Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Album: “So Far”

From the very beginning of their fateful collaboration, it was clear that this was to be the first of the new super-groups, composed of discontented refugees who either quit or were bounced from monster groups like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the Hollies. And after an initial success with a first album the group added Still's former partner in crime from the Buffalo Springfield group Neil young to the line-up, the strange witches brew of creative energy and talent that resulted exploded onto the contemporary rock scene at Woodstock to an amazed audience with such power and originality. Of course, this collection of their greatest hits was the result of their original collaboration, and it shot to the top of the charts, where it remained for years!

This album is full of smash hits and breath-taking sounds, from the opening "Déjà vu" to the elegiac "Teach Your Children" to the elegiac "Wooden Ships". They don't make a single false step here, covering all the biggest hits of their first run at it in the late sixties and early seventies. Indeed, everything is seemingly perfect, from the plaintive sounds of Young's piercing falsetto in "Helpless" to Nash's masterfully gentle ballad "Our House". Of course, their masterpiece on this album is the epic tribute to "Woodstock", a cover of Joni Mitchell's song that they rushed to include on the album after hearing her sing it to them on the phone right after the Woodstock festival, which she couldn't get to because of the traffic. To see how well they transformed her folksy dirge into a rock classic is to understand their native talents and interpretive skills. Everything here is terrific, and my own favorites of "Ohio" and "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" are here as well. This is a great collection of their work together, and one of the best "Greatest Hits" albums from the sixties, and one everyone who calls himself (or herself) a rock fan must own and have on the shelf. Enjoy!

This is a great album. It was for its time kind of like a greatest hits album because there is nothing new on it. However, it is brillant because it combines the best songs from their previously released albums and puts it on one. The mixture is great and you can tell the cohesion of the group in the songs. Suite Judy Ble Eyes is my favourite song that they play and Ohio is another one of my favourites and they are both on here. Not to Mention Wooden Ships. The album is missing a few really good songs like Carry on and a few of the others, but that is compensated by the balance of the album in all.

"So Far" collects the highlights from the first incarnation of C,S,N and sometimes Y, skipping the various reunion projects. Because it doesn't have any of the embarassing later material, the disc is quite strong. Only about half of the songs include Neil Young, but they are also the best. "Helpless" and "Ohio" are two of the best songs Neil ever wrote and sound better in the group setting than they would have as solo songs. Most of the other songs, like "Teach Your Children" and "Our House" are performed in a neo-hippie mellow folkie style, though the superior songwriting saves them from being wimpy. The album also has the epic "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" which is easilly the best song the band ever recorded.

Overall, this is a fine though relatively brief "Best Of" collection that is all most casual fans will ever need to own from C,S,N, and sometimes Y.

I do not have the remastered CD. I am a college student who has, in the past three years, gained a pretty wide collection of vinyl albums. I have a vinyl copy of this album, and I love it. I wasn't around when these songs were relevant, but even to my 21st century ears, "Ohio" is one of the angriest songs in rock, all done without heavy distortion and screaming. I can't speak for the CD, but my old 1074 copy holds up pretty well. I would recommend listening to Joni Mitchell's original version of "Woodstock" and compare them, just to get an idea of the musical prowess these guys had. What vision!

Considering that the bulk of this collection comes mainly from Crosby Stills and Nash's debut and the CSN&Young album Deja Vu, this is a good overview of their 2 most popular albums. Though all the songs are great, I don't consider it all you need to hear from CSNY. After all, they'd have other projects like solo albums from all four, side projects (Mannassas and Crosby&Nash) and other albums and hits beyond this. But if you've never heard their music, this collection should be enough to get you interested in CSNY (besides, this was originally released in 1974 and deals exclusively with their 1969-71 era). The cover features some pretty artwork by Joni Mitchell, who was a friend to the band. From their debut, you get Crosby's placid "Guinevere," one of the most creative story-songs "Wooden Ships" co-written and sung by Crosby and Stills (Paul Kantner also helped to write it, although he didn't get credit until years later), Stills' winsome "Helplessly Hoping" and the quintessential epic "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," which was written for Judy Collins, whom Stills dated. Inclusion of Nash's "Marrakesh Express" would've been appropriate, but back when this was released, there may have been the issue of time restraint (most LP records were usually no longer than 40 minutes). From Deja Vu, you get the title track (composed by Crosby) which sounds like a medley in that it starts out bright and slows down, Nash's "Teach Your Children" (a very positive message about parents and children getting along with each other) and "Our House" (which described a house Nash shared in Laurel Canyon with Joni Mitchell), Stills' take on Mitchell's "Woodstock" (it's a shame "Carry On" wasn't included but again, it's probably a question of time restraints) and Young's introspective "Helpless." In addition, you get Young's powerful "Ohio" (written about a protest which took place at Kent State University and ended in tragedy) and Stills' "Find the Cost of Freedom" which features some fine harmony between the four. That's what you get on So Far (which probably means "our greatest hits... so far"). If you like this and want more, check out the box set.