Genre: rock
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Title: Songs for Beginners
Company: Atlantic
Catalog: SD 7201
Year: 1971
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG
Comments: original inner sleeve
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4436
Price: $5.00
Cost: $66.00
It's kind of strange that to my ears, Graham Nash's contributions to the CS&N and CSN&Y catalogs aren't particularly impressive. At the same time, with 1971's self-produced "Songs for Beginners" he can take credit for releasing one of the best solo albums coming out of the quartet.
Backed by one of the year's most impressive collections of friends and sidekicks (including David Crosby, Jerry Garcia and David Mason), Nash's seldom sounded as impressive. A highly personal collection, material such as ''Better Days, 'Wounded Bird' and 'I Used To Be a King' managed to combine Nash's instantly recognizable voice with some great melodies and introspective lyrics. That isn't to imply the set's aged all that well. Nash's more activist side reflected in the form of tracks such as 'Military Madness', 'Chicago' and 'We Can Change the World' sounds rather dated - how many folks under 30 have a clue what 'Chicago' is about? In spite of those minor flaws, it's one of the better singer/songwriter albums out there.
"Songs for Beginners" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Military Madness (Graham Nash) -
2.) Better Days (Graham Nash) -
3.) Wounded Bird (Graham Nash) -
4.) I Used To Be a King (Graham Nash) -
5.) Be Yourself (Graham Nash - Reid) -
(side 2)
1.) Simple Man (Graham Nash) -
2.) Man In the Mirror (Graham Nash) -
3.) There's Only One (Graham Nash) -
4.) Sleep Song (Graham Nash) -
5.) Chicago (Graham Nash) -
6.) We Can Change the World (Graham Nash) -