CROSBY STILLS & NASH S/T Plum/Red LP EX- audio

	£		30
	$		40

A BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTIST/S :-

David Crosby (Born 14 August 1941, Los Angeles, California, USA), Stephen Stills (Born 3 January 1945, Dallas, Texas, USA) and Graham Nash (Born 2 February 1942, Blackpool, Lancashire, England) first came together in the 1969 supergroup Crosby, Stills And Nash before recruiting Neil Young (Born 12 November 1945, Toronto, Canada). That same year, the quartet appeared at the Woodstock festival and established a format of playing two sets, one acoustic and one electric, which showed off their musicianship to remarkable effect. Instant superstars, their 1970 album, D‚j… Vu, was one of the biggest sellers of the year and one of the most celebrated works of the early 70s. Its power came from the combined brilliance of the contributors and included some of their finest material, at a time when they were at their most inventive. Stills, the maestro, offered the startling "Carry On" with its driving rhythm and staggering high harmony, plus the stark melancholia of "4+20". Young contributed the suitably maudlin "Helpless" and an ambitious song suite, "Country Girl", which remains one of his most underrated songs. Nash's "Teach Your Children", with Jerry Garcia on steel guitar, was the group's personal favourite and remained a permanent number in their live set over the years. Finally, Crosby provided the jazz-influenced title track and the raw, searing "Almost Cut My Hair", one of the great anti-establishment songs of the period. There was even a US Top 10 single, courtesy of their reading of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock".

During the summer of 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on demonstrators at Kent State University and killed four students. Crosby handed Young a magazine reporting the incident and watched in fascination as the song "Ohio" emerged. Recorded within 24 hours of its composition, the song captured the foursome at their most musically aggressive and politically relevant. Sadly, it was to remain a frustrating statement of all they might have achieved had they remained together. A series of concerts produced the double set Four Way Street, which revealed the group's diversity in contrasting acoustic and electric sets. By the time of its release in 1971, the group had scattered in various directions to pursue solo projects.

Their unexpected and untimely departure left a huge gap in the rock marketplace. During 1971, they were at their peak and could command gold records as soloists or in a variety of other permutations of the original foursome. Many saw them as the closest that America reached in creating an older, second generation Beatles. Part of their charm came from the fact that their ranks contained former members of the Buffalo Springfield, the Hollies and the Byrds. Wherever they played part of the audience's psychological response contained elements of that old fanaticism which is peculiar to teenage heroes. While other contemporaneous groups such as the Band might claim similar musical excellence or stylistic diversity, they could never match the charisma or messianic popularity of CSN&Y. The supergroup were perfectly placed in the late 60s/early 70s defining their time with a ready-made set of philosophies and new values which were liberally bestowed on their audience. They brilliantly reflected the peace, music and love ideal, as popularized by the Woodstock promoters. While other groups exploited the hippie ideal, CSN&Y had the courage to take those ideas seriously. At every concert and on every record they eulogized those precepts without a trace of insincerity. It was a philosophy exemplified in their lifestyles and captured in neo-romantic compositions of idealism and melancholia. A brittle edge was added with their political commentaries, both in interviews and on record, where civil unrest in Chicago, Ohio and Alabama were pertinent subjects.

With such cultural and commercial clout, it was inconceivable that the quartet would not reconvene and, during 1974, they undertook a stadium tour. A second studio album, Human Highway, originally begun in Hawaii and resumed after their tour, produced some exceptionally strong material but was shelved prior to completion. Two years later, Crosby And Nash attempted to join forces with the short-lived Stills/Young Band only to have their harmony work erased amid acrimony and misunderstanding. By the late 70s, the CSN&Y concept had lost its appeal to punk-influenced music critics who regarded the quartet's romanticism as narcissism, their political idealism as na‹ve and their technical perfection as elitist and clinical. It was a clear case of historical inevitability - one set of values replacing another.

Remarkably, it was not until 1988 that the quartet at last reunited for American Dream, their first studio release for 18 years. It was a fine work, almost one hour long and containing some exceptionally strong material including the sardonic title track, the brooding "Night Song", Crosby's redemptive "Compass" and Nash's epochal "Soldiers Of Peace". This time around, however, there was no accompanying CSN&Y tour.

The quartet regrouped in the late 90s to record material that was finally released on 1999's Looking Forward. At the time of its release Nash had a horrific boating accident resulting in two broken legs above the knee. Nash performed with pins in his legs on the accompanying tour. The reviews were surprisingly favourable, and the album made a good showing in both the UK and USA (debuting at 26 in the Billboard album chart). A number of critics appeared way off beam with their appraisal of the recording. Some praised Young's lightweight acoustic material too highly. In reality the songs he put forward were dull, ponderous throwaways. Only Crosby and Stills seemed to have a spark of energy and their songs, respectively "Stand And Be Counted" and "No Tears Left", were a reminder that these loveable old characters could still sing well, play like demons and above all, still rock

THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD :- The album was a very strong debut for the band, instantly lifting them to stardom. Along with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo and The Band's Music From Big Pink of the previous year, it helped initiate a sea change in popular music away from the ruling late sixties aesthetic of bands playing blues-based rock music on loud guitars. Crosby, Stills & Nash presented a new wrinkle in building upon rock's roots, utilizing folk, blues, and even jazz without specifically sounding like mere duplication. Not only blending voices, the three meshed their differing strengths, Crosby for social commentary and atmospheric mood pieces, Stills for his diverse musical skills and for folding folk and country elements subtly into complex rock structures, and Nash for his radio-friendly pop melodies, to create an amalgam of broad appeal. Eventually going multi-platinum, in addition to the abovementioned singles, Crosby, Stills & Nash features some of their best known songs in "Wooden Ships" and "Helplessly Hoping". "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was composed for Judy Collins, and "Long Time Gone" was a response to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

This album proved very influential on many levels to the dominant popular music scene in America for much of the 1970s. The success of the album generated gravitas for the group within the industry, and galvanized interest in signing like acts, many of whom came under management and representation by the CSN team of Elliot Roberts and David Geffen. Strong sales, combined with the group's emphasis on personal confession in its writing, paved the way for the success of the singer-songwriter movement of the early seventies. Their utilization of personal events in their material without resorting to subterfuge, their talents in vocal harmony, their cultivation of painstaking studio craft, as well as the Laurel Canyon ethos that surrounded the group and their associates, established an aesthetic for a number of acts that came to define the "California" sound of the ensuing decade, including The Eagles, Jackson Browne, post-1974 Fleetwood Mac, and others.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album has been issued on compact disc three times: mastered by Barry Diament at Atlantic Studios in the mid-1980s; remastered by Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital and reissued on August 16, 1994; reissued again by Rhino Records as an expanded edition using the HDCD process on January 24, 2006.

On an edition of the album which was released on December 6, 2011, the track 'Guinnevere' was changed to 'Guinevere'. Marshall Blonstein, head of Audio Fidelity, said "Since 1969, every vinyl, cassette and CD version of the album had it spelled with two n’s. But recently the group decided to take out the [historically inaccurate] extra ‘n.’ So our CD booklet, tray card and even the original LP labels now show the title with just the one ‘n.’” Noise11.com

THE HISTORY OF THE COVER :- The original vinyl LP was released in a gatefold sleeve that depicted the band members in large fur parkas with a sunset in the background on the gatefold (shot in Big Bear, California), as well as the iconic cover art. A long folded page inside displayed the album credits, lyrics, track listing, as well as a quasi-psychedelic pencil drawing.

The 2006 expanded edition of the CD features an additional four tracks, as well as a slight difference in the cover art. The face of drummer Dallas Taylor was added to the original as he was not present at the photoshoot. He can be seen looking through the window of the door on the rear of the sleeve. In the expanded edition, however, he is absent.

On the cover the members are, left to right, Nash, Stills, and Crosby, for no particular reason, the reverse of the order of the album title. The photo was taken by their friend and photographer Henry Diltz before they came up with a name for the group. They found an abandoned house, north of 809 Palm Avenue, across from a Santa Monica car wash that they thought would be a perfect fit for their “image”. A few days later they decided on the name “Crosby, Stills, and Nash”. To prevent confusion, they went back to the house a day or so later to re-shoot the cover in the correct order, but when they got there they found the house had been reduced to a pile of timber

THE COVER :- Textured gatefold sleeve

THE LABEL :- Atlantic Plum labels

THE VINYL VISUALLY :- On initial inspection of this piece of vinyl I cannot see any areas of immediate concern. The vinyl sits perfectly flat on the turntable so there are no nasty warps to worry about. The vinyl still retains its just pressed quality, full of deep shine and lustre. I have only noted a few whispy hairlines that do not affect play. A lovely piece of vinyl. Excellent condition visually. 

THE VINYL PLAY GRADED :- The playgrading of the vinyl reveals hardly any lessening in the sound quality. It lives up to its visual grading. There is some amount surface noise. What there is can mainly be heard on the run in and run out of tracks and extra quiet areas of the album. The sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. Just the barest amount of faint clicks are noted and some crackle in quieter areas. I feel certain this album has been played carefully and stored well over the years. I would grade the audio playback as a Near Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE FRONT CONDITION :- This is the very earliest 1st press textured sleeve. The front of the sleeve is free from writing and free from stickers. There is some minor evidence of a previously removed sticker in the top right corner. The sleeve reveals no ringwear and no creases. There is some light seam rubbing on the top and bottom and a small amount at the opening edge. The colours are still bright and crisp. I would grade the front of the cover as just about Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE REAR CONDITION :- The rear of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or previously removed stickers. There is one crease on the rear of the sleeve near the spine but no ringwear. Again as with the front there is rubbing on the top and bottom seams. Again the rear still retains its original crisp colours and just pressed feel. I would grade the rear as Near Excellent condition.

THE LABEL SIDE ONE CONDITION :- Original Atlantic plum first press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent Plus condition.

THE LABEL SIDE TWO CONDITION :- Original Atlantic plum first press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all, light signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent Plus condition.

THE SPINE CONDITION :- The spine has suffered some rubbing over the years. It has not split but there is some light peeling of the top surface in areas. Very Good condition.

THE INNER SLEEVE CONDITION :- Original white polylined inner in Excellent condition. Just general ageing wear

THE EXTRAS :- The lyric insert is present and in complete condition. One or two light grubby marks and the odd faint crease. Excellent condition. 

THE CATALOGUE NUMBER :- 588189

THE YEAR OF RELEASE :-  1969

THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :-  UK

PLAYING FORMAT :- STEREO

THE MATRIX NUMBERS :-  588189 A//2  &  588189 B//2

STAMPERS :- 11 39 & 12 2

TRACK LISTING :-

SIDE ONE :-

1. SUITE: JUDY BLUE EYES
2. MARAKESH EXPRESS
3. GUINNEVERE
4. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CRY
5. PRE-ROAD DOWNS

SIDE TWO :-

1. WOODEN SHIPS
2. LADY OF THE ISLAND
3. HELPLESSLY HOPING
4. LONG TIME GONE
5. 49 BYE-BYES

WHAT WE PLAY THE RECORD ON :- 

We use a Project 6 Perspex Turntable to play grade our records which delivers a rich authoritative sound and achieves a rich and weighty vibrancy unrivalled by the majority of decks within its price range

HOW WE CLEAN YOUR RECORD :- 

We use a V.P.I. HW-16.5 record cleaning machine to clean your vinyl. "A highly recommended machine" as quoted by Stereophile magazine. This removes any excess dirt before playing

HOW WE PACKAGE YOUR RECORD :- 

Your record will be package very securely to minimise any risk of damage during transit. We remove the record from the outer sleeve unless asked not to do so. This helps to minimise the risk of seam spliting. We use a high quality record mailer which is designed to give superior protection for your vinyl record. We place stiffeners either side of the record for added protection. The album will also be placed in a 450 gram Poly outer sleeve for even extra added protection

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING CHARGES FOR UK CUSTOMERS :-

We advise that items reaching over £50 in price to be insured and sent by Special Delivery. This protects both of us and ensures better handling of the parcel during transit.We are in no way out to make money from postage. The postage price includes the record mailer, stiffeners and plastic sleeve. We just want your item to reach you in the best possible condition. A breakdown of insured postal services are listed below. Please choose to use the relevant postal service for your own protection as once these rare records are lost they can quite often seldom be replaced

SECOND CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- FREE

FIRST CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- £0.45

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY UPTO 500g :- £3.80

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY FROM 500g - 1000g :- £5.00

(SPECIAL DELIVERY INSURES YOUR ITEM UPTO £500)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION :-    

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the European Union by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £6.22 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £11.37 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £13.97 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE USA AND CANADA :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the USA & Canada by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £8.78 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £13.93 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.53 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AND ROW :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the Australia & Japan by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS :- £9.06 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £14.21 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.81 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE, THE PRICES WE QUOTE ARE QUITE ACCURATE AND INCLUDE THE PACKAGING MATERIALS AT COST PRICE

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

PLEASE AWAIT AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE/SHIPPING CHARGES

BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS :- 

Postage prices and courier methods for multiple purchases will be calculated after the auction end. It is impossible for us at the pre auction stage to determine these prices as the final weight is unknown.If you are the winner of multiple items the please await contact from us or alternately contact us yourself for a breakdown of the shipping costs.You will only pay the stamp price + relevant packaging charges so there are big savings to be made with multiple purchases

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR RECORD :-

We can accept the following payment methods

UK BUYERS :- 

• PayPal
• Personal cheque (Please allow to clear)
• Bankers Draft
• Postal Order

OVERSEAS BUYERS :-

• Paypal only

TERMS AND CONDITIONS :-

We always try to appraise the record for sale as openly and honestly as possible and provide plenty of pictures for you to look at but please be aware that errors however rare do occur and not everyone has the same audio  equipment. There is no problem that cannot be worked out in a civilised manner. We urge you to contact us so that we can discuss any small problems that may occur. We offer a refund of the purchase price for returned items within 7 days of purchase and are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have during the auction

SAVE US TO YOUR FAVOURITES LIST AS WE INTEND TO LIST MANY MORE RARE VINYL TREATS OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS