Wednesday 6 December 2023

Whistling Down The Wire - CROSBY & NASH***

Spotlight/Broken Bird/Time After Time/Dancer/Mutiny/JB Blues/Marguerita/Taken At All/Foolish Man/Out Of The Darkness

Whistling Down The Wire was the third Crosby & Nash 1970s partnership by two artists with very differing musical styles. Although this one is rather undistinguished, they would again team up with Stephen Stills the following year to release a top selling album. (US:26)

“By this time Stephen Stills was not the only one who was going downhill after he switched to a new label; Crosby & Nash weren't at their best either. This album has some good moments, but most of it is disappointing and totally unmemorable. The band plays good, but the songs mostly lack the inspiration of previous records. It's all above average, but seldom great.”

“There are a couple things with Crosby and Nash albums that you can always count on. One of course is the fine harmony vocals. The other is that Crosby's songs will always be more interesting than Nash's. This hold true once again on Whistling Down The Wire.”

Whistling Down The Wire is the perfect musical companion to their previous release which continues and expands the poetic songs and harmonies that they are famous for. What strikes one the most are the incredible harmony vocals, as the songs are relatively quieter the distinctive Crosby-Nash vocal blend stands out more.”

“The music has an urgent, almost raw feel, and it comes as no surprise to discover that most of the tracks were recorded ‘live’ in the studio with very little overdubbing. Crosby may have been close to running on empty at the time, yet Time After Time and Foolish Man remain, two of the greatest moments in his vast body of work. As for Nash, his Marguerita has always been unfortunately overlooked, as has Broken Bird, co-written with Crosby.”

“The mood of Whistling Down The Wire is different, there's a certain melancholy to it, particularly in Nash's tunes, a more sombre tone than in previous compositions. Marguerita and Broken Bird are gorgeous examples of Graham's depth of feeling, proving that his sweet and tender spirit does not mean that he is a light composer.”

“The album-opening Spotlight is a wonderfully joyful song about playing live and sharing experiences through music. Nash contributes two of his all-time great solo compositions and Crosby gets in a spellbinding solo composition of his own.”

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