CSN (box set)

CSN
Box set by Crosby, Stills & Nash
Released	September 30, 1991
Recorded	June 26, 1968 – April 3, 1990
Genre	Rock
Length	297:19
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Graham Nash, Gerry Tolman
Crosby, Stills & Nash chronology
Live It Up (1990) CSN (1991) Carry On (1991)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

CSN is the eleventh album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, issued on Atlantic Records in 1991, not to be confused with the album of the same name released in 1977. A box set on four compact discs, it features material spanning 1968 through 1990 from their catalogue of recordings as a group in addition to selections from Crosby & Nash, Manassas, and their individual solo albums. It peaked at #109 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.^[2] The set is "dedicated to the loving memory of Cass Elliot, without whom most of this music may not have been made."

Content

The presence of the group's occasional fourth member, Neil Young, is limited to fourteen tracks and only two of his compositions for the band, "Helpless" and "Ohio." Of its 77 tracks, 25 had been unreleased previously, although many were alternate takes, alternate mixes, or concert versions of previously issued songs. Among these new versions are studio recordings by the full quartet of "Helplessly Hoping" and "See The Changes" (originally released by the trio), "Homeward Through The Haze" and "Taken At All" (originally by Crosby & Nash), and "The Lee Shore" (previously available only live).^[3] Other highlights include a cover of The Beatles' song "Blackbird", the full-length take of "Almost Cut My Hair", and the demo of "You Don't Have to Cry", the first recording they made as Crosby, Stills & Nash.

No tracks are taken from the following studio albums released either individually or in combination during the time period covered by the box: Down the Road; Illegal Stills; Whistling Down the Wire; Long May You Run; Innocent Eyes; and American Dream.^{[n 1]} The orphan single by Young and Nash, "War Song", is also not included and is only available on the Neil Young archives box.

The original recordings were produced by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young, with assistance from Howard Albert, Ron Albert, Craig Doerge, Bill Halverson, Chris Hillman, Stanley Johnston, Paul Rothchild, Dallas Taylor, and Joe Vitale. Audio engineers on the original recordings include Stephen Barncard, Niko Bolas, Ellen Burke, Larry Cox, Russ Gary, Don Gooch, Steve Gursky, David Hassinger, Andy Johns, Glyn Johns, Gary Kellgren, Henry Lewy, Elliot Mazer, Jim Mitchell, Tim Mulligan, and Doc Storch. The original masters were recorded at the following studios: A&M Studios, Britannia Studios, Devonshire Sound Studio, Wally Heider Studios, The Record Plant, Rudy Recorders, the Sound Lab, Sunset Sound, Sunwest Studio, Village Recorders, and Westlake Audio in Los Angeles; United Studio in Hollywood; The Record Plant in New York City; Wally Heider Studios, His Master's Wheels, and Rudy Recorders in San Francisco; The Record Plant in Sausalito; Criteria Sound Studios in Miami; Island Studios in London; Sol Studio in Maidstone, Kent; Stephen Stills' late 1960s home in Laurel Canyon, Graham Nash's early 1970s home in San Francisco, and Neil Young's Redwood Digital home studio at his ranch in Woodside, California. Live recordings are from the Filmore East in New York, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon, the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, and the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York.

The selections were compiled for this set by Crosby, Stills, Nash, Gerry Tolman, and Yves Beauvais, with additional research by Joel Bernstein. The liner notes include an essay by writer Chet Flippo. Originally in a box set conforming to the size dimensions of a vinyl record, the set was reissued as a compact disc brick on August 13, 2013. The liner notes for the 2013 reissue do not indicate whether or not any additional mastering beyond that from 1991 was undertaken.

Track listing

An asterisk (*) indicates a live recording, two asterisks (**) a previously unreleased mix, (†) a previously unreleased version, and (‡) a previously unreleased song.

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist; Recording date	Length
1.	"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"	Stephen Stills	CSN; Early 1969 **	7:28
2.	"Helplessly Hoping"	Stills	CSNY; June 15, 1969 †	2:31
3.	"You Don't Have to Cry"	Stills	CSN; December 1968 †	2:40
4.	"Wooden Ships" (from Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969)	David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Stills	CSN; February 20, 1969	5:26
5.	"Guinnevere"	Crosby	Crosby; June 26, 1968 †	4:45
6.	"Marrakesh Express" (from Crosby, Stills & Nash)	Graham Nash	CSN; early 1969	2:36
7.	"Long Time Gone" (from Crosby, Stills & Nash)	Crosby	CSN; early 1969	4:17
8.	"Blackbird"	John Lennon, Paul McCartney	CSN; February 11, 1969 ‡	2:33
9.	"Lady of the Island" (from Crosby, Stills & Nash)	Nash	CSN; February 11, 1969	2:36
10.	"Song With No Words (Tree with No Leaves)"	Crosby	Crosby & Nash; November 17, 1969 †	3:14
11.	"Almost Cut My Hair"	Crosby	CSNY; January 8, 1970 †	8:49
12.	"Teach Your Children" (from Déjà Vu, 1970)	Nash	CSNY; October 24, 1969	2:52
13.	"Horses Through a Rainstorm"	Nash, Terry Reid	CSNY; December 28, 1969 ‡	3:40
14.	"Déjà Vu" (from Déjà Vu)	Crosby	CSNY; November 17, 1969	4:10
15.	"Helpless" (from Déjà Vu)	Neil Young	CSNY; November 17, 1969	3:36
16.	"4+20"	Stills	CSNY; July 16, 1969 **	2:10
17.	"Laughing" (from If I Could Only Remember My Name (David Crosby), 1971)	Crosby	Crosby; October 24, 1969	5:24
18.	"Carry On/Questions" (from Déjà Vu)	Stills	CSNY; December 28, 1969	4:25

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist; Recording date	Length
1.	"Woodstock"	Joni Mitchell	CSNY; November 5, 1969 **	3:50
2.	"Ohio" (Non-album single, 1970)	Young	CSNY; May 21, 1970	3:00
3.	"Love the One You're With" (from Stephen Stills (Stephen Stills), 1975)	Stills	Stills; March 1970	3:03
4.	"Our House" (from Déjà Vu)	Nash	CSNY; November 5, 1969	2:58
5.	"Old Times Good Times" (from Stephen Stills)	Stills	Stills; early 1970	3:38
6.	"The Lee Shore"	Crosby	CSNY; December 28, 1969 (vocal overdubs: August 1, 1991) †	5:28
7.	"Music Is Love" (from If I Could Only Remember My Name)	Crosby	Crosby; Autumn 1970	3:18
8.	"I'd Swear There Was Somebody There" (from If I Could Only Remember My Name)	Crosby	Crosby; Autumn 1970	1:19
9.	"Man in the Mirror"	Nash	CSNY; June 7, 1970 †*	2:52
10.	"Black Queen"	Stills	CSNY; June 7, 1970 †*	6:50
11.	"Military Madness" (from Songs for Beginners (Graham Nash), 1971)	Nash	Nash; February 12, 1971	2:55
12.	"Urge for Going"	Mitchell	Crosby & Nash; June 22, 1971 ‡	3:46
13.	"I Used to Be a King" (from Songs for Beginners)	Nash	Nash; January 9, 1971	4:48
14.	"Simple Man"	Nash	Nash; July 24, 1970 **	2:19
15.	"Southbound Train" (from Graham Nash David Crosby (Crosby & Nash), 1972)	Nash	Crosby & Nash; January 6, 1972	3:54
16.	"Change Partners" (from Stephen Stills 2 (Stephen Stills), 1971)	Stills	Stills; early 1971	3:13
17.	"My Love Is a Gentle Thing"	Stills	Stills; April 18, 1975 ‡	1:23
18.	"Word Game" (from Stephen Stills 2)	Stills	Stills; early 1971	4:10
19.	"Johnny's Garden" (from Manassas (Manassas, 1972))	Stills	Manassas; January 8, 1972	2:46
20.	"So Begins the Task" (from Manassas)	Stills	Manassas; January 9, 1972	4:00
21.	"Turn Back the Pages" (from Stills)	Stills, Donnie Dacus	Stills; early 1975	4:05

Disc three

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist; Recording date	Length
1.	"See the Changes"	Stills	CSNY; June 28, 1973 †	2:44
2.	"It Doesn't Matter" (from Manassas)	Stills, Chris Hillman	Manassas; January 7, 1972	2:31
3.	"Immigration Man" (from Graham Nash David Crosby)	Nash	Crosby & Nash; February 9, 1972	2:58
4.	"Chicago/We Can Change the World" (from Songs for Beginners)	Nash	Nash; February 28, 1971	3:58
5.	"Homeward Through the Haze"	Crosby	CSNY; December 16, 1974 †	4:20
6.	"Where Will I Be?" (from Graham Nash David Crosby)	Crosby	Crosby & Nash; November 22, 1971	3:22
7.	"Page 43" (from Graham Nash David Crosby)	Crosby	Crosby & Nash; December 13, 1971	2:55
8.	"Carry Me" (from Wind on the Water (Crosby & Nash), 1975)	Crosby	Crosby & Nash; March 1975	3:33
9.	"Cowboy of Dreams" (from Wind on the Water)	Nash	Crosby & Nash; June 18, 1975	3:27
10.	"Bittersweet" (from Wind on the Water)	Crosby	Crosby & Nash; June 8, 1975	2:37
11.	"To the Last Whale..." (from Wind on the Water)	Crosby, Nash	Crosby & Nash; May 11 & July 1, 1975	5:30
12.	"Prison Song" (from Wild Tales (Graham Nash), 1974)	Nash	Nash; Spring 1973	3:11
13.	"Another Sleep Song" (from Wild Tales)	Nash	Nash; August 18, 1972	4:42
14.	"Taken At All"	Nash, Crosby	CSNY; April 1, 1976 †	2:54
15.	"In My Dreams" (from CSN, 1977)	Crosby	CSN; January 12, 1977	5:11
16.	"Just a Song Before I Go" (from CSN)	Nash	CSN; December 19, 1976	2:12
17.	"Shadow Captain" (from CSN)	Crosby, Craig Doerge	CSN; January 14, 1977	4:31
18.	"Dark Star" (from Allies, 1983)	Stills	CSN; December 5, 1982 *	4:57
19.	"Cathedral" (from CSN)	Nash	CSN; January 22, 1977	5:16

Disc four

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Artist; Recording date	Length
1.	"Wasted on the Way" (from Daylight Again, 1982)	Nash	CSN; January 30, 1981	2:46
2.	"Barrel of Pain (Half-Life)" (from Earth & Sky (Graham Nash), 1980)	Nash	Nash; April 4, 1979	4:44
3.	"Southern Cross" (from Daylight Again)	Stills	CSN; late 1981	4:39
4.	"Daylight Again" (from Daylight Again)	Stills	CSN; late 1981	2:28
5.	"Thoroughfare Gap" (from Thoroughfare Gap (Stephen Stills), 1978)	Stills	Stills; early 1978	3:33
6.	"Wild Tales"	Nash	Nash; August 3, 1979 †*	3:09
7.	"Dear Mr. Fantasy"	Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood	Stills and Nash; November 17, 1980 ‡	7:04
8.	"Cold Rain" (from CSN)	Nash	CSN; January 25, 1977	2:33
9.	"Got It Made"	Stills, Young	CSN; November 18, 1989 †*	4:33
10.	"Tracks in the Dust" (from Oh Yes I Can (David Crosby), 1989)	Crosby	Crosby; January 23, 1989	4:48
11.	"As I Come of Age"	Stills	CSN; January 1981 †	2:48
12.	"50/50" (from Right by You (Stephen Stills), 1984)	Stills, Joe Lala	Stills; early 1983	4:20
13.	"Drive My Car"	Crosby	Crosby; late 1978 †	3:50
14.	"Delta" (from Daylight Again)	Crosby	CSN; May 1980	4:11
15.	"Soldiers of Peace"	Nash	CSNY; late 1988 †	4:20
16.	"Yours and Mine" (from Live It Up, 1990)	Crosby, Nash, Doerge	CSN; February 2, 1990	4:28
17.	"Haven't We Lost Enough?" (from Live It Up)	Stills, Kevin Cronin	CSN; April 3, 1990	3:06
18.	"After the Dolphin" (from Live It Up)	Nash	CSN; February 1, 1989	4:55
19.	"Find the Cost of Freedom" (B-side of the "Ohio" single, 1970)	Stills	CSNY; May 21, 1970	1:59

Collective personnel

• David Crosby — vocals, guitars, keyboards, string arrangements
• Stephen Stills — vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, banjo, percussion, vibraphone
• Graham Nash — vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, percussion, string arrangements
• Neil Young — vocals, guitars, harmonica, bass, keyboards, vibraphone
• Joel Bernstein, Donnie Dacus, Michael Hedges, Jimi Hendrix, Danny Kortchmar, Michael Landau, Dave Mason, Jimmy Page, Dean Parks, Michael Stergis — guitars
• Chris Hillman, James Taylor — guitars, backing vocals
• Jerry Garcia, Ben Keith, Al Perkins — pedal steel guitar
• Joe Vitale — drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers
• David Lindley — fiddle, guitar, mandolin
• Richard T. Bear, Joel Bernstein, Lawrence Dermer, Craig Doerge, Mike Finnigan, Paul Harris, James Newton Howard, Carole King — keyboards
• Jack Casady, Tim Drummond, Chris Ethridge, Bob Glaub, Phil Lesh, Bruce Palmer, George Perry, Greg Reeves, Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, Leland Sklar — bass
• John Barbata, Jim Gordon, Conrad Isidore, Bill Kreutzmann, Russ Kunkel, Paul Lee, Dallas Taylor, Tubby Ziegler — drums
• John Barbata, Michael Fisher, Joe Galdo, Joe Lala, Efrain Toro, Jeff Whittaker — percussion
• Rita Coolidge, Joe Vitale — vibraphone
• Patricia Arnold, Joel Bernstein, Gloria Coleman, Rita Coolidge, Henry Diltz, Brenda Lee Eager, Venetta Fields, Art Garfunkel, Priscilla Jones, Cleo Kennedy, Clydie King, Marcy Levy, Sherlie Matthews, Joni Mitchell, Dorothy Morrison, Fred Neil, John Sambataro, Timothy B. Schmit — backing vocals
• Cyrus Faryar — bouzouki
• Dorian Rudnytsky — cello
• Wayne Goodwin, Al Gould — fiddle
• Dana Africa, Joe Vitale — flute
• John Sebastian — harmonica, backing vocals
• Branford Marsalis — soprano saxophone
• George Cricker — trombone
• Tony Concepcion, Al Degooyer — trumpet
• Jimmie Haskell, Mike Lewis, Sid Sharp — string arrangements
• Tony Beard — drum programming

Production personnel

• Graham Nash, Gerry Tolman — producers
• Stephen Barncard at Sunset Sound — 1991 mixes for unreleased material
• Joe Gastwirt, John Modells at Ocean View Digital — digital remastering, July and August 1991
• Joe Gastwirt at Ocean View Digital and John Nowland at Redwood Digital, San Francisco — analog-to-digital tape transfer, June and July 1991
• Joe Gastwirt, John Nowland, Joel Bernstein — tape restoration

Notes

1. However, alternate versions of tracks from these albums do appear: "Got It Made" and "Soldiers of Peace" from American Dream, as well as the quartet version of "Taken At All" from Whistling Down the Wire.

References

1. Eder, B. (2011). "CSN [Box Set] – | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
2. RIAA Gold and Platinum searchable database retrieved 23 August 2015
3. CSN Box Set Tracklist, Atlantic Records, retrieved May 10, 2016