Crosby’s Voice Exits, But the Show’s Good

by Beatrice Taylor, Rutland Daily Herald, September 9, 1976

The performances of David Crosby and Graham Nash were as well done and enjoyable as ever at Saratoga recently, but the wear and tear of more than a decade of singing and playing is starting to show.

David Crosby still has long flowing reddish-brown locks, but his hairline is receding, and he has become rather rotund. Graham Nash, long known for his baby face, has finally matured, but has also acquired a lean, haggard appearance.

And, most notable of all, their voices have changed. Crosby’s voice, once strong and clear, is gone. In the opening songs, “Pre-Road Downs” and “Military Madness,” one could hardly hear his voice harmonizing with Nash’s. It was raspy and quiet with little power when he sang “Lee Shore,” and he was screeching more than singing during “Almost Cut My Hair.

Nash’s voice remains strong, but he can no longer hit the high notes. This brought about changes in his renditions of “My Lady of the Island” and “Guenivere,” going for the low note instead of reaching for the high.

It was shocking to realize how much the two had aged, and to admit that all of us have gotten older since the middle ’60s, when the two performers first appeared on the rock scene. Crosby started out with the Byrds and Nash with the Hollies, and they later joined up with Stephen Stills, then Neil Young, to form Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, one of the super-groups of the late 1960s and early ’70s.

Many of the evening’s songs were from that period, and though Crosby’s and Nash’s voices may have gotten older, their ability to entertain and jam has not waned. They easily moved the crowd to its feet with such old favorites as “Déjà Vu,” “Wooden Ships,” and “Chicago.” And there weren’t even any cries for Stills or Young.

Their newer songs charmed, too. Crosby sang “Out of the Darkness” and “Carry Me,” two cuts from his new album, which are better suited to what remains of his voice. During “Wind on the Water,” a haunting, lyrical song by Nash about the slaughter of whales and porpoises, films of the animals were shown behind the performers. Crosby, a sailor since he was 11, asked people to help save these endangered animals by contacting the Cousteau Society.

The men played for over two hours before a house that was three-quarters full. Both entertainers and fans were older and more subdued, but they had fun and most went home satisfied.

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