Book Review: "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's Greatest Supergroup" by David Browne
In less than 10 days in 1970, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young launched, then cancelled, a tour; broke up; got back together; fired one drummer; hired another; recorded "Ohio" and "Find the Cost of Freedom;" and rescheduled the aforementioned concert dates.
This compressed spate of ego clashes, personality disputes, stubbornness and childish arguments is a fine microcosm of the fraught, decades-long relationship between the four musicians and appears in chapter three of David Browne's "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's Greatest Supergroup." Running 421 pages across chapters that span "Early Years - December 1968" through "January 2008 - September 2018," Browne chronicles CSN (& sometimes Y)'s comings together, fallings apart and comings back together in just the right amount of detail - it's not inside baseball, nor is it a mere glossing over.
Browne, the Rolling Stone contributor who has written about the Grateful Dead in "So Many Roads" and Sonic Youth in "Goodbye 20th Century," scored interviews with Crosby and Nash - Stills and Young declined to participate - and stitched together a compelling story with yarns from contemporaries (the Dead’s Mickey Hart), bandmates (Crosby’s son James Raymond, the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn) and historical sources.
The result is an eminently readable chronicle of the four men from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield (Stills and Young), the Byrds (Crosby) and the Hollies (Nash) to the phoenix of CSNY to the ashes of CSNY and, later, the ashes of CSN.
While the band's story is mostly already known the fans who have followed them throughout the years, there are some nuggets of new information.
But it's the side paths into their respective solo careers, pairing such as Crosby and Nash and the Stills-Young Band, and their personal lives that provide the most insight to the things that motivate and make the musicians tick: Crosby's cockiness; Stills' desire for adulation; Nash's repeated attempts at peacemaking; and Young's interest in only what interests him.
And it’s a powerful reminder of how little music - CSN/CSNY released only three studio albums between 1969 and 1977 and just eight overall - the trio/quartet made together and how far it took them.
It was - and may be again, as long as they're still alive - a volatile mix and resulted in some amazing music over the decades.
As good as it is, “The Wild, Definitive Saga” feels rushed and reads as if it should have had at least one more round of editing before heading to the printers. And in an unfortunate publishing quirk, the book repeatedly refers to Young’s ex-wife, who died on New Year’s Day 2019, in the present tense.
Grade card: "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock's Greatest Supergroup" by David Browne - B
