk adjacent 60s singer had in the arsenal. Probably best enjoyed in an environment other than “in my office at work” or “in my kitchen cooking dinner” but that’s what I had to work with. If I'm being nitpicky, and I am being nitpicky because there's not a goddamn thing you can do about it, I'd prefer this to be structured a little differently. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is so fantastic that there's nowhere to go but down from there, so I wish it came way later in the album after some build, where it can be the "centerpiece" that it is. As it stands, I think the centerpiece honor goes to "Helplessly Hoping," which is admittedly their most streamed song on Spotify so maybe they’re better at this than I am. If I'm being extra nitpicky, and I am being extra nitpicky, because who's going to stop me? Kellen? I hate that part in "Wooden Ships" where they're talking about the purple berries. It’s annoying. But like this is still a no-skips album, no matter what order it's in and no matter how many berry-based diatribes there are. So, I don't know. Something I strongly believe is that you can never fully appreciate anything on a first listen, even if you immediately fall in love with it, and this is a good example of that. I’ve had the album on repeat all day, really since last night, and it’s grown on me more each time. I was pretty well locked in on a 3 on first listen then a 4 then up to a 5 then back down to a 4 (because of the berries. It’s always about the berries). I’m gonna give it the softest possible 5. Like when I took my driver’s license test those many years ago and the lady made a point of telling me I only passed by 1 point. Hoping for Neil Young soon

All time classic!

good!

So many of my favorite folk/rock tunes on this one highlighted by Guinevere, Suite Judy Blue Eyes, and Wooden Ships. While I prefer to listen to the unskippable So Far, that is essentially a best of with the bonus of "Woodstock". There are a couple good ones on here that did not appear on that one, such as Long Time Gone and Lady of the Island.

loved the harmonies

Supa chill I like this one

Fantastic album. Love the harmonies and the music. Sorry Neil Young but I think their best album was without you.

Classic

5 out of 5 Classic rock at its finest.

One of my all-time favorite albums. Classic.

Great album, going in my rotation.

8/10 Some of the best harmonies in rock - so effortless. The songs are gentle, maybe as a result, but so solid.

Tight harmonies, skillful playing, I can see why this is a classic.

There is something magical about these three and the songs on this album. CSN is leagues better without Young's caterwauling. You Don't Have to Cry is my favorite.

Incredible vocal harmonies by the CSN fellers. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" will always remind me of my mom.

Harmonies, California, '68-69, Laurel Canyon, what's not to like? Fav track: 49 bye-byes

Naj naj naj 😍🫶🏻 apsolutno obožavanje! 5/5, 9.5/10

Crosby, Stills, and Nash are highly regarded in music, but I've never had anything that made me do a deep dive. Now that I've listened to this album, I can officially say I'm a fan. Great vibes, very soothing. Similar to the Eagles in some fashion, great harmonies. I'll probably throw this album into a playlist for normal rotation.

One of my all time favorites. Love Neil Young but prefer CSN without him.

This is a really solid album. They were all very established musicians so I don't know if it counts as an incredible debut album, but Judy Blue Eyes, Wooden Ships, and Helplessly Hoping are all great songs. This and Deja Vu is about as good as they get and later in life they all kinda sucked. Neil Young was the best part of them once he joined but this is still worth being here. Great instrumental work and harmonies.

I started the day by listening to the wrong album, CSN from 1977 and I was prepared to give that 5. I've corrected and switched to the proper album. I never understood. I judged the book by it's cover. Without ever listening to them I assumed they weren't for me. After a day full of 2 different Crosby, Stills & Nash albums, these guys put out a solid product. The production on this album is so good. The dynamic mixing, head phones, come on. Makes one question why more music wasn't mixed like this. I wish I had heard this sooner. The 1977 album CSN is pretty good also.

Classic sound of the 60s.

Absolute classic — some of the best vocal harmonies in rock music.

I am 78 years old This album was a highlight of my youth. Every cut a winner

Pure west coast

What a funny coincidence! I've had Judy Blue Eyes stuck in my head all day, and now I generate this. That first track alone is enough to earn the album 4 stars, and the question is now about whether the rest of the album does enough to get that fifth star, and I believe it does. Great harmonies, influenced the Dead, and close to the pinnacle of this sort of Folk Rock scene. Favorite Track: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

This is a perfect folk-rock album. No further notes.

They must have got such a buzz out of singing so perfectly in harmony, great album, really flows along nicely and effortlessly. Helplessly Hoping is such a breath-taking love song, always stops me in my tracks - worth the 5 just for that track.

Love it. But the Dejavu in total is my favorite of CSN(Y)

Accidentally left this on at work when I disconnected my headphones, so my computer has listened to it approximately 10 times. I however, enjoyed the single time I listened to it.

loooooove

Love it

An undoubted classic which I am sorry to say passed me by the first time around. I was aware of the record largely due to CSN’s appearance at Woodstock but my musical tastes did not extend to them. Although, again due to Woodstock, I thought Suite Judy Blue Eyes was a piece of harmonising excellence and probably with Hendrix and The Who the best part of the whole thing. I wasn’t there of course but base this on the Woodstock film. To be honest it is only in the last few years that I have become a CSN (more than CSN&Y) fan. As I have said I doubt if there is a better example of close harmonies with all three of them bouncing off and complementing each other. Guinnevere is a beautiful love song and a song I never tire of. If I have one tiny criticism the album does seem to tail off with the last two tracks in particular being just filler tracks. Still a great album and well worthy of been on this list and I hope somewhere near the top scoring wise. 5/5 11/8/25

🌞 Rating: 4.6 / 5 🎶 Short Review: Crosby, Stills & Nash is what happens when three egos decide to get along for exactly one album and accidentally create the soundtrack to every 1970s porch swing existential crisis. 💔 Favorite Track: “Helplessly Hoping” Three voices. One guitar. Infinite ache. It’s romantic devastation disguised as a lullaby—like Fleetwood Mac without the passive aggression.

I had forgotten what a classic this was!

This is a timeless classic that never gets old. Love CSN and CSNY. Just great music all around.

Top album

truly a remarkable album

Still outstanding writing and playing

Yep. Another one I stretched the tape out by listening so much.

Relaxing and beautiful, made my mind rest a little while I was listening, perfect!

Love, love, love this album.

5 estrelas. Genial, pioneiro. California!!!!

Amazing vocal harmonies. This album along with Deja Vu are pure magic. I saw C,S&N in '90. You know a group is badass when you go only knowing a few songs and then recognize more than half the setlist. I went with a friend and left as a fan digging into a lot of their works as a group and as individuals. This album is about as close to perfect as you can get in my opinion. This will never not be a 5 star album.

Classic

Fantastic.

Difficult to analyze this one having heard most of these so many times. A lot to like here obviously, but the different "sounds" throughout I've maybe taken for granted. The lead guitar on Suite Judy, the combination of instruments that make that strange and awesome groove to start Long Time Gone, what ever the hell that instrument is on Marrakesh. Helplessly Hoping sounds incredibly clean to me, though I couldn't even get through it it's so heart wrenching. A lot of these I hadn't heard, at least in a while and were probably the low points (Song with No Words, Lady of the Island etc.) The best point of reference for this album is Deja Vu which is an unrealistic standard. Amazing debut, all time great songs, a few I don't need, not as good as Deja Vu but pretty damn good.

This was the first album I listened to after returning back from a week at a beautiful but faintly demonic destination wedding in Mallorca, Spain, a power union between two fantastically successful but dull-eyed finance vampires and house music enthusiasts who insisted on hiring some of Europe's (apparently) most in-demand house DJs to blast the most god-awful, soulless beep-boop bork- bork fuckslop computer music nonstop for two straight days while nearly all of the 250 avaricious ghouls in attendance numbed their brains and hearts with coke and ecstasy to distract themselves from the mist of hollowness and mortality that, by the end of the party, had begun to thicken to a choking fog. Hearing this album upon returning felt like going from black and white to color in my soul. Long live music. Long live CSN. Long live humanity. One measure of almost any song on this album contains more life than 100 hours of DJ nonsense. We're going to be alright.

Here I am confirming my bias for the late 60s/early 70s being the best era for music again 😂 The muted instrument sounds mixed with those crystal clear vocal harmonies is so stylish and beautiful, but creepy and weird when the song calls for it. Im in awe at some of these Lady Of The Island and Helplessly Hoping were my personal favorites this time. Easy to spend a full 24 hours on this. With that said, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes overshadows the genius of the rest of this. I wonder if they considered splitting that off as a single and keeping it off this album.