Graham Nash at the Barbican York

Posted on by Opher

What an opportunity! The chance to touch base with a real legend!

When I was a kid I remember buying ‘Ain’t That Just Like Me’ and ‘Stay’ – the first singles for the Hollies – I thought they went off a bit after that and became too poppy. They were part of that early British Beat boom that I, as a fourteen-year-old was getting off on.

I think Graham agreed with me and jumped ship to more exalted heights. Blending that unique voice with some West Coast notaries, in the form of ex-Buffalo Springfield Stephen Stills and ex-Byrds David Crosby, they produced some of the most delicious harmonies and music.

Graham ensconced himself in the Canyon. CSN became enormous. He set up home with Joni and CSN took on ex-Buffalo Springfield Neil Young. The world was one beautiful rainbow.

Then it all went wrong. Personality explosions ripped CSNY apart and Joni left.

Graham soldiered on. Various solo, duo and band reuniting’s later he is still going strong (apart from a damaged knee!).

So good to see him and relive the past. He, and his outstanding band:

Todd Caldwell – Keyboards and vocals. A longtime collaborator, Caldwell brings rich textures and harmonies to Nash’s live sound.

Adam Minkoff – Bass, drums, guitars, and vocals. Known for his multi-instrumental prowess, Minkoff adds depth across rhythm and melody.

Zach Djanikian – Guitars, mandolin, drums, and vocals. His range across stringed instruments and percussion complements Nash’s folk-rock palette

treated up to a spectrum from his back catalogue including solo, Hollies, Stills, C&N, CSN and CSNY stuff.

  • Wasted on the Way (CSN)
  • Marrakesh Express (CSN)
  • Military Madness (Solo)
  • I Used to Be a King (Solo)
  • Right Between the Eyes (CSNY)
  • Bus Stop (The Hollies)
  • Immigration Man (Crosby & Nash)
  • Over the Wall (Solo)
  • Better Days (Solo)
  • Love the One You’re With (Stephen Stills cover)
  • Simple Man (Solo)
  • Sleep Song (Solo)
  • To the Last Whale… A. Critical Mass / B. Wind on the Water (Crosby & Nash)
  • Cathedral (CSN)
  • Just a Song Before I Go (CSN)
  • Our House (CSNY)
  • Encore
  • Teach Your Children (CSNY)
  • Find the Cost of Freedom (CSNY)

Rousing, nostalgic and brilliant with a few characteristic political overtones. Trump rightly got a pasting and war in Ukraine and Gaza was addressed. The band were superb, Graham’s voice brilliant. They got everyone on their feet singing along!!

Peace and Love!!

Today’s Music to keep me SANE in Isolation – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Posted on by Opher

The first time I heard CSN was on their first album. You could not help but be entranced by the harmonies. Those first few albums set the scene. I particularly liked the double live Four Way Street. Neil Young brought more bite to them.

As always it was the more political material that I was most attracted too but they also produced some mesmeric songs.

So today I will be playing my CSNY loud all day to banish the Blues!!

Teach them to think!!!

 

Neil Young – Opher’s World pays tribute to Neil Young

Posted on by Opher

Neil youngTo have been the major contributor to a band of the stature of Buffalo Springfield was sufficient to be credited with being a leading force in Rock Music. But Neil’s stature is much greater than that. He was also a huge part of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young, the leader of Neil Young and Crazy Horse and a singer/songwriter who is just as happy acoustically.
As a songwriter his magnitude can only be measured by comparison with the great Bob Dylan. He doesn’t come close but at least he is right up there at the front of the leading pack. Whether electric or acoustic he delivers the goods. Whether writing or performing in the idiom of Folk, Country, Grunge or Hard Rock he gets it spot on.
Neil can move from delicate, melodic, sentimental songs, through atmospheric epics to thunderously chorded riffs that compare with the greatest monsters of Rock.
His lyrics usually bite and the music is distinctive and vital. Neil’s voice is instantly recognisable with its distinctive nasal twang and gentle timbre. That electric guitar sound is a trademark. He says he was inspired as a boy by Hank B Marvin but his style is much more aggressive and raw.
I’ve lost count of the essential tracks he has laid down. His best of must extend to a ten CD box set. Rarely has he produced a dud album despite the huge range of styles he has invested in. His versatility is astounding.
The expectations are so high that when he does come out with a duff album like ‘Hawks and Doves’ or ‘Trans’ it throws you. You wonder where his head was. It seems at times as if every now and then it goes politically off kilter. But then he gets it back together and the radical force that created ‘Ohio’ is back castigating the establishment and offending the rednecks for their belligerence.
My only criticism of Neil is that I personally would have liked to have seen more of Neil’s song-writing genius used to produce songs of real substance with that liberal social political side. The content of so many of his songs has been concerned with love. I like to get my teeth into the issues. Even so, you cannot deny the elemental force that is Neil Young. He’s a monster.