CSN @ Woodstock: "A little less bottom end, please"

[anthonyc007]

VH1 Classic is showing the Woodstock concert film right now. CSN is playng Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. I love when Stephen Stills says a little way into the song "A little less bottom end on the guitar, please". I'm sure the reply form the mixer was somethng akin to "Good luck on that Martin you are banging on!". Gotta love it!

All kidding aside, that was a great performance. CSN(&Y) has to be one of the best acoustic rock bands ever, no?

[bobbyg67]

they get my vote for best!

[AerialBoundries]

huge fan - they had something magical there - the only footage I've seen is Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Marakesh Express and Blackbird. Remember SS saying that was their 2nd gig?!

[Bern]

Incredible band !

[Gilliangirl]

Definitely one of the finest ever! I have an old song book that I bought in 1976... C,S,N,Y, Dallas Taylor and Greg Reeves (self-titled album and Deja Vu). The book is yellow with age and the cover is almost off, but I cherish it...

[dpa10]

Acoustic or electric, one of my all time favorites.
Love the electrified version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock."
And their vocal harmonys are great.

Did I mention the thought-provoking lyrics?

I just wish they and Joni had fewer tunes with alternate tunings. I'm just don't have the ability to learn or the patience to retune for some of those songs. Many of them are also my favorites.

The best Nightline I ever saw was about Martin Guitars. They were building a limited edition Stephen Stills model, and Stills was interviewed talking about his love of guitars and waxing on poetically about his signature model. Of course he played it for us too.

Rare to see a news show that was 100% positive.
What a treat!!!!

[anthonyc007]

Originally Posted by dpa10

I just wish they and Joni had fewer tunes with alternate tunings.

Agreed. I don't mind playing in alternate tunings, I am just too lazy to be switching all the time.

[mjz]

Originally Posted by anthonyc007

Agreed. I don't mind playing in alternate tunings, I am just too lazy to be switching all the time.

That's why you need a second guitar.



I have been mesmerized by this one the past week. It's Stephen's second signature -- a 000-45S Stephen Stills. I am blessed to own it. It's a really different guitar for me. I've been picking my way through Stephen's just released "Man Alive." It's a really good offering. Check it out.

What's really cool about that recording is you can actually hear the track clean-up after Stephen's request. Anyone who's played a Martin Dread amplified knows that low monitor rumble very well. I love that recording of Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.

For those of you who haven't discovered it yet check out www.4waysite.com

max

[mtnByker]

Mmmm, 1976. I was away from home for the first time, living in the dorm in Ohio, just down the road from Kent State in fact. Had been there a few weeks. 8 of us, all new friends, were together in my friend's room, and we were all - how do I put this? - travelling, that's the synonym I'm looking for - we were travelling together.

Someone put on a copy of Four Way Street and it came around to that big long powerful jam at the end - Ohio, Carry On, then Find the Cost of Freedom.

It ended with "Mother Earth will swallow you, lay your body down." and we all just sat there together in silence for a long, long time. Eternity. It was Beautiful.

[Bern]

Max,
I love to play the 000-45S . Descibe the sound for us.
BTW, I'm on way my way to Martin, Monday.
Bern

[anthonyc007]

I just recently learned "Find the Cost". Great little acoustic tune. Love that lead line. Brilliant.

I guess I can have a second guitar solely in an alternate tuning. But which one? SS's EBEEEE? Keef's Open G? Or Open E? DADGAD? Hmmm.......

[roadking]

One thing that I have noticed over the years about CSN & sometimes Y, is how much people talk about Stephen Stills guitars and how little they talk about Stephen Stills. I think he is an incredible guitarist (and composer) who rarely gets credit for his individual ability. Whether it's strumming a complicated syncopated rhythm in a strange alternate tuning on a Martin while singing melody and harmony or playing a great lead solo on a Tele, in my mind, he is the core and backbone of CSN&Y and one of the best guitarists I've ever heard. I will admit that my opinion is really the result of seeing CSN on DVD. Having never seen them live, I never quite knew who did what in the group. Not that Crosby, Nash, and Young aren't worthy, but....

[barkley_01007]

For some great stories about Crosby Stills & Nash (and other 60's So Cal act) you should track down this DVD by the guys that shot most of those album covers :



I always loved this alternate shot from the first CSN album shoot, (plus the fact that a couple days later they realized they shot them as NSC instead of CSN, they went back to re-shoot and the house had been demolished. )

[mapple]

CSN&Y certainly were/are the greatest accoustic bands of all time. In fact they epitomize the accoustic band.

That scene of them doing Suite Judy Blue Eyes at Woodstock I could watch over and over ... never tire of it .... it can only be matched by Joni Mitchel singing Coyote at the Band's Last Waltz.

[dpa10]

Originally Posted by roadking

One thing that I have noticed over the years about CSN & sometimes Y, is how much people talk about Stephen Stills guitars and how little they talk about Stephen Stills. I think he is an incredible guitarist (and composer) who rarely gets credit for his individual ability. .

agreed. he is brilliantly talented. Both he and Neil Young played some awsome acoustic and electric on their collective works.

When I started playing guitar, at an advanced age I might add, he quickly became one of my "guitar heroes."

That list expanded exponentially when I started learning the guitar BTW.