This is a Random Album Generator.
One album a day.
From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

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

3.48

Votes

15373

Genres

  • Rock
  • Country
  • Folk
  • Psychedelic Rock

Reviews

Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!
Sort by: Top Date
Feb 16 2021
View Author
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

👍
Apr 23 2021
View Author
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

👍
Dec 13 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Feb 21 2021
View Author
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.

👍
Mar 23 2021
View Author
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?!

👍
Dec 10 2020
View Author
5

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

👍
Jan 28 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Dec 28 2023
View Author
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.

👍
Sep 16 2023
View Author
3

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

👍
Jan 03 2024
View Author
4

Great harmony and comfortable music

👍
Jan 13 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Apr 01 2024
View Author
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.

👍
Apr 23 2021
View Author
2

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

👍
Mar 26 2024
View Author
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

👍
Jul 28 2021
View Author
3

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

👍
Jul 09 2022
View Author
5

I could imagine Neil Young collaborating well with these young upstarts

👍
Aug 01 2021
View Author
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.

👍
Jun 04 2021
View Author
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.

👍
May 07 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Mar 08 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Jan 17 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Feb 29 2024
View Author
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".

👍
Jan 15 2024
View Author
5

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

👍
Jan 17 2024
View Author
4

i like the first song a lot. nice sound

👍
Oct 21 2021
View Author
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.

👍
Aug 10 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Jan 15 2024
View Author
3

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

👍
Feb 07 2024
View Author
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!]

👍
Jan 05 2024
View Author
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.

👍
Feb 07 2024
View Author
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.

👍
Sep 26 2023
View Author
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

👍
Oct 21 2021
View Author
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

👍
Dec 05 2022
View Author
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

👍
Jul 20 2024
View Author
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.

👍
Mar 15 2023
View Author
5

Do do do do do, doot doot, do do do do! These guys are good. Pleasant 60's rock, the harmonies are lush and give me a real heady high. 40 minutes flew by and before I knew it the album was over. That's a damn good feeling, just grooving the whole way through, not worrying about a thing. I looped it a few times throughout the day and just really dug it. This is a very well-rounded trio. I like me some Young in the mix too, but you can't go wrong with CSN.

👍
Oct 22 2021
View Author
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

👍
Feb 20 2023
View Author
5

This is the straight dope of the late 60s

👍
Feb 02 2023
View Author
5

This and Deja Vu are two of the greatest albums I've ever heard. While decidedly 60s in tone, the songs still transcend time.

👍
Dec 30 2022
View Author
5

One of the greatest albums ever.

👍
Jan 05 2023
View Author
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

👍
Dec 20 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Jan 18 2023
View Author
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

👍
Oct 25 2022
View Author
5

Doodoodoodoodoo DOOT doo doodoodoodoo

👍
Feb 16 2021
View Author
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.

👍
Aug 10 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Mar 29 2023
View Author
5

Weirdly, I had Helplessly Hoping running through my head this morning, and then it turns up here. It's so good! I love the way that this album takes the infectious pop of The Byrds and adds a dash of cynical folk rock to the mix.

👍
Jan 17 2021
View Author
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.

👍
Feb 15 2023
View Author
5

I have their greatest hits for my car, so I am partial. Judy Blue Eyes is a great start to an album, loads going on, iconic sounds. Jangly folky rock, smooth harmonies, thoughtful lyrics (for the most part), what more could you ask for? A second peak for the album is Lady of the Island, Helplessly Hoping and Long Time Gone. Helplessly Hoping in particular is a top 10 song for me - melancholy, introspective, but powerful. Exactly my kind of music. I just like the era and this kind of sound. I have to say that this is not my favourite album of theirs, I prefer Deja Vu (with Neil Young) as I think it is stronger as an overall product, but this one is a 5 nonetheless.

👍
Apr 22 2023
View Author
5

I greatly enjoyed my time with this album. The harmonies are just excellent, the songs are both emotionally engaging and catchy as all hell, and the bright spots on this are so incredibly bright. The three come together to make something really interesting and great to listen to. High recommend. Best is easy Judy Blue Eyes, its just a trip the whole way through, but the rest is great too (HM lady of the island for the opposite vibe done just as well)

👍
Aug 02 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Jul 27 2022
View Author
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

👍
Sep 27 2021
View Author
5

Крутой альбом! Как и все у них

👍
Nov 02 2022
View Author
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)

👍
Nov 14 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Apr 24 2023
View Author
5

A stone cold classic. Encapsulated the laurel canyon vibe.

👍
Aug 21 2022
View Author
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)...

👍
Sep 09 2022
View Author
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

👍
Jul 11 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Jul 10 2022
View Author
5

A classic. Hopeful, aspirational, formative.

👍
Jul 28 2022
View Author
5

tfw they're riding on a Marrakesh express: ☺️

👍
Oct 21 2022
View Author
5

There's something just so satisfying about the harmonies.

👍
Jul 27 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Jun 17 2022
View Author
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

👍
Jul 08 2022
View Author
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

👍
Jun 07 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Jul 12 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Jul 22 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Apr 24 2023
View Author
5

This is one of the albums that defines the summer of 69. Their harmonies are wonderful. They voices fit together well. The guitars fit nicely under their voices Wooden Ships is one of the scariest songs ever written about war, it’s beautiful, melodic and chilling at the same time CSN perfected the ‘singable’ protest song

👍
Mar 27 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Mar 19 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Feb 15 2021
View Author
5

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

👍
Mar 27 2022
View Author
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!

👍
Apr 04 2022
View Author
5

Classic as folk gets. The 41 minutes fly by

👍
Apr 04 2022
View Author
5

A classic. What a way to debut your music.

👍
Mar 27 2022
View Author
5

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

👍
Mar 27 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Feb 26 2022
View Author
5

Outstanding as always. Defines the genre.

👍
Apr 18 2022
View Author
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.

👍
Mar 15 2022
View Author
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 *****.

👍
Load more reviews