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"...Horses Through A Rainstorm..."
What you have here is an edit – a truncated 2CD variant of the 4CD "CSN" Box Set. That "CSN" four-disc vaults-trawl behemoth was first issued September 1991 in the USA with 77-tracks – this 2CD follow-through "Carry On" came in December 1991.
Using the same cover artwork, but re-titled "Carry On" after the famous Stephen stills song from "Déjà vu" – you got a 36-Track twofer – a sort of Best Of. There is a heap to catalogue – so to the details and the Wooden Ships...
UK released 3 December 1991 (re-issued 30 June 1998) – "Carry On" by CROSBY, STILLS & NASH on Atlantic 7567-80487-2 (Barcode 075678048722) offers you 36 Remastered Tracks (done in 1991) across 2CDs and pans out as follows:
CD1 (74:18 minutes):
1. Woodstock (Unreleased 1969 Alternative Mix) – CSNY
2. Marrakesh Express – CSN (from the debut album "Crosby, Stills & Nash" US released 29 May 1969 on Atlantic SD-8229)
3. You Don't Have To Cry – CSN (Unreleased First Crosby, Stills & Nash recording)
4. Teach Your Children – CSNY (from their 2nd studio album "Déjà vu" US released 11 May 1970 on Atlantic SD-7200)
5. Love The One You're With – STEPHEN STILLS (from the 16 November 1970 US Solo debut album "Stephen Stills" on Atlantic SD 7202)
6. Almost Cut My Hair (Unreleased Unedited Original Version, 8:49 minutes) – CSNY
7. Wooden Ships – CSN (from the debut album "Crosby, Stills & Nash" US released 29 May 1969 on Atlantic SD-8229)
8. Dark Star (Allies LP Version from 1983) – CSN (song first issued on the 12 June 1977 US LP "CSN" on Atlantic SD 19104, but this re-made version is the one issued on the 6 June 1983 LP "Allies" – James Newton Howard on Keyboards, Joe Vitale on Drums)
9. Helpless – CSNY (from their 2nd studio album "Déjà vu" US released 11 May 1970 on Atlantic SD-7200)
10. Chicago//We Can Change The World – GRAHAM NASH (originally released on his debut solo album "Songs For Beginners" US released 28 May 1971 on Atlantic SD-7204 – features Rita Coolidge, Clydie King, Vanetta Fields, Shirley Matthews, Chris Etheridge and John Barbata)
11. Cathedral – CSN (first issued on the 12 June 1977 US LP "CSN" on Atlantic SD 19104 – George Perry and Russ Kunkle on Bass and Drums)
12. 4 + 20 (Unreleased Alternate Mix)
13. Our House – CSNY (from their 2nd studio album "Déjà vu" US released 11 May 1970 on Atlantic SD-7200)
14. To The Last Whale... (a) Critical Mass (b) Wind On The Water – CROSBY & NASH (first issued on the 15 September 1975 Crosby & Nash LP "Wind On The Water" on ABC Records ABCD-902)
15. Change Partners – STEPHEN STILLS (originally released on his second solo LP "Stephen Stills 2" US released 30 June 1971 on Atlantic SD 7206 – line-up includes Fred Neil, David Crosby and much of what would become Manassas)
16. Just A Song Before I Go – CSN (first issued on the 12 June 1977 US LP "CSN" on Atlantic SD 19104 – Joe Vitale on Vibes, Tim Drummond and Russ Kunkel on Bass and Drums)
17. Ohio – CSNY (4 June 1970 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2740, A-side – first LP appearance (along with the B-side "Find The Cost Of Freedom", Track 19 on CD4) was on the 19 August 1974 Best Of vinyl LP compilation "So Far" on Atlantic SD 18100)
18. Wasted On The Way – CSN (first issued on the 21 June 1982 US LP "Daylight Again" on Atlantic SD 19360 – Craig Doerge on Keyboards, Joe Lala of Manassas on Percussion, Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles on Backing Vocals with Wayne Goodwin of the Emmylou Harris Hot Band on Fiddle)
19. Southern Cross – CSN (first issued on the 21 June 1982 US LP "Daylight Again" on Atlantic SD 19360 – Richard T. Bear and Mike Finnigan on Keyboards, Joe Lala of Manassas on Percussion, Timothy B. Schmit of The Eagles on Backing Vocals)
NOTES on CD1:
CSN = CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (David Crosby (ex Byrds), Stephen Stills (ex Buffalo Springfield) & Graham Nash (ex The Hollies))
CSNY = CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (with Neil Young (ex Buffalo Springfield))
Tracks 1, 3 and 6 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
CD2 (72:14 minutes):
1. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Unreleased Alternate Mix) - CSN
2. Carry On/Questions – CSNY (from their 2nd studio album "Déjà vu" US released 11 May 1970 on Atlantic SD-7200)
3. Horses Through A Rainstorm (Unreleased Song, recorded 28 Dec 1969) – CSNY
4. Johnny's Garden – STEPHEN STILLS & MANASSAS (originally released on the 12 April 1972 US 2LP Studio Album "Manassas" on Atlantic SD 2-903)
5. Guinnevere (Unreleased Early Demo, recorded 26 June 1968, also features Jack Cassidy of Jefferson Airplane on Bass with Cyrus Faryar of The Modern Folk Quartet on Bouzouki) – DAVID CROSBY
6. Helplessly Hoping (Unreleased Live Studio Version, 15 June 1969 Rehearsal) - CSNY
7. The Lee Shore (Unreleased Studio Version, 5:28 minutes) – CSNY (originally showed up as a new song on the 2LP Live Set "4 Way Street" from 1971 on Atlantic SD 2-902)
8. Taken At All (Unreleased CSNY Version) – CSNY (original version first issued on the 25 June 1976 Crosby & Nash LP "Whistling Down The Wind" on ABC Records ABCD-956)
9. Shadow Captain – CSN (first issued on the 12 June 1977 US LP "CSN" on Atlantic SD 19104 – Craig Doerge on Piano, Joe Vitale on Organ and Flute, George Perry and Russ Kunkel on Bass and Drums)
10. As I Come Of Age (Unreleased Version) – CSN (original version is on the 1975 US LP "Stills" on Columbia PC 33575 – this version recorded January 1981 – Michael Finnigan and Richard T. Bear on Keyboards, George Perry on Bass with Joe Vitale on Drums)
11. Drive My Car – DAVID CROSBY (first issued on the 23 January 1989 US LP "Oh Yes I Can" on A&M Records 395232-1 – Michael Hedges on Guitar with Backing Vocals from Graham Nash)
12. Dear Mr. Fantasy (Unreleased Version, Recorded 17 Nov 1980, Traffic cover version) – STEPHEN STILLS & GRAHAM NASH
13. In My Dreams – CSN (first issued on the 12 June 1977 US LP "CSN" on Atlantic SD 19104 – Joe Vitale on Vibes, Tim Drummond and Russ Kunkle on Drums)
14. Yours And Mine – CSN (first issued on the 11 June 1990 US LP "Live It Up" on Atlantic 82107-1 – Branford Marsalis on Soprano Saxophone, Craig Doerge on Keyboards)
15. Haven't We Lost Enough? – CSN (first issued on the 11 June 1990 US LP "Live It Up" on Atlantic 82107-1 – Stephen Stills only on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar)
16. After The Dolphin – CSN (first issued on the 11 June 1990 US LP "Live It Up" on Atlantic 82107-1 – Mike Landau on Guitar, Craig Doerge on Keyboards, Uses a President Truman Radio Broadcast mixed into the music)
17. Find The Cost Of Freedom – CSNY (4 June 1970 US 45-single on Atlantic 45-2740, B-side of "Ohio" – first LP appearance for both sides on the 19 August 1974 Best Of vinyl LP compilation "So Far" on Atlantic SD 18100 – A-side is Track 2 on CD2)
NOTES on CD2:
CSN = CROSBY, STILLS & NASH (David Crosby (ex Byrds), Stephen Stills (ex Buffalo Springfield) & Graham Nash (ex The Hollies))
CSNY = CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG (with Neil Young (ex Buffalo Springfield))
Tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
As with all of these CSNY-related retrospectives – a team of experts were called upon to do properly real transfers to digital – and the results are gorgeous. In this case 1991 Remixes were carried out by STEPHEN BARNCARD at Sunset Sound along with Analogue-To-Digital by JOE GASTWIRT at Ocean View Digital with both JOE GASTWIRT and JOHN MODELL doing the eventual remastering. The audio is a smidge short of breathtaking for us old farts used to hearing our battered LPs of 1969, 1970, 1971 and those early 1990s CDs. The instruments are so clear now, their harmonies coming at you like a wall of vocal marshmallow – it's beautifully clean and not just amped up for the sake of it. Lovely stuff. And amazingly much of the unreleased stuff matches the official output in terms of beauty...
The 66-page booklet of the 4CD "CSN" Box Set gets whittled down to a 20-Page variant for the 2CD Fate Jewel Case of "Carry On" that does at least give you track-by-track info but not a whole lot else. There are period photos but the song-by-song explanations are AWOL that were on the Box Set which is a shame.
The track placement on the twofer is just as clever as it was on the bigger box. "Carry On" opens with their electric guitar rockier version of the Joni Mitchell song "Woodstock" (an Alternate Mix) while later we get the same kind of angry sound their stand-alone single "Ohio" exuded – both Neil Young as Lead Vocalist and Crosby as Backing towards the end letting the US political machine know their disgust at University shootings that murdered protestors of the ludicrously poisonous Vietnam war. Solo choices please too like the hugely popular "Love The One You're With" – a 1970 Stephen Stills winner from his debut solo album that features Rita Coolidge, Pricilla Jones, John Sebastian propping up Crosby and Nash on Backing Vocals. His fantastic "Johnny's Garden" from the 1972 Manassas Band period is an absolute gem too.
And while you would expect the chipper "Our House" from "Déjà vu" to sound great and the gorgeous "Guinnevere" to move you again – it is shocking to hear stuff like the Alternate Mix of "Taken At All" from 1976 over on CD2 where their CSNY harmonies are still in full beautiful flow. And the 7:04 minutes of an unreleased cover version of the 1968 Traffic classic "Dear Mr. Fantasy" recorded in similar slinky Rock mode in November 1980 by Stills & Nash is a genuine discovery – Stills letting rip on distorted guitar ala Neil Young to amazing effect while Nash harmonizes on the chorus. Stills admits in his liner notes to the song to a lifetime admiration of British songwriter Steve Winwood and had intended him to be the keyboard player in the original line-up of CSN (Michael Finnigan adds his trademark Hammond Organ sound to the cover version to get that Traffic vibe).
For sure "Carry On" wanes a tad as the years progress - for all its undoubted recording sophistication, the very Sting with Branford Marsalis "Yours And Mine" from the 1990 album "Live It Up" is not touching, but actually ever so slightly insufferable. They end their odyssey on CD2 (as they did on the 4CD Box Set) by putting on the gorgeous and practically Acapella B-side "Find The Cost Of Freedom" as the last song – their 1970 plea for an end to war and the politics associated with it – a perfect finish for a spectacular vaults trawl.
The 30 September 1991 "CSN" 4CD splurge and its December 1991 2CD twofer follow up "Carry On" was by no means to be the end of unreleased material from the whole CSNY camp. Stephen Stills released his "Carry On" 4CD Hardback Digibook Anthology Set in February 2013, David Crosby had his 3CD "Voyage" back in November 2006, while Graham Nash brought us "Reflections" in February 2009 – another 3CD set with mucho unissued. There has also been a beautiful 50th Anniversary LP-Sized Book Set for "Déjà vu" in May 2021 (see separate reviews for all of them) and Neil Young has not stopped reissuing unreleased material in his infamous Archive Series of CD and Vinyl.
Dennis Hopper asked Stephen Stills to pen a tune for the final scene of the Easy Rider movie he was in with Peter Fonda and the fantastic "Find The Cost Of Freedom" was what he offered (even if Hopper was too out of it to get its genius). The band ended every live concert with it – a clarion call to a generation hurting.
Well do not leave either the "CSN" 4CD Set or its 2CD baby brother "Carry On" languishing "...buried in the ground...” anywhere near you. I envy you the journey and thanks Coz (passed 18 January 2023 aged 81) for all the beautiful music and memories...
