Review of Crosby, Stills And Nash: Long Time Comin`

Introduction

"Long Time Comin`" is an apt description for this excellent hour long documentary (rockumentary, if you will) that has only previously been available on import VHS. 14 years later it`s finally available on DVD. And for fans of either the collective super-group, or any of the four individuals who make up the band (including occasional member Neil Young) then this is going to be a real treat.

It all started in 1969 when the founding members of three hot bands of the moment (Crosby from The Byrds, Nash from The Hollies, and Stills and occasionally band cohort Neil Young from Buffalo Springfield) joined forces to become, arguably, the first rock `supergroup` - Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young).

LONG TIME COMIN` showcases traces the first twenty years, from the late 1960`s with a heart stopping `debut` (almost) at Woodstock, through to the late 1980`s when this programme was glued together.

It`s a nice mix of archive live performances, rare television appearances and interviews that has no need for narration or commentary.

A nice touch is that this doesn`t start at the birth; it heads down the rock-tree branches to the very roots with performances by The Byrds, The Hollies, and Buffalo Springfield. There is a priceless clip of The Byrds miming to `Mr. Tambourine Man` at The Hollywood A Go Go in 1966, as well as an amusing period clip of The Hollies playing Carrie-Ann on a Smothers Brothers show from 1967. These clips alone are really worth the price of admission!

Whilst this certainly takes a documentary approach, because of the absence of narration, 12 out of the 20 songs listed are complete performances.

An early highlight is the wonderfully calm acoustic number `Marrakesh Express` from the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Interview segments betray a band not entirely confident, under-rehearsed yet clearly brimming with talent and the next track features Crosby and Stills delivering a faultless performance on the incredibly square looking Dick Cavett Show in 1969. The `folksy` interview, that has square jawed Cavett looking like someone from another generation, reveals that Stills is still wearing the same unwashed jeans that he wore at the Woodstock debut just days before.

It`s all a heady scene and other famous talents like Joni Mitchell can be seen nodding appreciatively in the audience of this `happening` as Stills delivers a breath-taking solo version of `4+20`, a track which later turned up their classic `Déjà vu` LP. Whilst I have long been a fan of CSN`s heartbreaking harmonies, I hadn`t ever fully appreciated what a great axe-man Stills is and this is fully evident on a couple of later solo studio tracks `Helplessly Hoping` and `Teach Your Children`.

Next up are some tracks from my least favourite period, when Nash looked frighteningly like Paul Calf with his mullet hairstyle and Hitler moustache. My own theory is that it affected the music too as evident on the clips here from the 1977 tour, `Wooden Ships`, `To The Last Whale: Critical Mass and Wind On the Water`. The latter has a large screen showing film of dolphins and whales to enhance the experience. This is a Nash penned piece and is not, in my view their finest hour, though of course the singing and playing are impeccable, despite Crosby looking a little wayward throughout.

By the 80`s there was a little more of the band (physically) to enjoy, and the track `Wasted on the Way`, played at one of Neil Young`s Bridge School benefits, is a really moving account of the bands chequered history.

Apart from the sterling performances throughout, there are some insightful interviews, as well as some `home movie` footage of the band falling-out. I was left with an over-riding sense of bewilderment that these three (and occasionally four) musketeers were ever able to make such deliciously sweet music together. Their harmonies are always note perfect and are often achingly beautiful.

Video

Of course, the pictures are widely variable as they come from a wide-variety of different sources, though most look in pretty good shape. Perhaps the most disappointing clips are, ironically, those from the 1980`s when video was used to cover concerts without the use of film-grain/contrast simulation and these look pretty cheesy, and a little soft too. This is probably not helped by this being (almost certainly) a PAL transfer from an NTSC master. All that said, it certainly wouldn`t stop me buying this disc.

Audio

Interestingly there is a 5.1 option here (re-worked from the original 1990 master) and it sounds surprisingly crisp with really wonderful separation. Mmmm - wallow in those harmonies!

Features

Well, there are 7 sets of subtitles and there`s access to each of the 12 complete songs on this disc via a sub-menu - but that`s it.

Conclusion

This re-mastered 60 minute documentary programme, originally released on VHS in 1990, is a surprisingly good buy. It`s a veritable treasure-chest of wonderful archive footage spanning the bands 20 years of service (at that time). Not only does it have wonderful period footage of The Byrds, The Hollies and Buffalo Springfield, it also cherry picks the finest moments from many live appearances from CSN, and sprinkles in some lovely home movie style footage as well as insightful interviews with the band from throughout their career. A real bonus is that it all works beautifully without the need for narration, and there are a full 12 songs (out of the 20 songs featured) that play through completely without interruption. For fans of the band I recommend this whole-heartedly!