CSN&Y Meet at the Four Way

When I was younger I used to go through my uncle's record collection. He had a lot of classic rock and he also had some oldies too. One band I loved growing up and he played in the house was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. He would play their music all the time. He would even sing to their songs. One day he came over my house and had some records in his hand. He handed me a copy of 4 Way Street. He told me that this is not yet on CD and I should take good care of it. I looked at this album in awe. Not only did have all their hits, but they were done live. Some of the songs I never heard of too. Songs like "Triad", "On The Way Home,""Chicago," and "The Lee Shore" were awesome.

When I listened to it more I could hear how great it really was. When it came out it was considered a classic in live albums. When I was in High School I was wondering why this had not been released on CD. It was odd. A band that was so popular then, not on CD as a document of their classic time together. I mean their first two albums were. Finally after I finished High School I got my wish. It was out. I could not believe it. I told my parents that as a Holiday gift I wanted to get this on CD for my uncle. He got it and fell in love all over again. In appreciation for giving him this CD I got to keep the LP.

too eventually bought the CD. I was so happy to hear the music so fresh, not only that their were bonus tracks. Each member had some great material to add to the CD. It was really fun. It kind of helped me too, because I did not know much about the solo material from Graham Nash. What made it more interesting is that the bonus stuff included the Hollies. Since I was just starting out liking the Hollies it was the best track to like them even more.

Looking back even more I remember when I worked at the library I would put books away that had to do with a subject matter that interested me. Even in my early years at that library I would pick up books on Music, Film, Food, and Art. I even would hide myself in the Biographies to see if some person would interest me. I would always go to the music books and take out this Oral History of CSN&Y. It was a great book. I know when my uncle came over he always ask for that book.

What is so definitive with 4 Way Street is the fact that this is a good capsule of what they were doing back then. It was a live protest record with everyone adding their two cents into it. Recorded at the Fillmore in New York and in Chicago and also The Forum in Los Angeles. It shows them in true political form. This valuable audio document is a treasure to listen to and enjoy. It shows how great this band really was.

A few years ago I saw them live and they played close to three hours. It was great. Each member had it's statement and the crowd agreed with that statement. It made me reflect on when they were popular how they could carry the world on their shoulders. I also remember a few years ago and saw them on VH1 Storytellers. They were in between songs and David Crosby made a comment about Neil Young. Of all the songs all four of them wrote, which was about 1200 songs. Amazing!! 900 of those were written by Neil Young alone. The rest of the band called him an over achiever. Remember this too, the most definitive protest song "Ohio" was written by Neil. If you don't own this, get it and remember a time in music where they were in the for front of the political musical world.