Songs for Beginners
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| Songs for Beginners | ||
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| Studio album by Graham Nash | ||
| Released | May 28, 1971 | |
| Recorded | 1970-1971 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 32:13 | |
| Label | Atlantic | |
| Producer(s) | Graham Nash | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Graham Nash chronology | ||
| Songs for Beginners (1971) |
Wild Tales (1974) |
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Songs for Beginners is Graham Nash's first solo album, and one of four high-profile albums released by each partner of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping Déjà Vu album of 1970. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and the single "Chicago" made it to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.
As with the debut albums by both Crosby and Stills, Nash roped in a legion of associates to assist in the recording. The album continued the traits that Nash had come to be known for in a good sense of pop song construction, expressions of emotional sincerity, and fervent political activism. The Top 40 track, "Chicago," concerned both the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the infamous trial of the Chicago Eight, articulating the outrage Nash, and many others, felt concerning those proceedings. The topicality which suffuses the album would always remain central to Nash's work: of the quartet, he and Crosby most directly professed sentiments aligned with those common to the Woodstock Nation. This similarity undoubtedly formed part of the foundation for their long-standing partnership even outside the parent group.
The album was released for compact disc on October 25, 1990, and a remixed version supervised by Nash was issued on 180 gram vinyl by Classic Records in 2001.
[edit] Track listing
All songs by Graham Nash, except where noted:
- "Military Madness" – 2:50
- "Better Days" – 3:47
- "Wounded Bird" – 2:09
- "I Used To Be A King" – 4:45
- "Be Yourself" (Nash, Reid) – 3:03
- "Simple Man" – 2:05
- "Man In The Mirror" – 2:47
- "There's Only One" – 3:55
- "Sleep Song" – 2:57
- "Chicago / We Can Change The World" – 4:00
[edit] Personnel
- Graham Nash, vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, percussion
- David Crosby, vocals, guitars
- Neil Young, piano, organ
- Jerry Garcia, guitar, pedal steel guitar
- Dave Mason, guitar, vocals
- Rita Coolidge, vocals, piano, electric piano
- Joel Bernstein, keyboards, guitar, vocals
- David Lindley, violin
- Bobby Keys, saxophone
- Serman Posthumas, bass clarinet
- Dorian Rudnytsky, cello
- Phil Lesh, bass
- Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels, bass
- Chris Ethridge, bass
- Johnny Barbata, drums
- Dallas Taylor, drums
- P.P. Arnold, vocals
- Larry Cox, vocals, engineer
- Clydie King, vocals
- Venetta Fields, vocals
- Dorothy Morrison, vocals
- Shirley Matthews, vocals
[edit] Additional personnel
- Bill Halverson, engineer
- Gary Burden, art direction
- Russ Gary, engineer
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Pop Albums | 15 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Chicago" | Pop Singles | 35 |
| 1971 | "Military Madness" | Pop Singles | 73 |
