I wasn't originally going to make this post, but after learning about David Crosby's recent death, as well as seeing a few tributes to him from fellow alternate history music fans, I thought I'd do one myself that ponders the question, "What if Crosby, Stills and Nash continued making music past 1982?" I've already done a post that shows what their discography would've been like from 1967 up to 1980, so consider this post part two. Once again, 1982's Daylight Again is unchanged from OTL.
This post is largely inspired from Albums That Should Exist, in which Paul imagines a world that Crosby, Stills and Nash (and sometimes Young) put out more albums than they really did. Note that the timings may be inaccurate to the versions he used for his albums; I'm listing where the songs originated from because CSN(Y) tended to re-record many songs years after they were first performed. It's a habit that's practically stuck with them for years. Why that is, I'll never understand.
Side A (21:13)
1. 50/50 - 4:22 (Right by You)
2. Try to Find Me - 4:09 (Reflections)
3. Melody - 4:07 (Oh Yes I Can)
4. Vote - 2:31 (1984 live performance)
5. Raise a Voice - 2:31 (Allies)
6. Love is the Reason - 3:33 (Reflections)
Side B (21:15)
7. War Games - 2:18 (Allies)
8. Flying Man - 3:25 (Oh Yes I Can)
9. Sad Eyes - 3:22 (Innocent Eyes)
10. He Played Real Good for Free - 3:48 (Allies)
11. Right by You - 5:04 (Right by You)
12. Lonely Man - 3:18 (Reflections)
The release gap between 1982 and 1988 for a new album was an unusually long for the supergroup at the time (sure, there's 1970-1977, but they did plan to release Human Highway three times over before unceremoniously scrapping the project), but it mostly comes down to the fact that David Crosby had been arrested for drug possession. Not only that, he, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash looked pretty washed up during that time; Crosby had gone bald (save for his iconic mustache), Stills had gotten fat, and while Nash looked fine, he had that ridiculous mullet which didn't fit him at all.
There were, however, according to Nash, plans to release an album in either 1985 or 1986, most likely off the heels of Live Aid, but because of Crosby's arrest, that didn't happen, and this part of time in CSN's long, complicated history has been mostly ignored. It probably didn't help that Stills and Nash put out solo albums that hardly anyone cared about.
We may never know what a mid-1980s CSN album may have sounded like, but I managed to cobble together an album consisting of their 1983-1986 material along with some outtakes that, hopefully, comes across as acceptable. Nash is quite prominent on the album, having written and sung five songs, whereas Crosby struggled to come up with good material for another few years. However, this is not an album that I could see ranking very highly amongst CSN's work, despite the inclusion of the song "War Games" which was planned for the 1983 film of the same name.
"Vote" was performed live twice by CSN in 1984, most likely as a reaction to the upcoming presidential election. I believe that this is the same song that Graham Nash initially wrote as far back as the early 1970s before eventually releasing it as a single in 2020. If anyone can provide more information to confirm or confound this, that would be great.
Side A (21:29)
1. He's an American - 4:18 (1987 live performance)
2. Got It Made - 4:36 (American Dream)
3. Don't Say Goodbye - 3:23 (American Dream)
4. Tracks in the Dust - 4:48 (Oh Yes I Can)
5. Feed the People - 4:24 (Man Alive!)
Side B (23:05)
6. Clear Blue Skies - 3:05 (American Dream)
7. Compass - 5:19 (American Dream)
8. House of Broken Dreams - 3:18 (Live It Up)
9. Night Song - 4:17 (American Dream)
10. Oh Yes I Can - 5:08 (Oh Yes I Can)
11. America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) - 1:58 (Oh Yes I Can)
Ah, American Dream. The album that was hyped up to be CSN's big return to relevance, and with help from their estranged bandmate Neil Young, no less! And the result... was a complete disappointment. To paraphrase Todd in the Shadows, they were trying to be everything except CSNY, and the songs had anything but a group feel to them. Stills, Nash and Young each had four songs while Crosby only had two, which is strange because next year, he put out Oh Yes I Can (of which the album's title is derived from) which contained songs that went back as far as 1978. It's very likely, as was usual for the group, that they all held back their best songs.
Per this scenario, Neil Young never joins CSN, instead sticking with Crazy Horse. I mean, it's crazy enough having to deal with three egos, but four egos is an accident waiting to happen, as it often did. This leaves more wiggle room for the others to deal with, especially Crosby, who takes the lead on the album. In general, I tried to maintain the original album order as best as I could, therefore avoiding having two consecutive vocal spots by the same singer. The album cover design is adapted from a T-shirt that features a wooden ship.
"He's an American" is an unreleased song by David Crosby that he performed live in 1987, most likely fresh off his time in prison. I don't know why that wasn't considered for inclusion on either American Dream or Oh Yes I Can, even though it might have fit thematically. Then again, it may have suffered due to bad 80s production.
1. Isn't It So - 3:14 (Stills Alone)
2. Hero - 4:39 (Thousand Roads)
3. I Don't Get It - 3:35 (Man Alive!)
4. Chippin' Away - 4:07 (single release)
5. Haven't We Lost Enough - 3:06 (Live It Up)
6. Yours and Mine - 4:21 (Live It Up)
7. Got to Keep Open - 4:40 (Live It Up)
8. On the Other Side of Town - 3:35 (Crosby & Nash 04)
9. Lady of the Harbor - 3:19 (Oh Yes I Can)
10. Hearts Gate - 2:59 (Man Alive!)
11. Arrows - 3:51 (Live It Up)
12. After the Dolphins - 5:05 (Live It Up)
Total length: 46:31
If American Dream was a massive disappointment for CSN, then the follow-up album, Live It Up, was even worse. The first sign that the album was bad was the cover art with hot dogs on the moon. (Seriously, whoever thought that that art was a good idea was most likely on drugs.) Not helping was questionable production choices, some really bad songs making the cut as well as superior songs that were either relegated to B-sides or not released as all. Live It Up is widely considered to be CSN's worst album for these reasons.
At least half of the original album is intact, although a sixth song, "House of Broken Dreams", had been pushed forwards to Oh Yes We Can, likely having origins going back to 1986. For this album, I adapted the DVD cover for the 1990 compilation film Long Time Comin'. I don't really think you can compare Yours and Mine to the original Live It Up; you may as well compare an apple to an orange.
1. Thousand Roads - 4:31 (Thousand Roads)
2. Amazonia - 2:28 (Stills Alone)
3. Camera - 4:18
4. Unequal Love - 4:44
5. It Won't Go Away - 4:49 (1992 live performance)
6. Till It Shines - 4:197. These Empty Days - 2:30
8. After the Storm - 3:34
9. Panama - 4:15
10. Yvette in English - 5:53 (Thousand Roads)
Half Your Angels (October 26, 1999)
Drivin' Thunder (August 12, 2005)
CSN 2014 (January 17, 2014)
Back Home (April 15, 2016)
10. Yvette in English - 5:53 (Thousand Roads)
11. In My Life - 2:20
Total length: 43:41
After the Storm is generally viewed as an improvement to both American Dream and especially Live It Up, but it didn't sell well upon release, most likely due to bad marketing. I suspect that poor decisions behind the scenes recording the previous albums was also a factor and people didn't want to take a chance on the album. Either way, it felt like a case of too little, too late for CSN. A shame, really, especially since more than half of the songs were pretty good.
Once again, the weaker material was cut in favor of some stronger solo tracks. This is probably the album that has its content changed the least compared to the albums that came before it. Plus, having the album close out with a cover of the Beatles' "In My Life" seemed fitting as they had been together for over 25 years at that point.
1. Faith in Me - 4:21
2. Half Your Angels - 3:59 (1998 internet single)
3. Stand and Be Counted - 4:52
4. Wounded World - 3:12 (Man Alive!)
5. Heartland - 4:28
6. Morrison - 4:45 (CPR)
7. Seen Enough - 5:14
8. Dream for Him - 5:03
9. No Tears Left - 5:06
10. Someday Soon - 3:43
11. Climber - 5:20 (Voyage)
12. Acadienne - 4:02 (Man Alive!)
Total length: 54:05
Looking Forward was CSNY's final studio album, and for the next sixteen years right up until their final breakup in 2015 (and then David Crosby's death in 2023), they released no more albums, instead going on tour and performing songs that, you guessed it, were either filtered away onto solo albums or never released at all. They've made these same mistakes for years, and all that they've done is leave many fans frustrated, wanting to listen to every final nugget of their recording history. It makes you wonder why they haven't even considered putting out archival releases of songs that they've never put out on an album before.
Thankfully, most of these songs have been performed live by CSNY during 1999-2002, which makes it easier to work around the production issues. It also helps that the songs on their own are pretty good for the most part, yet they still can't hold up to the classics of the 1960s and 1970s. Like I did with American Dream/Oh Yes We Can, I removed the Neil Young songs and replaced them with more songs by Crosby, Stills and Nash, among them being their 1998 internet single "Half Your Angels", which gave the album its new title. "Sanibel" was also cut as it was not written by any of the members, and it features Young on vocals. The cover is adapted from a CSN tapestry blanket (I don't know what year it was made) and put into a frame with a plaque reading the album title on the bottom.
1. Lay Me Down - 3:37 (Crosby & Nash 04)
2. Milky Way Tonight - 3:25 (Crosby & Nash 04)
3. Round the Bend - 5:12 (Man Alive!)
4. Blizzard of Lies - 4:08 (Songs for Survivors)
5. Just Like Gravity - 3:49 (Just Like Gravity)
6. Don't Dig Here - 6:10 (Crosby & Nash 04)
7. Different Man - 2:10 (Man Alive!)
8. They Want It All - 5:35 (Crosby & Nash 04)
9. The Chelsea Hotel - 3:55 (Songs for Survivors)
10. Drivin' Thunder - 4:30 (Man Alive!)
11. Jesus of Rio - 4:12 (Crosby & Nash 04)12. How Does It Shine? - 5:21 (Crosby & Nash 04)
Total length: 52:04
Crosby and Nash put out a self-titled album as a duo in 2004 (for which the album cover above was adapted from), their first since 1976, and two years later, they put out a shortened version that highlighted the best of the double album. Around that same time, Stephen Stills released Man Alive!, which consisted of outtakes that went back many years, as listed above with previous albums. Thankfully, his Carry On box set listed when some songs were recorded, which makes the task of picking out material from him much easier.
The resulting album, Drivin' Thunder, is stronger than the sum of its parts, with most material coming from 2004 and 2005, with a few songs held back from earlier in the decade to add some variety. Unfortunately, we're not going to see much of Stephen Stills from this point on since he hasn't written much new material by himself since then, his most recent collaborations in the past decade being with the Rides and former girlfriend Judy Collins. Similarly, Graham Nash hasn't released an album since 2016's This Path Tonight, though he is putting out a new album this year titled Now. David Crosby has put out five albums between 2014 and 2021, making him the most prolific out of the trio in recent years until his death.
1. What's Broken - 3:48 (Croz)
2. Can't Get Enough - 6:09 (Can't Get Enough)
3. Exit Zero - 4:32 (2013 live)
4. Radio - 3:33 (CSN 2012)
5. Burning for the Buddha - 4:29 (2013 live performance)
6. Low Barefoot Tolerance - 3:53 (Wretches & Jabberers Soundtrack)
7. In Your Name - 3:53 (CSN 2012)
8. Set That Baggage Down - 4:01 (Croz)
9. Almost Gone (The Ballad of Bradley Manning) - 3:53 (CSN 2012)
10. Time I Have - 3:49 (Croz)
11. Only Teardrops Fall - 4:53 (Can't Get Enough)
12. I'm Here for You - 4:03 (2014 live performance)
Total length: 50:56
Crosby, Stills and Nash were unusually quiet throughout the late 2000s and the early 2010s, and I believe they were planning to record an album of covers as a stop-gap release, but, as you can probably guess, due to behind the scenes drama, it was canned. (Let's imagine that, for this scenario, it was actually released.) It seemed obvious at the time that they were creatively stagnant, and it wouldn't be until later in the decade that they would finally get their songwriting groove back. This album and the next are solid proof of that, though if you want to, you can view it as a double album spread out over two individual releases.
"Burning for the Buddha" and "I'm Here for You" are a pair of Graham Nash-penned songs that have been performed live by CSN between 2013 and 2015. The former was also performed live by Nash solo in 2013; the latter was first performed in 2014. I believe both of those songs were co-written with Shane Fontayne, who co-wrote all of the songs for This Path Tonight.
1. Roadhouse - 5:06 (Can't Get Enough)
2. Myself at Last - 5:18 (This Path Tonight)
3. The Clearing - 4:00 (Croz)
4. Watch Out for the Wind - 3:06 (This Path Tonight)
5. Don't Want Lies - 4:41 (Can't Get Enough)
6. Golden Days - 3:38 (This Path Tonight)
7. Somebody Home - 4:30 (Snarky Puppy's Family Dinner - Volume 2; edit)
8. Olympia - 3:42 (2015 live performance)
9. Virtual World - 4:01 (Pierced Arrow)
10. What Makes It So - 4:00 (Lighthouse)
11. Back Home - 4:48 (This Path Tonight)
12. Look Each Other in the Eyes - 3:39 (2016 internet single)
Total length: 50:29
Despite the renaissance Crosby, Stills and Nash were undergoing in the mid-2010s, there was no album to release from them as a group, and by the end of 2015, the group was finished for good. Then in 2023, David Crosby died, which further affirmed that any chance of a reunion between the members had died with him. A half-century's worth of ego, drugs, constant bickering and questionable musical choices had ended with no resolution, no retrospective and no shaking of hands. This supergroup that had all the potential to fulfill their fans' wishes had ended on bad terms with one another.
And yet, they didn't have to. They could've released one more album by 2015, or possibly even two as there was enough good material by them as a group. Chances are it could've been their best album since 1970, but the sad fact is, we may never know if it would've lived up to that hype. After all, a few albums by the group were hyped up and performed underwhelmingly. On a more positive note, I find it rather fitting that the final CSN album concludes with a Stephen Stills-penned song; they started with a song written by Stills - "For What It's Worth" (or "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", depending on whether you see 1967 or 1969 as when they started as a group) - and they end their career with a Stills song. Coincidentally, both of them are politically-themed.
"Olympia" is another Graham Nash song that was also performed live by CSN between 2014 and 2015. Again, it's very likely it was co-written with Shane Fontayne.
What about the leftover songs?
When it came to picking out songs, inevitably, there were going to be some tough cuts made. Out of the remaining songs Paul had picked out for his own CSN/Y albums, there were nine that I ended up cutting (Neil's tracks notwithstanding). The first of them was "Chuck's Lament (A Child's Dream)", that was released on the Amazing Grace and Chuck soundtrack in 1987, and later as the B-side to "Live It Up" in 1990. I presume it would have still been released as a B-side to one of the singles for Oh Yes We Can, since it dates to the late 1980s.
One of my main reasons for cutting certain songs was due to the balance of material between the three members; I tried to give each a minimum of three songs and a maximum of five, but in some cases, that was not always possible. "Somehow She Knew", "Rusty and Blue" and "Time is the Final Currency" were all performed live during the 1990s prior to their actual release on CPR (Crosby, Pevar and Raymond) in 1998, with the former even being performed by CSN in 1992. Similarly, "Dirty Little Secret" and "Lost Another One", both from Graham Nash's Songs for Survivors from 2002, were performed by CSN live in 2003. I simply assumed that solo projects outside of CSN were still a thing by 2005.
In addition, I cut songs that they covered as I wanted to focus on the songs that they either wrote or co-wrote. Stephen Stills' version of Booker T. Jones' "Ole Man Trouble" was released on Man Alive! in 2005, and his live cover of Mudcrutch's "The Wrong Thing to Do" ended up on Live at Shepherd's Bush in 2009. The last remaining song, Crosby and Nash's live performance of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" in 1992, has not been released on any album as far as I'm aware; CSN have even performed it a few times in 2003, and Nash even performed it solo as recently as 2022. Perhaps all three songs could end up on Songs We Wish We'd Written instead?
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