“Before I get in trouble”: David Crosby picks CSN’s greatest singer
Never have three voices sounded as good together as when Crosby, Stills and Nash harmonised.
Everything about the band’s formation feels almost like divine intervention. An American, a Canadian and an Englishman, all living in the hills of Laurel Canyon in 1969 while pursuing separate musical projects, were brought together by fellow Canyon resident and music icon Joni Mitchell. It’s the kind of origin story that feels tailor-made for Hollywood, made possible by a remarkable musical collaboration.
The anecdote of Mitchell introducing her then-boyfriend, Graham Nash, to Stephen Stills and David Crosby as they jammed in her garden only works, though, once you listen to the alchemic end result of their music.
These three voices were tailor-made for each other, designed to share harmonies over folk-rock songs that defined a liberal generation. And when the hippie movement was in full swing, desperately trying to convince the world that the collective worked better than the individual, it was this band who typified the mantra.
The paradox didn’t just end at their backgrounds. The bizarre nature of their harmonies was rooted in more than just their personal differences, but also creative, for all three members of the band possessed something unique and almost conflicting in their vocal styles. It meant that, for those partisanship inclined, there was the chance to pick a favourite of the three.
David Crosby made a bold case for die-hard fandom. His uncompromising personality made for a fearless creative style that resulted in a deeply soulful and rugged voice, which served as something wildly different to Graham Nash, whose air-tight pitch made for the perfect anchor harmony. Then there was Stephen Stills, who of the three felt like the most natural Laurel Canyon songbird and thus, felt like everybody’s natural favourite, including David Crosby.
But there was one man from the East Coast of America, who never got the chance to audition for this transatlantic three-piece, who actually made a Crosby, Stills, and Nash song sound better than all three of them.
“I get to the Beacon and during soundcheck listen to Steely Dan rehearse my song,” Crosby began. “And they could play it really well. He even arranged new horn parts! (Lead guitarist) Jon (Herington) had learned everything he could possibly do to take that song to another level. Because Jon Herrington is even better than (Stephen) Stills. And it was fan-f**king-tastic.”
Before the ego of Stills had a chance to be bruised, Crosby intervened and clarified his love for his bandmate, expressing, “And before I get in trouble again, let me add that Stills was always the best singer and player and writer in CSN.”
Even while I admit that Crosby, Stills, and Nash was a band of harmonies built on top of a contradiction, there still isn’t a world where a Steely Dan member could join the Laurel Canyon band. Steely Dan’s rigorous recording process was the antithesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s free and easy attitude, one which Crosby rightly points out was channelled through their quiet leader, Stills.
