GRAHAM NASH : NOW

GRAHAM NASH : NOW

Right Now
A Better Life
Golden Idols
Stars and Stripes
Love of Mind
Theme From Pastoral
In a Dream
Stand Up
It Feels Like Home
Buddy's Back
Follow Your Heart
I Watched It All Come Down
When It Comes To You

Label : BMG

Release Date : May 19, 2023

Length : 38:35

Review (Humo) : Graham Nash (81) heeft sprankelende muziekgeschiedenis geschreven met Crosby, Stills en soms Young en was op het juiste moment het vriendje van Joni Mitchell. Zijn klassieker ‘Teach Your Children’ (1969) vat die periode mooi samen. Hij vraagt nu uw aandacht voor een nieuwe plaat, ‘Now’. Hij heeft ze in een kleine studio in Brooklyn handmatig vervaardigd met de hulp van enkele muzikale vrienden, en zo klinkt ze ook. Het is een fijn hebbeding waarop te horen is wat jongens van 81 doen als je ze even alleen laat. Maar ‘Now’ is ook een bescheiden meesterwerk. Een zorgvuldig vervaardigd artefact waarop dit stille rockicoon songs vlecht met de vakkundigheid van een mandenmaker. Hier en daar ontbreekt ietwat passie en Nash’ stem is, wanneer hij solo zingt, niet altijd even overweldigend. Maar vaak is het ook ontroerend. En dus slaagt heer Nash in de Humo-test met een flinke voldoening die neigt naar een onderscheiding. De beste songs zijn ‘Buddy’s Back’, ‘Stars & Stripes’, ‘Stand Up’, ‘It Feels Like Home’, ‘Right Now’ en niet te vergeten het ragfijne ‘In a Dream’. Nog goed nieuws: op 28 september zijn Graham Nash en zijn bijzondere songs te gast in de bijzondere zaal De Roma te A.

Review (Americana UK) : There was a time when the ambition of a rock and roll band was to do as well as they could for their brief period in the spotlight – a year or eighteen months might see a string of singles and an album or two – making just enough money to start up a hairdressing business when the fame was gone. That or go on the cabaret circuit and sing to the chicken in a basket crowd. There were a few who chose to take neither route – trusting to their abilities to carry them on to a full-time life in music. Graham Nash is one such – having survived The Hollies and lived through the trials and tribulations of all the permutations possible in Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Through all those post-Hollies days though there have been solo outings as well, ‘Now‘ is the first since 2016’s ‘This Path Tonight‘ and is very much in the same vein as that release. Which is to say that there’s a balance of the personal and the political, the softer ballad and the rockier number very much in the CSN style. Or, to put it yet another way is an album of Graham Nash playing to his strengths. ‘Now‘ opens with a blend of the romantic confessional and the classic rock song, ‘Right Now‘ has Nash proclaiming that he’s found love when he “never thought he’d love again” and that far from ageing quietly he’s “still living my life – right now!” It’s a great opener, and it’s quite something that Nash’s voice is undiminished, there are no rough edges or battered growls here. The following song, ‘A Better Life‘ is a soft revisit of the themes of ‘Teach Your Children‘ – an encouragement to leave a better world to the younger generations, with hints at a kinder humanity and a world that has the environment protected. There’s an acknowledgment that maybe the children of the revolution haven’t quite lived up to their promise, and their children and grandchildren are getting on with sorting things out themselves – and maybe it’s time to do some learning and lend a hand again. There’s a stronger political chiding on ‘Golden Idols‘ which takes a lyrical aim at the “Magatourists” and those “living in a different dimension” where an election lost is an election stolen, and reality has given way to the worship of a serial liar. ‘Stars and Stripes‘ takes an acoustic and pedal steel look at the same issue – questioning why there’s such an attraction to lies and illusions for so many in Nash’s adopted homeland – and what it will take to release them from their delusional obsession. Love and politics are two main themes, but there’s also a little nostalgia – ‘Right Now‘ had reflected on years gone by, the closing love song ‘When It Comes To You‘ has Nash amazed that he’s found the greatest love of his life “to tell the truth you’re the very best thing that has happened to me / and at this point in my life that’s something to say.” And on ‘Buddy’s Back‘ there is the very Hollies-esque story of a band of young men who adored the music of Buddy Holly, copied his style, and then pushed into their own thing when they “started a band just to have some fun.” Shot through with half-recognised licks very much in the Buddy Holly style it’s very much Nash’s take on the ‘When We Was Fab‘ theme. Without being morbid it has to be considered that, given the eighty-one years old Graham Nash’s solo release history – seven years since ‘This Path Tonight‘ and that was his first solo release for fourteen years – there is a chance that this is the last such album that he’ll release. Obviously, it’d be great if, like Crosby, he found that there was an album every year and a half still in him – or even better emulate Neil and put out an album every few months. Perhaps the perfectionist in Nash mitigates entirely against that last hope. If this should, though, be the last solo album of new material then it represents a high note – those who cherish ‘Songs for Beginners‘ and ‘Wild Tales‘ will find much to like on ‘Now‘, and that’s no bad thing.

Review (American Songwriter) : At 81 years of age and a career that ranks as one of the most prolific and influential in the annals of modern music, Graham Nash certainly has nothing left to prove. That may explain his recent absence of late. His last album, This Path Tonight, was released nearly seven years ago and offered the impression he was looking at his life in the rearview mirror. It had been 14 years since the album that preceded that, suggesting that perhaps he was simply weary and reconciled to reflecting on past glories, rather than forging a journey he had so repeatedly traversed before. If, in fact, that was the case, then Now could be considered a resurgence of sorts, one that finds Nash repeatedly celebrating the blessings he’s been bestowed with and keenly aware that he’s been a lucky fellow indeed. Several of the songs—“In a Dream,” “It Feels Like Home,” “Follow Your Heart,” “When It Comes To You” and the candid and confessional “Right Now” in particular— center on gratitude for love and companionship, subjects Nash has repeatedly focused on over the years, particularly in the classic “Our House” (which “It Feels Like Home” closely parallels here) and “Sleep Song,” which shared an intimacy he readily returns to. The material is softly lit and effortlessly assured, conveying the calming and caressing sound that all so frequently added its soothing sobriety to CSN and CSNY (Crosby Stills Nash & Young), respectively. That’s not to say there aren’t rallying cries included as well. Both “Golden Idols” and “Stars and Stripes” recall the outraged anthem of old, as manifest in the insurgent stance that sparked songs like “Chicago” and “Military Madness” so early on. The references to MAGA, January 6, and political hypocrisy leave little doubt as to where he’s aiming his vitriol. “Stand Up” comes across as a call to arms, a forthright entreaty to everyone everywhere to make their voices heard. On the other hand, Nash betrays more than a hint of nostalgia as well. His duet with former Hollies’ partner, Allan Clarke, on “Buddy’s Back” fondly recalls the duo’s early delight in making music and the common love of Buddy Holly, who initially inspired their efforts to the point where they appropriated his surname to christen their band. On the other hand, he takes a rather unflattering look at all that’s transpired since, courtesy of the tellingly titled “I Watched It All Come Down.” I watched it all come down To a paperweight at the business end of town Loaded up and loaded down, it’s a mess, a mess There’s a certain bitterness betrayed there, a marked contrast to the sweet serenity purveyed in the album as a whole. Notably, Nash offers no final thoughts on his longtime comrade-in-arms, David Crosby, with whom he had a very public falling out in recent years. That said, “Follow Your Heart” might be interpreted as a fond farewell (After all these years together, I’ll never forget to say I love you… and after all this time together, I’ll never forget that you love me…) Whether that song is, in fact, directed to his estranged partner is a matter of conjecture. It could just as easily be a paean to a lost love. It’s hard to say, although one thing is certain. Graham Nash isn’t the type to necessarily relish any remorse.