19. Carry On Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP0VBB7BO64 The word supergroup is quite rightly a very dirty word. The most recent example that comes to mind is some phoned-in nonsense that Mick Jagger attempted with Dave Stewart - it was that hideous, pointless, narcissistic and embarrassing, which is what supergroups most often are. It wasn't always like that however, and the first supergroup put four rather large talents into one room, David Crosby from the Byrds, Graham Nash (the rather square Englishman of the quartet) from the Hollies, and Neil Young and Steven Stills of Buffalo Springfield. Against all odds they were more than the sum of their parts who made wonderful country folk, and Carry On from their second record, Deja Vu, is literally magical. Sadly there isn't a tremendously cool YouTube video to accompany this beast, so just sit back and listen to the luscious harmonies that match the might of Beach Boys' songsmithery. It's something that takes The Beatles on mano-y-mano, with guitar heroism that makes you think Eric Clapton was in the band and lyrics to break the hardest of hearts; Where are you going now my love? Where will you be tomorrow? Will you bring me happiness, will you bring me sorrow? CSN and Y (Well, they thought it sounded cool) were a ridiculously self-indulgent band and all the better for it. They hit all the right notes through sheer jaw-dropping talent, marrying the hippy values of the late 60s with the emergent musicality of the 70s, single-handedly setting the trail of laid back West Coast American music that would see the likes of the Eagles become stadium fillers later in the decade. What a ground-breaking band. If you are a Mumford and Sons fan and have never heard this before, once you've listened to it youll agree its time to change your allegiance.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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Ed