November 19, 1971
Neil Young - Oh, Lonesome Me
Released: November 19, 1971
Recorded: Winter 1969 - September 1971
Producer: Neil Young with David Briggs
Track listing[1]
Side A
Out on the Weekend
After the Gold Rush
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Harvest
A Man Needs a Maid
Heart of Gold
Cripple Creek Ferry
Side B
Oh, Lonesome Me
Old Man
Birds
Southern Man
There's a World
I Believe in You
The Needle and the Damage Done
Neil Young was the first member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to release his own solo album on Apple Records. It was his third solo album overall following a self-titled release in 1968 (some sources claim it was released in 1969) and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere with Crazy Horse in 1969. Oh, Lonesome Me had origins tracing back to August 1969 with on and off sessions for a potential second album together, but plans fell through when Young joined Crosby, Stills & Nash, put out Déjà Vu with them the following year, and the rest was history.
Between January and September, Young had recorded ten new songs for another potential solo album following the cancellation of After the Gold Rush; anything that was left off of Remember Our Names would end up on Young's new solo album.
NEIL YOUNG: "I showed David and Graham some of the new material I was working on for what eventually became Oh, Lonesome Me. Along with Stephen, they ended up partaking in three songs ["Are You Ready for the Country", "Alabama", and "Words (Between the Lines of Age)"] that eventually ended up on the next CSNY album. I'd already filled my quota, and we were soon working on other tracks that they would contribute to Southbound Train, which wouldn't be out until we'd gotten the initial solo stuff on Apple out of the way." (1983)
For the newer material, Young recorded with a group of country session musicians that were dubbed the Stray Gators which included pianist Jack Nitzsche, bassist Tim Drummond, drummer Kenny Buttrey and steel guitarist Ben Keith. Among the newer material included "The Needle and the Damage Done", a lament for great artists with a heroin addiction, which included Young's former Crazy Horse band mate Danny Whitten. Others included future hit single "Heart of Gold", "Old Man", and "A Man Needs a Maid", dedicated to Young's girlfriend, actress Carrie Snodgress.
Oh, Lonesome Me was finally released on November 19, 1971. Despite charting at #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, critics gave the album a mixed reception, some even accusing Young of retreading old ground. However, in 1975, Rolling Stone magazine would dub Oh, Lonesome Me as a masterpiece, even calling it Neil Young's greatest album. In 2003, Rolling Stone would rank it as the 71st greatest album of all time, and it would gain the top spot in Bob Mersereau's The Top 100 Canadian Albums in 2007. The lead single "Heart of Gold"/"After the Gold Rush", would also reach #1 in the United States, being the first single by a Canadian artist to do so, whilst it reached #7 in the United Kingdom.
December 17, 1971
After the Gold Rush
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Harvest
A Man Needs a Maid
Heart of Gold
Cripple Creek Ferry
Side B
Oh, Lonesome Me
Old Man
Birds
Southern Man
There's a World
I Believe in You
The Needle and the Damage Done
Neil Young was the first member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to release his own solo album on Apple Records. It was his third solo album overall following a self-titled release in 1968 (some sources claim it was released in 1969) and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere with Crazy Horse in 1969. Oh, Lonesome Me had origins tracing back to August 1969 with on and off sessions for a potential second album together, but plans fell through when Young joined Crosby, Stills & Nash, put out Déjà Vu with them the following year, and the rest was history.
Between January and September, Young had recorded ten new songs for another potential solo album following the cancellation of After the Gold Rush; anything that was left off of Remember Our Names would end up on Young's new solo album.
NEIL YOUNG: "I showed David and Graham some of the new material I was working on for what eventually became Oh, Lonesome Me. Along with Stephen, they ended up partaking in three songs ["Are You Ready for the Country", "Alabama", and "Words (Between the Lines of Age)"] that eventually ended up on the next CSNY album. I'd already filled my quota, and we were soon working on other tracks that they would contribute to Southbound Train, which wouldn't be out until we'd gotten the initial solo stuff on Apple out of the way." (1983)
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| Carrie Snodgress and Neil Young, 1971. |
Oh, Lonesome Me was finally released on November 19, 1971. Despite charting at #1 in both the United States and the United Kingdom, critics gave the album a mixed reception, some even accusing Young of retreading old ground. However, in 1975, Rolling Stone magazine would dub Oh, Lonesome Me as a masterpiece, even calling it Neil Young's greatest album. In 2003, Rolling Stone would rank it as the 71st greatest album of all time, and it would gain the top spot in Bob Mersereau's The Top 100 Canadian Albums in 2007. The lead single "Heart of Gold"/"After the Gold Rush", would also reach #1 in the United States, being the first single by a Canadian artist to do so, whilst it reached #7 in the United Kingdom.
December 17, 1971
Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills
Released: December 17, 1971
Recorded: June-July 1970, February-May 1971
Producer: Stephen Stills and Bill Halverston
Track listing[2]
Side A
Relaxing Town
Nothin' to Do But Today
Do for the Others
Church (Part of Someone)
Old Times Good Times
Fishes and Scorpions
Open Secret
Side B
Word Game
To a Flame
Black Queen
Cherokee
Marianne
Bluebird Revisited
Stephen Stills donated four songs for the next CSNY project - "Change Partners", "Ecology Song", "Singin' Call" and "Sugar Babe". Like Young, Stills was extremely prolific with his songwriting, having written enough songs to form a double album, possibly a triple, but for his first solo album, Stills opted to go for a more marketable single album. For the newer material such as "Word Game", "Fishes and Scorpions" and "Bluebird Revisited" - the latter of which was a sequel to the Buffalo Springfield cut "Bluebird" - Stills gathered the likes of Chris Hillman, Al Perkins and Dallas Taylor to serve as session musicians, which would eventually serve as the basis for his side-band Manassas.
Country musician Rita Coolidge was a romantic interest for both Stills and Graham Nash, having left the former for the latter, which sparked a bitter rivalry between the two during this period. She had also served as the inspiration for "Sit Yourself Down" on Remember Our Names, as well as Stills' solo track "Cherokee" and future CSNY song "Change Partners". Another cut, "Do for the Others", was written for David Crosby following the death of his girlfriend Christine Hinton from a car accident in 1969.
Stills' eponymous album was released the same day as The Concert for Bangladesh, managing to hit #8 in the United States and #22 in the United Kingdom. "Marianne"/"Know You Got to Run" was released as a single, topping at #20 in the United States. Reception for the album generally ranged from lukewarm to positive, although Stills would later lament not releasing the album earlier, commenting "I'd finished my solo album before Neil, David and Graham did; I dunno why it took an extra two or three months to put it out!" (1994) It would be another four months before he had a critical and commercial rebound with Manassas.
Nothin' to Do But Today
Do for the Others
Church (Part of Someone)
Old Times Good Times
Fishes and Scorpions
Open Secret
Side B
Word Game
To a Flame
Black Queen
Cherokee
Marianne
Bluebird Revisited
Stephen Stills donated four songs for the next CSNY project - "Change Partners", "Ecology Song", "Singin' Call" and "Sugar Babe". Like Young, Stills was extremely prolific with his songwriting, having written enough songs to form a double album, possibly a triple, but for his first solo album, Stills opted to go for a more marketable single album. For the newer material such as "Word Game", "Fishes and Scorpions" and "Bluebird Revisited" - the latter of which was a sequel to the Buffalo Springfield cut "Bluebird" - Stills gathered the likes of Chris Hillman, Al Perkins and Dallas Taylor to serve as session musicians, which would eventually serve as the basis for his side-band Manassas.
Country musician Rita Coolidge was a romantic interest for both Stills and Graham Nash, having left the former for the latter, which sparked a bitter rivalry between the two during this period. She had also served as the inspiration for "Sit Yourself Down" on Remember Our Names, as well as Stills' solo track "Cherokee" and future CSNY song "Change Partners". Another cut, "Do for the Others", was written for David Crosby following the death of his girlfriend Christine Hinton from a car accident in 1969.
Stills' eponymous album was released the same day as The Concert for Bangladesh, managing to hit #8 in the United States and #22 in the United Kingdom. "Marianne"/"Know You Got to Run" was released as a single, topping at #20 in the United States. Reception for the album generally ranged from lukewarm to positive, although Stills would later lament not releasing the album earlier, commenting "I'd finished my solo album before Neil, David and Graham did; I dunno why it took an extra two or three months to put it out!" (1994) It would be another four months before he had a critical and commercial rebound with Manassas.
April 7, 1972
Crosby & Nash - Songs for Beginners
Released: April 7, 1972
Recorded: 1970-1972
Producer: David Crosby, Graham Nash and Bill Halverson
Track listing[3]
Side A
Military Madness [Nash]
Cowboy Movie [Crosby]
Wounded Bird [Nash]
Whole Cloth [Crosby]
Simple Man [Nash]
Side B
Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves) [Crosby]
Girl to Be on My Mind [Nash]
Orleans [Crosby]
There's Only One [Nash]
I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here [Crosby]
Chicago (We Can Change the World) [Nash]
Whilst the others had enough material to each fill their own solo albums, David Crosby struggled to come up with material to fill one side of an album, let alone two. He had even considered releasing an extended play with the non-CSNY material he'd already finished, but Graham Nash instead suggested that they release an album together.
GRAHAM NASH: "David had three original songs, one of which was instrumental, and his own take on a traditional ['Orleans']. I had about six or seven on hand, one of which being 'Chicago' that we ended up debuting at the Concert for Bangladesh in Madison Square." (2016)
DAVID CROSBY: "I think Graham had the right idea when we finally put out our duet album. I was going through a writer's block before Remember Our Names came out. After the Concert for Bangladesh, Graham and I suddenly felt a surge of creativity and wrote up ten new songs, five each. The only songs that didn't end up with CSNY were my 'Whole Cloth' and Graham's 'Girl to Be on My Mind'." (1999)
A whole duet album could now finally be assembled, but there was a problem regarding the material from the two previous years; the newly recorded "Whole Cloth" and "Girl to Be on My Mind" would've sounded completely out of place. Rather than re-record the old material from scratch, overdubs were instead added to the 1970-71 material so they sounded more contemporary.
Songs for Beginners, credited to Crosby & Nash, was finally released on April 7, 1972, the week before Stephen Stills & Manassas came out with their debut. Songs for Beginners reached #4 in the United States but dipped below the Top 10 in the United Kingdom at #12. Like the solo efforts by Stills and Young, the Crosby & Nash duet album received mixed to positive reception from critics. The lead single off of the album, "Chicago"/"Cowboy Movie", managed to hit #10 in the United States; the most likely reason due to people finally being able to have a once live-only song in their music collection after its first ever performance at the Concert for Bangladesh eight months previous.
Now that their side projects from the leftover sessions from 1970-71 were finally out of the way, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young could finally put some focus onto their next project as a group. What could possibly go wrong?
Cowboy Movie [Crosby]
Wounded Bird [Nash]
Whole Cloth [Crosby]
Simple Man [Nash]
Side B
Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves) [Crosby]
Girl to Be on My Mind [Nash]
Orleans [Crosby]
There's Only One [Nash]
I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here [Crosby]
Chicago (We Can Change the World) [Nash]
Whilst the others had enough material to each fill their own solo albums, David Crosby struggled to come up with material to fill one side of an album, let alone two. He had even considered releasing an extended play with the non-CSNY material he'd already finished, but Graham Nash instead suggested that they release an album together.
GRAHAM NASH: "David had three original songs, one of which was instrumental, and his own take on a traditional ['Orleans']. I had about six or seven on hand, one of which being 'Chicago' that we ended up debuting at the Concert for Bangladesh in Madison Square." (2016)
DAVID CROSBY: "I think Graham had the right idea when we finally put out our duet album. I was going through a writer's block before Remember Our Names came out. After the Concert for Bangladesh, Graham and I suddenly felt a surge of creativity and wrote up ten new songs, five each. The only songs that didn't end up with CSNY were my 'Whole Cloth' and Graham's 'Girl to Be on My Mind'." (1999)
 |
| Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young performing live, 1972. |
Songs for Beginners, credited to Crosby & Nash, was finally released on April 7, 1972, the week before Stephen Stills & Manassas came out with their debut. Songs for Beginners reached #4 in the United States but dipped below the Top 10 in the United Kingdom at #12. Like the solo efforts by Stills and Young, the Crosby & Nash duet album received mixed to positive reception from critics. The lead single off of the album, "Chicago"/"Cowboy Movie", managed to hit #10 in the United States; the most likely reason due to people finally being able to have a once live-only song in their music collection after its first ever performance at the Concert for Bangladesh eight months previous.
Now that their side projects from the leftover sessions from 1970-71 were finally out of the way, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young could finally put some focus onto their next project as a group. What could possibly go wrong?
Footnotes
- Tracks are sourced from After the Gold Rush and Harvest. "The Needle and the Damage Done" is edited to remove the audience's cheering at the end.
- Tracks are sourced from Stephen Stills and Stephen Stills 2.
- Tracks are sourced from If I Could Only Remember My Name, Songs for Beginners, and Graham Nash David Crosby. "Chicago" and "We Can Change the World" are combined to make a single track.
Author's Comments
So here we go; the first ever solo projects by CSNY since they became a group. Neil Young's solo album was perhaps the easiest to assemble. All the leftover material that didn't make it on Remember Our Names or the 1972 and 1973 albums (we'll get to those soon enough) came together to form a collection of songs that holds up really well. Not to mention that nothing ended up being wasted.
Stephen Stills' album was not as easy to assemble, and like Neil, I had fourteen songs leftover from both solo albums but only "Know You Got to Run" ended up being removed and relegated to a B-side. The Crosby & Nash album was even trickier due to the lack of David Crosby material from the period; he had five songs and Graham Nash had twice that many. Three Nash songs ("Be Yourself", "Sleep Song", and "Blacknotes") were removed whilst "Chicago" and "We Can Change the World" were combined as a single track, with the latter being somewhat of a reprise to the former. That was four songs overall that I ended up losing, which is rather impressive.
We will soon be saying goodbye to 1971 and hello to 1972, but first, a recap as to how Apple has been faring at the turn of the decade.
So here we go; the first ever solo projects by CSNY since they became a group. Neil Young's solo album was perhaps the easiest to assemble. All the leftover material that didn't make it on Remember Our Names or the 1972 and 1973 albums (we'll get to those soon enough) came together to form a collection of songs that holds up really well. Not to mention that nothing ended up being wasted.
Stephen Stills' album was not as easy to assemble, and like Neil, I had fourteen songs leftover from both solo albums but only "Know You Got to Run" ended up being removed and relegated to a B-side. The Crosby & Nash album was even trickier due to the lack of David Crosby material from the period; he had five songs and Graham Nash had twice that many. Three Nash songs ("Be Yourself", "Sleep Song", and "Blacknotes") were removed whilst "Chicago" and "We Can Change the World" were combined as a single track, with the latter being somewhat of a reprise to the former. That was four songs overall that I ended up losing, which is rather impressive.
We will soon be saying goodbye to 1971 and hello to 1972, but first, a recap as to how Apple has been faring at the turn of the decade.
Was curious to see how their solo careers turned out ITTL! Three classic albums right here!
ReplyDeleteYep, that's what I like to do with some of the leftover material; make new albums out of them. CSNY were quite prolific during that time (barring Crosby, who was more into toking up on drugs than making music with his bandmates, but that's beside the point), so it was easy to decide what to do with the leftover stuff.
DeleteI've a particular spot for Oh, Lonesome Me, though; perhaps when I complete Phase Two, I'll do a blog post talking about my favorite albums to have made thus far.