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<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nBy Jeff Tamarkin<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s always been plenty of harmony in David Crosby\u2019s famed voice and songwriting. His life, on the other hand, not so much. He\u2019s endured battles with drug abuse, brushes with the law, and a long line of health scares\u2014the latest in February when he underwent an emergency heart procedure. In the \u201980s, Crosby spent time in prison on drug and weapons charges, and in the decade that followed he was injured in a motorcycle accident, lost his home in an earthquake, and had a liver transplant.\u00a0\u201cMy health\u2019s not that great, but I\u2019m very happy and I love working,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve got more to say. I don\u2019t feel that I\u2019m done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite Crosby\u2019s wild personal ride, musically his legacy is cemented. During a near 50-year career, the California native has accumulated multiple gold and platinum records and has been twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a founding member of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash. With the occasional addition of Neil Young, CSN has recorded some of rock\u2019s most enduring classics. The Grammy-winning group still tours annually, putting new spins on the standard formula, including gigs backed by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in NYC in 2013.<\/p>\n
His vocals as pristine as ever, Crosby is celebrating the release of his latest album, Croz<\/i>, his fourth solo effort and first solo release in 20 years. The 11-song LP was co-produced with Daniel Garcia and Crosby\u2019s son, keyboardist James Raymond\u2014a successful TV composer who reunited with Crosby in the late \u201990s. \u201cAlmost immediately after I found out he was a musician, I gave him a set of words and found we had this incredible chemistry,\u201d says Crosby of the son he didn\u2019t know he had.\u00a0That father-son chemistry is evident on Croz<\/i>, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart. \u201cWe\u2019re happy about all these songs,\u201d says Crosby, 72. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty stoked.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the goal behind Croz<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n
The songs on this album are honest. Honesty is a big deal in songs, it\u2019s what gives them force. \u201cIf She Called,\u201d is probably the saddest song I\u2019ve ever written. I wrote it when I saw some hookers working outside a bar and realized that I didn\u2019t know how they dealt with it. I didn\u2019t understand where they hid their hearts and their souls when they\u2019re doing that thing, which is an awful thing to do for a living. That\u2019s a sad idea,\u00a0and it\u2019s truthful.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How does Croz<\/i> compare with your solo debut, 1971\u2019s If I Could Only Remember My Name<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n
A lot of people who loved that record, my solo stuff or my work in general are thinking that it\u2019s going to be another one of those. But it\u2019s definitely not. I hope they\u2019re not disappointed, but I had to do what I was going to do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tell us about \u201cRadio.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
That was the first song James and I wrote for the album. It\u2019s about being able to reach out and help others. It\u2019s couched in seaman\u2019s terms, because the law of the sea is that you always help another sailor who is in trouble, a rule that predates any country\u2019s laws. You get that SOS, there\u2019s not a maybe about it\u2014you go. I\u2019ve been a sailor my whole life, so that\u2019s deeply ingrained in me. It\u2019s such a positive song that it got us excited. We started writing other stuff and at some point said, \u201cI guess we\u2019re making a record.\u201d We didn\u2019t have any money, but James has a studio in his house. And I slept on the couch.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What about \u201cSet That Baggage Down\u201d?<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s a straight-up AA meetings thing: You need to put your baggage down. You have to look at what you did, you have to learn from it, and then you have to put it down. You can\u2019t go on with your life carrying all that crap with you. That\u2019s a basic truth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s it like working with Wynton?<\/b><\/p>\n
We [CSN] played with Wynton at Lincoln Center and it was like getting to play with the big kids. We were thrilled to be working with those guys. Wynton did me a huge favor by playing on \u201cHolding on to Nothing.\u201d I said, \u201cListen to the song and if you like it, I\u2019d love for you to play on it. If you don\u2019t like it, it\u2019s OK. I don\u2019t want you to play on something unless it grabs you and pulls you.\u201d He loved it, and he played beautifully on it. The jazz thing is very strong in me and in James. We love complex changes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mark Knopfler also appears.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I have a friend who\u2019s an Italian promoter. He said to Mark\u2019s manager, \u201cI think Mark and David Crosby could make good music together. Maybe they can write a song.\u201d Mark\u2019s manager said, \u201cMark doesn\u2019t really do that. He only writes his own stuff, but he might play on something if he likes it.\u201d So I sent him \u201cWhat\u2019s Broken,\u201d and he played on it. He\u2019s not just a great writer and singer, he\u2019s a master record maker. When you start listening to that part over and over again, you notice his sense of structure and realize he\u2019s brilliant. He makes setups and payoffs and structural stuff that are just crazy right.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You play guitar on only one song.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
I play on \u201cIf She Called.\u201d If I can get Marcus Eaton to play\u2014who\u2019s five levels better than I am on guitar\u2014I will. I\u2019m all about serving the song. My sense is that I don\u2019t have to prove I can play. If you don\u2019t know I can play guitar by now, you haven\u2019t been listening. I still have a big ego, but I wasn\u2019t trying to prove anything with this record other than I can sing.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve embraced digital.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s totally different because we can use Logic or Pro Tools and work anywhere. You can record in the back seat of your car. James has a good studio. I happened to have a couple of the best speakers in the world that weren\u2019t being used, so I gave them to him. We had the tools, we just didn\u2019t have any money\u2014that\u2019s where the generosity of friends came in.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your father was a cinematographer. How does film influence your music?<\/b><\/p>\n
I see movies as the greatest art form on the planet because not only do they have their own art, but they include my art\u2014music\u2014and make that part of something bigger. Most movies are junk, but making a song be like a movie and have it take you on a little voyage is a cool thing to do. The song \u201cMorning Falling\u201d came to me as a vision of an innocent family getting wiped out in a drone strike. I\u2019m sure I\u2019m not\u00a0going to be high up on the government\u2019s list of their favorite artists again\u2014like I ever have been. But that\u2019s the truth and I\u00a0wanted to speak it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why did the Byrds kick you out in \u201967?<\/b><\/p>\n
It had to do with me being an egotistical son of a bitch, wanting to record my songs and wanting a bigger role. We were young kids and somebody gave us millions of dollars and told us we were wonderful. That\u2019s deadly. I\u2019m not saying it wasn\u2019t fun, but it doesn\u2019t encourage sanity and restraint.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How are things with Stephen Stills?<\/b><\/p>\n
Much better. I used to give Stephen the stink eye every time he made a mistake or sang out of tune. I was constantly at odds with him. Then I realized I care about the guy. I know he\u2019s not perfect and I know he\u2019s got a giant ego. I know all his good points and bad points. But I love him. I love the music he\u2019s written. I get to sing\u2014\u201cAnd there\u2019s a rose in a fisted glove, and the eagle flies with the dove, and if you can\u2019t be with the one you love, love the one you\u2019re with\u201d\u2014every night, and you know what? I\u2019m grateful.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What\u2019s vital in music?<\/b><\/p>\n
The songs are where any piece of work needs to come from. You have to be able to sit down in front of somebody and make them feel something. I don\u2019t care what it is\u2014anger, triumph, sadness, longing, love, lust\u2014if you can make people feel something with a song, then you\u2019re doing it. You\u2019re in the ballpark. If you can\u2019t, you\u2019re not. It\u00a0has to be real.<\/p>\n
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DAVID CROSBY He helped create two iconic bands, but his latest set is a family affair By Jeff Tamarkin There\u2019s always been plenty of harmony in David Crosby\u2019s famed voice and songwriting. His life, on the other hand, not so much. He\u2019s endured battles with drug abuse, brushes with the law, and a long line […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[4120,7401],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12355,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12353\/revisions\/12355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}