![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/graham_nash.jpg\")
Graham Nash was already a celebrated singer, songwriter and musician when he appeared alongside David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. That was the supergroup\u2019s second public show, but seven years before Nash co-founded The Hollies, one of England\u2019s most successful pop groups. So by the time Nash ventured out on his own for his 1971 solo debut album Songs for Beginners<\/i>, he was a well-seasoned artist.<\/p>\n
That album and its 1974 follow-up, Wild Tales<\/i>, were very successful records; both charted, and Songs for Beginners<\/i> went Gold (500,000 units sold). And while (as a solo artist and as part of various permutations of CSN&Y) Nash would release many more acclaimed albums, his first two records have stood the test of time in the most exceptional way.<\/p>\n
The enduring appeal of that music is underscored by Graham Nash\u2019s latest release, Graham Nash: Live<\/i>. Released in May, the album presents a start-to-finish onstage performance of both Songs for Beginners<\/i> and Wild Tales<\/i>. Culled from a four-night run of shows in 2019, the recording is a reminder of both the music\u2019s continued relevance and of Nash\u2019s staying power as a musical force.<\/p>\n
Blackpool, England-born Nash celebrated his 80th<\/sup> birthday in February, so he has had more than half of his life to reflect on the reasons for the sustained popularity of those early records. \u201cI\u2019ve often tried to figure it out,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I can only boil it down to a couple of things.\u201d First, Nash believes that the deeply personal nature of the lyrics on those records resonates with listeners.<\/p>\n The critically-lauded Songs for Beginners<\/i> was made at a time when Nash was enmeshed in a series of romantic relationships (with Joni Mitchell and Rita Coolidge) and against the backdrop of political turmoil in the U.S., including the contentious 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and the subsequent federal court trial of the so-called \u201cChicago Eight.\u201d And when Nash recorded Wild Tales<\/i>, he was still bearing the emotional scars of his failed relationships, coupled with frustration at the failure of CSN&Y to get together and make more music.<\/p>\n Nash suggests that the emotionally forthright character of those records is supported by another quality. \u201cThey\u2019re very simply recorded,\u201d he says. And he emphasizes that for him, those two records truly had to happen. \u201cThat’s the only reason to do a solo record,\u201d Nash asserts. \u201cWhen me and David \u2013 or me and David and Stephen, or the four of us \u2013 aren’t recording, what do you do with all the songs that are in your head?\u201d<\/p>\n His answer was to cut those songs on his own, with an all-star array of friends and associates. \u201cI’ve got to get rid of [those songs] so I can make room for more,\u201d Nash says.<\/p>\n The highly personal nature of songs like \u201cSimple Man,\u201d \u201cI Used to Be a King\u201d and \u201cGrave Concern\u201d may have made them unsuitable for CSN&Y, Nash surmises. \u201cWe only recorded songs that every single one of us loved,\u201d he says. And Nash readily admits that he\u2019s not a cryptic or oblique lyricist. \u201cI don’t care for songs that you have to wait for the last verse to figure out what the fuck I’m talking about,\u201d he says. Performing them these days with a sterling backup band, Nash proves that his vocal instrument is every bit as strong and expressive as it was back in the late \u201860s and early 1970s. Asked how he keeps his voice in shape, Nash is unequivocal. \u201cI don\u2019t have a vocal coach. I don\u2019t do lessons. I don\u2019t do anything but sing,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I live<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n With justifiable pride, Nash adds that he sings all but one of those 20 songs in their original keys. \u201cAnd,\u201d he says, \u201cI don\u2019t have the lyrics on a computer screen in front of me. If you don’t know the words to the songs that you wrote \u2013 words that you supposedly believe in \u2013 then you’re wasting your time. And I can’t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham Nash places a high emphasis upon authenticity, and he promises that concertgoers can expect two things from him. \u201cYou have to talk about the times in which we live,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that\u2019s the duty of every artist.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I’m going to sing those songs that I’ve sung a million times with the same passion as when I wrote them,\u201d he says. \u201cI think my audience deserves that.\u201d<\/p>\n Come back for more from my conversation with Graham Nash. — bk<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Graham Nash was already a celebrated singer, songwriter and musician when he appeared alongside David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969. That was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,44,49,62],"tags":[4974,4972,4973,4147],"class_list":["post-24021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-live-shows","category-new-release","category-rawk","tag-crosby-stills-nash-young","tag-csn","tag-csny","tag-graham-nash","cat-41-id","cat-44-id","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24021"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24021\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24023,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24021\/revisions\/24023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nNash was on either side of 30 years old when he wrote the songs featured on Songs for Beginners<\/i> and Wild Tales<\/i>. And a half-century later, he says that when he revisits those songs, he recognizes the much younger man who wrote them. \u201cI\u2019m very proud of what \u2018he\u2019 did,\u201d he says. \u201cNo doubt about it. I [was] just trying to do the best I can; I love those songs.\u201d<\/p>\n