CSN

2013年結成45周年を迎えた、クロスビー、スティルス&ナッシュ。彼らが1991年にリリースされた4枚組ボックス・セット『CSN』がこの記念すべきアニヴァーサリー・イヤーに形態も価格もコンパクトな形に生まれ変わって復活! 元はLPサイズのボックス・セットとして発売されていたパッケージを、マルチケース・パッケージにアレンジした新形態は、LPサイズからCDサイズと見た目は随分軽くなりましたが、内容はそのまま! CS&N時代は勿論、CSN&Y、またマナサスやそれぞれのソロ作品からの代表曲までも網羅しているだけでなく、このボックス・セットで初めて日の目を見た、未発表テイクや別ヴァージョンも多数収録!DISC1のオープニングが「組曲:青い目のジュディ」、そしてDISC4の最後を締めくくるのが「自由の値」という選曲も心憎いばかり。 1960年代終わりから常に時代と寄り添い、作品を作りまた歌い続けてきた、アメリカを代表するシンガー・ソングライター・グループの全てを知るのに格好の作品である。

This 77-track, four-CD set remains one of the best boxes devoted to a single music act that one can buy, covering the output of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young across 22 years, from 1968 until 1990. The first thing that becomes apparent, beyond the excellent sound (which was a revelation at the time, when only extant editions of the group's work were the early, substandard CD editions), is the sheer worth of the material. Crosby, Stills & Nash's reputation, based on their first four albums, can be taken as a given for anyone who would think of buying this set, and it does cover virtually every base that one could involving the trio, with an occasional Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cut included for completeness' sake. Disc one by itself should be worth the price of the set to serious fans, eight of its 18 tracks being previously unissued songs (including a version of the Beatles' "Blackbird") and unissued early demos, alternate takes, or variant mixes on songs from the Crosby, Stills & Nash or Deja Vu albums, along with one Crosby & Nash outtake. Disc two is similarly filled with previously unheard songs and versions of songs, although here the rarities are more focused on material by Stephen Stills (including a Crosby, Stills & Young version of "Black Queen"), Graham Nash solo, and the Crosby & Nash duo. Disc three is devoted more to Manassas and Crosby & Nash, but does work in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Taken at All" and "See the Changes" from various attempts at doing albums. Disc four takes listeners up to 1990, with Stills, Nash, and Crosby solo material (including unissued live and studio cuts) of the '80s interspersed with released Crosby, Stills & Nash tracks and previously unissued Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tracks. The accompanying booklet includes a sessionography and reminiscence about each track, and as most of this set is presented in chronological order, one not only gets a dazzling four-hour-plus song-by-song listening experience, but also what amounts to a montage/history of the group and their members across more than two decades. ~ Bruce Eder|

This 77-track, four-CD set remains one of the best boxes devoted to a single music act that one can buy, covering the output of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young across 22 years, from 1968 until 1990. The first thing that becomes apparent, beyond the excellent sound (which was a revelation at the time, when only extant editions of the group's work were the early, substandard CD editions), is the sheer worth of the material. Crosby, Stills & Nash's reputation, based on their first four albums, can be taken as a given for anyone who would think of buying this set, and it does cover virtually every base that one could involving the trio, with an occasional Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cut included for completeness' sake. Disc one by itself should be worth the price of the set to serious fans, eight of its 18 tracks being previously unissued songs (including a version of the Beatles' "Blackbird") and unissued early demos, alternate takes, or variant mixes on songs from the Crosby, Stills & Nash or Deja Vu albums, along with one Crosby & Nash outtake. Disc two is similarly filled with previously unheard songs and versions of songs, although here the rarities are more focused on material by Stephen Stills (including a Crosby, Stills & Young version of "Black Queen"), Graham Nash solo, and the Crosby & Nash duo. Disc three is devoted more to Manassas and Crosby & Nash, but does work in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Taken at All" and "See the Changes" from various attempts at doing albums. Disc four takes listeners up to 1990, with Stills, Nash, and Crosby solo material (including unissued live and studio cuts) of the '80s interspersed with released Crosby, Stills & Nash tracks and previously unissued Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tracks. The accompanying booklet includes a sessionography and reminiscence about each track, and as most of this set is presented in chronological order, one not only gets a dazzling four-hour-plus song-by-song listening experience, but also what amounts to a montage/history of the group and their members across more than two decades. ~ Bruce Eder