Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

American Dream' fades out on the line "Why not keep on singing anyway?" – and that
lackadaisical slogan seems to sum up the spirit in which the first Crosby, Stills, Nash and
Young studio album since 1970's Déjà Vu was made. Despite pleasant melodies, the
occasional interesting song and the signature harmonies, American Dream is, for the most
part, a snoozefest. The enervation at the heart of this album suggests that these f... More >

Forget the careerist compromise, dazed ennui, and soggy despair, and take this hustle for what it pretends to be and at some level is: four diehard hippies expressing themselves. Poor old guys can't leave politics alone--there's more ecology and militarism here than when they were figureheads of pop revolution, and though the rhetoric is predictable, the impulse has a woozy nobility. Not that that's ever been reason to pay Graham's ditties any mind, or that Stephen's steady-state egotism is redeemed by stray references to judges and changing the world. But while David's cocaine confessional makes "Almost Cut My Hair" seem self-abnegating, his "Nighttime for the Generals" sure beats Sting. And Neil lends musical muscle and gets commercial muscle back. So, not as horrible as you expected--nor good enough to give a third thought. (Grade: C+)