Let us now (finally) praise Stephen Stills

Photo: Charlie Bermant. 9/14/09. Puyallup. WA

I’ve seen Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young five times between 1969 and 2006, with the interplay between Stephen Stills and Neil Young always leaving behind a sense of breathless wonder.  I finally got off the couch to see CSN minus Y last night, then concluding that Stills doesn’t get his due. Young flits in and out of his association with the other three, admittedly pushing the energy level up another notch. But if Young’s presence yields a spectacular combination,  last night proved that the CSN-only brand packs its own potent kick.

Even so, there was another elephant in the room. That is, the famous vocal blend  has gone ragged, and they are several shades less than what they once were. They acknowledge this, but refuse to stack the deck with  ringers. They do not, like the current incarnation of the Beach Boys, hand off the vocal chores to the hired help. They are less polished but more authentic, relying on the strength of their songs and the spirit they evoke.

And they rely on Stills, whose magnificent playing keeps everything fresh. He had such promise, back in the old days, but never reached his potential (funny thing, they said the same thing about me at the time). In the  mid-1970s Stills either stopped making great records or we stopped listening to them. Likewise CSN, it seemed the brilliance of their first group albums and the surrounding flurry of solo work slowed to a trickle, to the point where they’d put out an album with two great songs plus filler. Like too many others.

Forty years ago, one third of a concert could consist of unreleased material that rivaled the familiar. When I saw CSNY in 1970 they staged what became the Four Way Street album, which evolved into a wild-card greatest hits package. At that show, I heard future classics like “Black Queen” and “Southern Man” for the first time. There were no cover tunes. Performing other people’s music, especially considering the band’s hyper-productivity, would be a waste of time.

The new model CSN has restacked the deck. They are road-testing a series of covers from the old days, including “Ruby Tuesday” and “Midnight Rider.” There is a circle of irony, as the Grateful Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band” began as a CSNY homage. The effect was pleasant, acknowledging the music has become “classic” and putting to rest the idea that a bad original is better than a good cover.

The acoustic set was pleasant enough. The songs are still great, and are performed with love. Two songs into the second set it went to another notch, with the triple-punch of “Marrakesh Express,” “Rock and Roll Woman” and “Long Time Gone.”

CSN is a blend of disparate voices that  become greater than the sum of its parts, so examining a single cog loses sight of the wheel. But Stills deserves respect. Some of it is due, with a pair of archival releases planned and followed by a solo box set (Nash and Crosby already have theirs).

Archival boxes are museum pieces. that sit most comfortably on the shelf. The best strategy is to go see Stills play, solo or with others. at the very next opportunity.  He smokes.

Imprecise Set list, from memory: Helplessly Hoping, Wasted on the Way, Ruby Tuesday, You Can Close Your Eyes, Girl From the North Country, Midnight Rider, Guinnevere, Our House, Dream for Him, In Your Name, Uncle John’s Band, Southern Cross; Love the One You’re With, Marrakesh Express, Rock and Roll Woman, Long Time Gone, Just A Song Before I Go, To the Last Whale, Deja Vu, Wooden Ships, Almost Cut My Hair, Bluebird, For What It’s Worth, Teach Your Children.