REVIEW: CSNY

CSNY
Author: Peter Doggett

I have always been a big fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Although I was too young to really understand their lyrics when they were big in the 70s, I liked their music. Later when I had grown up, I understood what their songs were saying, and liked them even more. I jumped at the chance to read and review this biopic of the band, their music and their careers.

David Crosby. Steven Stills. Graham Nash. Neil Young. All huge musical talents. And big stars in the 60s & 70s, a time when war protests, social unrest and angst were the driving forces behind an entire generation. I was born in 1968...so I missed out on most of it, but I did get to enjoy their music.

I enjoyed this book.  It describes the formation of the band, personality clashes among the members that broke them up multiple times, and the force, will and creativity they all added to the mix. After enjoying the recent movie about Freddy Mercury and Queen, I enjoyed reading about another band that seemed to have similar problems. Each member of CSNY had been in other front line bands like The Hollies and The Byrds and each wanted their songs/lyrics at the forefront. Strong personalities, incredible talent and inflated egos seem to be a recurring theme with popular bands. It was so interesting to read about their prior music careers, eccentricities and musical abilities, plus information about the band (both in the Crosby, Stills & Nash years and after the addition of Neil Young) that I didn't know.

I had to read this book in small bits. There is a lot of information....lots of name dropping and mentions of singers, bands, songwriters,  concerts, lyrics, historical events, etc....so much information. I read a few pages....looked up names and events online for more information....and let that digest before moving on. I pulled up all sorts of songs and albums and enjoyed listening to so much awesome music as I read this book! My copy was a digital review copy....so the accompanying photographs were absent in my copy. I'm going to see if my library has this book so I can see the photos!

Great book for any fan of CSNY, 60s/70s music or culture! I loved it!

My favorite CSNY song?? Definitely this one:

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**