FlashBack! - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu (1970) (album stream)

Déjà Vu is the first album by the rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and the second by the trio configuration of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. It was released in March of 1970 by Atlantic Records, catalogue SD-7200. It topped the pop album chart for one week and generated three Top 40 singles: "Teach Your Children," "Our House," and "Woodstock."



History
Déjà Vu was greatly anticipated after the popularity of the first CSN album and the addition of Young to the group. Stills estimates that the album took around 800 hours of studio time to record; this figure may be exaggerated, even though the individual tracks display meticulous attention to detail. The songs, except for "Woodstock", were recorded as individual sessions by each member, with each contributing whatever was needed that could be agreed upon. Young does not appear on all of the tracks, and drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves are credited on the cover with their names in slightly smaller typeface. Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel on "Teach Your Children" and John Sebastian plays mouth-harp on the title track.

The popularity of the album contributed to the success of the four albums released by each of the members in the wake of Déjà Vu: David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, Stephen Stills' self-titled solo debut, Graham Nash's Songs for Beginners and Neil Young's After the Gold Rush.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The same year, the TV network VH1 named Déjà Vu the 61st greatest album of all time. The album ranked at #14 for the Top 100 Albums of 1970 and #217 overall by Rate Your Music.

The album was reissued for compact disc after being remastered from the original tapes at Ocean View Digital by Joe Gastwirt on September 6, 1994. In 1997, guitarist Fareed Haque covered the entire album in jazz form for the Blue Note Cover Series.

Track listing and credits

Side one
"Carry On" (Stephen Stills) – 4:26
Stills - guitars, organ, bass, lead vocal; David Crosby - guitar, vocal; Graham Nash - guitar, vocal; Dallas Taylor - drums, percussion
"Teach Your Children" (Nash) – 2:53
Nash - guitar, lead vocal; Stills - guitar, bass, vocal; Crosby - vocal; Jerry Garcia - pedal steel guitar; Taylor - tambourine
"Almost Cut My Hair" (Crosby) – 4:31
Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Stills - electric guitar; Nash - organ; Neil Young - electric guitar; Greg Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums
"Helpless" (Young) – 3:33
Young - guitar, harmonica, lead vocal; Stills - electric guitar, piano, vocal; Nash - guitar, vocal; Crosby - vocal; Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums
"Woodstock" (Joni Mitchell) – 3:54
Stills - electric guitar, organ, lead vocal; Nash - electric guitar, vocal; Crosby - vocal; Young - electric guitar; Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums

Side two
"Déjà Vu" (Crosby) – 4:12
Crosby - guitar, lead vocal; Stills - electric guitar, vocal; Nash - guitar, piano, vocal; John Sebastian - harmonica; Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums
"Our House" (Nash) – 2:59
Nash - piano, harpsichord, lead vocal; Stills - bass, vocal; Crosby - vocal; Taylor - drums
"4 + 20" (Stills) – 2:04
Stills - guitar, vocal
"Country Girl" ("Whiskey Boot Hill," "Down, Down, Down," "Country Girl (I Think You're Pretty)") (Young) – 5:11
Young - guitar, organ, harmonica, lead vocal; Stills - guitar, vocal; Crosby - guitar, vocal; Nash - guitar, vocal; Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums
"Everybody I Love You" (Stills, Young) – 2:21
Stills - electric guitar, organ, vocal; Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Nash - vocal; Young - electric guitar; Reeves - bass; Taylor - drums

Personnel
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
David Crosby : rhythm guitar, vocals
Stephen Stills : guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, vocals
Graham Nash: rhythm guitar, keyboards, vocals
Neil Young: guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals
Additional personnel
Dallas Taylor: drums, percussion
Greg Reeves: bass (3-6, 9-10)
Jerry Garcia: pedal steel guitar (2)
John Sebastian: harmonica (6)

Production
Producers: David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young
Engineer: Bill Halverson
Art direction: Gary Burden
Design: Gary Burden
Photography: Henry Diltz, Tom Gundelfinger
Direction: Elliot Roberts and associates
Agent: David Geffen
Digital remastering: Joe Gastwirt