David Crosby - Long Time Gone
50 years ago, Crosby, Stills & Nash released their first album on the Atlantic Records label.
Not only blending voices, the three meshed their differing strengths, David Crosby for social commentary and atmospheric mood pieces, Stephen Stills for his diverse musical skills and for folding folk and country elements subtly into complex rock structures, and Graham Nash for his radio-friendly pop melodies, to create an amalgam of broad appeal.
Stills dominated the recording of the album. Apart from drums, handled by Dallas Taylor, he played nearly all of the instruments on the album.
David Crosby bristled over the plan for "Long Time Gone" as he thought he should at least play rhythm guitar on his own song. Stills convinced him to go home for a while and when he returned Crosby was won over by the music track that Stills and Taylor had recorded.
50 years later, the lyrics still resonate, and David Crosby is still rocking out, an un-apologetic hipster that has lived life to his own beat. Here is a live recording from a year ago - I wish I knew who the guitar player is!