David Crosby - If I Could Only Remember My Name - 1971
Songs: Music is Love, Cowboy Movie, Tamalpais High (At about 3), Laughing, What are their Names, Traction in the Rain, Song with no Words, Orleans, I´d swear there was somebody there.
Comments:
Listening to this album is like taking a trip. And you only have to listen. David already took his medicine when recording this album. And before it. And after it. And ….
This trip takes us out of the sixties and into the seventies. And we´re not travelling alone.
You will hear Graham Nash, Neil Young, Paul Kantner, Jerry Garcia,Jack Casady,Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, Joni Mitchell and many others. All of those heroes of the sixties joint (LOL) David on his personal trip that followed right after the recording sessions of Déjà Vu.
David is not a writer of songs like Neil Young. He creates an atmosphere and his excellent voice does the rest.
Take the opener Music is Love. It´s really a chant but it works just fine. And he doesn´t need words as well to create atmosphere. Just verify Song with no Words and his awakening from nightmare or bad trip in I´d swear there was somebody here. There are two slightly more up-tempo songs. Cowboy Movie is a bit overlong and barely manages to hold the attention. And Neil Young and Grateful Dead front man Jerry Garcia jam with David on What are their names, a rather strong protest song that hasn´t lost a lot of its power today.
But the real highlights must be Laughing and Orleans, a song whose words are formed by naming famous French Cathedrals. Both songs are stunningly beautiful.
Tamalpais High (At about 3) is a nice instrumental. It has no words but tells the story of David´s life nevertheless. Finally, drug abuse would destroy and almost kill him. He was saved just in time and is still touring with Stills and Nash.
If I could only remember my name is not your average album and you´re not gonna listen to it every week. It´s an experience and a nice one for that. Just relax,pour yourself a GlenDronach Allardice 18 Years, turn out the light and let yourself be carried away from time to time.
Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)
Black = Good Songs
Green = Great Songs
Red = Could Be Better
Who should buy this Record: Anyone who misses the sixties and finds Celine Dion somewhat boring!
