There is no such thing as four men in perfect closedharmony, their voices naturally gelling, lifting the mood of the room or thearena up a notch. Or at least, there will never be after Crosby, Stills, Nashand Young (CSNY).
The year was 1970. Crosby, Stills and Nash’s self-titledalbum was a hit and they raised the bar a little when they got their fourth voicein Neil Young for their second album Déjà vu. American folk would never be thesame again.
Déjà vu starts off with ‘Carry On’ where you hear Young’svoice adding yet another deeper dimension to the group’s sound. It’s when youhear ‘Teach your Children’ that you will scroll up one paragraph to the firstline in this story and bow your heads in solemn acknowledgement, only to shed atear in awe and infinite sadness by the time ‘Helpless’ starts playing. And thealbum’s not yet done. The Joni Mitchell penned ‘Woodstock’ is up next, whichconjures up images of long-haired glassy-eyed teens with flowers in their hair.The title track ‘Déjà vu’, the incredibly-arranged ‘Our House’, ‘4+20’ and afew other songs follow, but this album is not one for a single listen.
What makes Déjà vu all the more special and interesting isthe fact that all the songs were recorded as single session by the individualmembers of CSNY, with the other boys adding their parts in when needed,including roping in ‘Grateful Dead’ founder, Jerry Garcia to lend his musicaltouch on ‘Teach Your Children’.
Egos always get the better of super-groups and this one wasno different. Déjà Vu propelled the group’s solo efforts up to the top of thecharts and even though they produced a few more great albums and even moreso-so’s, this is the one album that defined CSNY and folk rock music of thedecade. Again, there is no such thing as four men in perfect closed harmony.
