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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young box set revisits epic ‘1974’

The Columbian
Published: September 11, 2014, 5:00pm

What: Crosby, Stills & Nash in concert

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 13.

Where: Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., Portland.

Cost: $52 to $92.

Information: 800-273-1530 or portland5.com.

One day a few years ago, Graham Nash was surfing the Web when he came across a bootleg DVD of the Crosby, Stills Nash & Young concert at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1974.

After watching the DVD, Nash knew he had to do something to set the record straight about what he remembered from that famous tour.

“I bought a copy,” Nash said in a recent phone interview. “We were not very good. It was not one of our best shows. We were either too excited or too tired because it was the last show of 31 shows, or too high. Whatever reason, we didn’t like that show. But I did not want our fans of CSN&Y to think that that’s who we were.”

This summer, fans of the sometimes volatile but hugely talented collective of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young can get a different perspective on the 1974 tour with the recent release of a three-CD/1 DVD box set, “1974.” (A limited edition deluxe box set, single CD version and audio-only download version have also been released).

What: Crosby, Stills & Nash in concert

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 13.

Where: Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St., Portland.

Cost: $52 to $92.

Information: 800-273-1530 or portland5.com.

The set collects 40 performances from that legendary (some would add infamous to that description) CSN&Y tour.

“I knew if I dug deeply enough into the tapes, and we only multi-tracked eight or nine shows, but I knew that within all that, if I did my research and I did my job and my work, I could find a great show,” Nash said.

The 1974 shows were epic — featuring electric and acoustic sets that numbered three dozen songs on many dates. The lifestyle on the tour was equally epic. Stories abound about the heavy drinking and drug use — with pot and cocaine among the substances of choice — and various other debauched behavior along the way.

“It was a tour of great music to huge amounts of people, but it was also a tour of excess,” Nash said, summing up the outing. “It was what it was. I’m not defending it. But my basic feeling was I personally had a great time on that tour.”

That’s not to say things were smooth as CSN&Y made its way from show to show.

“I think there were four pretty big egos on that tour,” Nash said. “I think there was a lot of unspoken stuff that was going on between Stephen and Neil because of the Buffalo Springfield debacle at the end of the Buffalo Springfield career. (The group had a stormy breakup after two years together.) Not so much with me and David. … Me and David were pretty cool. But just generally, our egos may have gotten in the way somewhat.”

Somehow, some great music got performed — as the “1974” box set makes abundantly clear. The electric sets were full of energy and creativity, as the group not only played CSN&Y material, but songs from outside projects. The acoustic sets, meanwhile, were lively and varied enough to hold the attention of stadium-sized throngs.

But the tour didn’t result in a lasting reunion, as Crosby & Nash went on to release two albums together and Stills and Young made a 1976 album, “Long May You Run. ”

A year later, Crosby, Stills and Nash reunited for a 1977 self-titled album. The trio has largely been intact since (with Young joining for two albums and a few tours). And things seem particularly harmonious these days.

Crosby, Stills & Nash have started an extensive tour that runs into October. The shows will feature two sets and clock in at around three hours.

“We’re playing for a long time,” Nash said. “It’s not like we’re doing 15 hits and then getting out of there. It’s like 24 songs, because we do have a lot to choose from.”

The tour could set the stage for big things in 2015. Nash, Crosby and Stills have each been on a creative streak recently, and in fact will play some new songs on the summer/fall tour.

“I have 24 new songs,” Nash said. “Crosby has a bunch, Stephen has a bunch. So obviously, once we get this year over, we’re going to go back in the studio and make a new CSN record.”

The trio also plans to finish an album of cover songs they started with super-producer Rick Rubin — and then abandoned, Nash said, after disagreements developed between Rubin and Crosby.

Nash is also hoping — and thinks there’s a realistic chance — that 2015 will see a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tour. There had been talk of touring this year to coincide with the release of “1974.”

“What happened is Neil had booked two tours in Europe (for 2013),” Nash said. “But then ‘Poncho’ (Frank Sampedro), his rhythm guitar player from Crazy Horse, broke his wrist and Neil had to cancel those two tours. Well, when you cancel two long tours of Europe, you’ve got to replay them. So the time in the latter half of 2014, when CSNY was considering going out, Neil had to use that time to replay the tours that he canceled. So I’m looking at 2015.”

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