Songs for Beginners

Songs for Beginners

by Graham Nash
Songs for Beginners

Songs for Beginners

by Graham Nash

CD

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Overview

Songs for Beginners is Graham Nash's solo debut apart from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Released in 1971, it is a collection of songs that reflect change, transition, and starting over. The set was recorded in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, in the immediate aftermath of Nash's traumatic breakup with Joni Mitchell. Unlike the colorful dynamism of Stephen Stills' eponymous debut recording, or the acid-drenched cosmic cowboy spaciness of David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, Nash's album is by contrast a much more humble and direct offering. It is a true, mostly introspective songwriter's album full of beautifully performed and wonderfully recorded songs that reflect transition, movement, the desire to look backward and forward simultaneously. Like the aforementioned offering, this one is star-studded in its choice of players and singers: Crosby, Chris Ethridge, Jerry Garcia, Rita Coolidge, Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Dave Mason, Neil Young (under the pseudonym "Joe Yankee"), David Lindley, Bobby Keys, Phil Lesh, Dallas Taylor, and drummer John Barbata reflect some of the personnel on this heady yet humble session. The album is bookended by two of Nash's best-known tunes, the anthemic "Military Madness" that remains timeless in the 21st century, and "Chicago," that doesn't. That said, they are among the weakest songs here -- which reveals what a solid collection it is. Unlike many recordings birthed from personal angst, Nash's engages in no self pity; instead, he focuses on the craft of songwriting itself. Despite its personal darkness, "Better Days," with its swirling piano and pronounced bassline, is also an actual paean to self-determination and perseverance, the logic being that there were better days in the past, so there must be better ones in the future as well. "I Used to Be a King," with Garcia on a gorgeous pedal steel and Lesh on bass, is a direct, mature response to "King Midas in Reverse," a song Nash wrote and recorded with the Hollies. "Simple Man," with its sparse melody and strings and a fine backing vocal from Coolidge, was written on the afternoon of the breakup with Mitchell. The violin-cello backdrop to Nash's piano is particularly effective and makes this one of his most memorable songs. The parlor room country waltz that commences "Man in the Mirror," features Garcia's steel, Young's piano, ex-Flying Burrito Brother Ethridge, and drummer Barbata; it shifts keys, tempo, and feel about a third of the way in with a very long bridge that transforms the song's sentiment as well. Ultimately, Songs for Beginners is the strongest of Nash's solo efforts (outside of his work with Crosby). ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date: 05/24/2011
Label: Atlantic
UPC: 0081227977078
Rank: 22063

Tracks

  1. Military Madness
  2. Better Days
  3. Wounded Bird
  4. I Used to Be a King
  5. Be Yourself
  6. Simple Man
  7. Man in the Mirror
  8. There's Only One
  9. Sleep Song
  10. Chicago
  11. We Can Change the World

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Graham Nash   Primary Artist,Comb,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards,Percussion,Tambourine,Lead Vocals,Organ (Hammond),Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Rita Coolidge   Guest Artist,Piano,Vocals,Vibraphone,Piano (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Dave Mason   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
David Crosby   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Electric)
Phil Lesh   Guest Artist,Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Jerry Garcia   Guest Artist,Piano,Guitar,Guitar (Steel)
Dorothy Morrison   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
David Lindley   Fiddle,Guitar,Violin,Vocals
Pat Arnold   Vocals (Background)
Calvin Samuels   Bass,Piano,Guitar (Bass),Bass (Electric)
Chris Ethridge   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Dorian Rudnytsky   Celli,Cello
Simon Posthuma   Clarinet (Bass)
Patrick Arnold   Vocals (Background)
Vanetta Field   Vocals (Background)
Johnny Barafa   Drums
David Mason   Guitar (Electric)
Sermon Posthumas   Clarinet (Bass)
Seemon Posthuma   Soloist,Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Dallas Taylor   Drums
Larry Cox   Sound Effects,Organ,Vocals,Clarinet
Clydie King   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Fuzzy Samuels   Bass
P.P. Arnold   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Joe Yankee   Organ,Piano,Guitar (Acoustic)
Bobby Keys   Soloist,Saxophone
Shirley Matthews   Vocals (Background)
John Barbata   Drums,Tambourine
Venetta Fields   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Neil Young   Piano,Guitar,Vocals
Joel Bernstein   Piano,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar (Electric)
Sherlie Matthews   Vocals,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Stephen Barncard   Producer
Bill Halverson   Engineer
Glyn Johns   Mixing Engineer
Gary Burden   Design,Art Direction
Larry Cox   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Graham Nash   Composer,Producer,Photography,Group Member,Mixing Engineer
Russ Gary   Engineer
Stephen Stills   Producer
Terry Reid   Composer
Ken Baker   Composer
Nathaniel Kunkel   Mixing Engineer
Neil Young   Producer
Joel Bernstein   Photography
David Crosby   Producer
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