The album that made Graham Nash quit The Hollies: “His stuff appalled me”
Graham Nash had always focused on forward progression in his music. It’s nice to be able to rely on one’s old tricks to get a song going, but where’s the fun in that when you can try something that no one else has even touched on? Nash knew there was a better world out there beyond standard rock and roll, and once The Hollies turned towards easy-listening Bob Dylan pieces, he needed to find a way out fast.
Once the 1960s started coming to an end, Nash already knew that he needed a better creative outlet than the bluesy rock and roll outfit he started. There were all the makings of a great group in there somewhere, but he found himself being called by the sounds emanating from California as well.
Though England was also going through the Summer of Love, it was a completely different story out West. The California rock scene had become a safe haven for people wanting to make folksy music that could have the potential to change the world, and Nash had just the friends to help him when joining forces with David Crosby and Stephen Stills.
Around the same time, The Hollies were beginning to take a stab at making a covers album of Dylan’s material, which never sat well with Nash. Despite being one of the biggest Dylan fans of all time, this was the kind of music that felt like it was being done by someone who listened to the tune of Mr Zimmerman’s work but never bothered understanding the lyrics.
What frustrated Nash most was not the idea of reinterpretation, but the lack of intention behind it. Dylan’s songs were not just vehicles for melody, but statements that demanded care and curiosity from the people performing them. Stripping those layers away in favour of polish felt like missing the point entirely, and it only reinforced Nash’s sense that his own songwriting instincts were pulling him somewhere more expansive.
That disconnect made his departure feel inevitable rather than dramatic. Nash was not rejecting The Hollies as musicians, but recognising that his creative compass no longer aligned with theirs. Where they prized consistency and familiarity, he was chasing discovery, even if it meant stepping into uncertainty. California did not just offer him new collaborators, but permission to take risks that had no place in his old band.
When speaking with The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nash remembered just how torturous it was attempting to get the takes for the album, saying, “The way that The Hollies wanted to do some of his stuff appalled me. I did actually sing on ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’, and it’s out there somewhere, but to me, it’s just awful. It’s just like a Las Vegas-type [song]. This isn’t a Rat Pack thing here. What’s going on?”.
If anything, the fact that Nash wanted to work with David Crosby falls into place a little better when you see where they were coming from. Crosby had already been through working with The Byrds, and their penchant for bringing their signature jangle to Dylan songs had already gotten a bit stale for him when flying out of the nest.
Then again, it could have been that The Hollies weren’t taking Nash seriously. After playing them future classics like ‘Marrakesh Express’, they wanted nothing to do with the more artsy take that Nash had on rock and roll, instead focusing on becoming the signature rock and roll act who never took that many chances.
Once Crosby, Stills, and Nash released their debut album, it felt like everyone’s eyes had been opened for the first time. This wasn’t about trying to make some art project that no one could understand. This was about extending a hand between folk and rock music and somehow finding common ground that actually made sense.
