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"For his highly anticipated 1971 solo debut, David Crosby recorded a unique, eclectic, and willfully expansive album.
The cream of early-70s California rock is assembled here, with the various celebrities joining together in an organic, collective approach that's embodied in the opener, the free-spirited jam of "Music Is Love".
Throughout the record, Crosby moves from the sauntering Western shuffle of "Cowboy Movie" to the wondrously spiritual harmonies of "Tamalpais High (At About 3)" and, eventually, the hallowed chants of "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here".
Musically the album has an exploratory, almost jazzy feel, with its bright production cloaking the listener in acoustic strains and lush, layered harmonies. These qualities perfectly evoke the relaxed, hazy California lifestyle of the time.
For all its dreaminess though, IF I COULD ONLY REMEMBER MY NAME rarely missteps, and the haunting melancholy of songs like "Laughing" and "Orleans" give the record a depth and durability that surpasses other recordings of the time. The result is an excellent, highly underrated album"
"Music Is Love" (David Crosby, Graham Nash, Neil Young) – 3:16
Crosby - guitar, vocal; Nash - guitar, vocal; Young - guitar, bass, vibraphone, congas, vocal"Cowboy Movie" (Crosby) – 8:02
Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Jerry Garcia - electric guitar; Phil Lesh - bass; Mickey Hart - drums; Bill Kreutzmann - tambourine"Tamalpais High (At About 3)" (Crosby) – 3:29
Crosby - electric guitar, vocals; Nash - vocals; Jorma Kaukonen - electric guitar; Garcia - electric guitar; Lesh - bass; Kreutzmann - drums"Laughing" (Crosby) – 5:20
Crosby - guitars, vocal; Garcia - pedal steel guitar; Lesh - bass; Kreutzmann - drums; Nash, Joni Mitchell - vocals"What Are Their Names" (Crosby, Garcia, Lesh, Michael Shrieve, Young) – 4:09
Crosby - electric guitar, vocal; Young - electric guitar, vocal; Garcia - electric guitar, vocal; Lesh - bass, vocal; Shrieve - drums; Nash, Mitchell, David Freiberg, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick - vocals"Traction in the Rain" (Crosby) – 3:40
Crosby - guitar, vocal; Nash - vocal; Laura Allan - autoharp, vocal"Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)" (Crosby) – 5:53
Crosby - electric guitar, vocals; Nash - vocals; Gregg Rolie – piano; Garcia - electric guitar; Kaukonen - electric guitar; Jack Casady – bass; Shrieve – drums"Orleans" (traditional) – 1:56
Crosby - guitars, vocals"I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here" (Crosby) – 1:19
Crosby - vocals2006 reissue bonus track"Kids and Dogs" (Crosby) – 7:01
Personnel
David Crosby – guitars, vocals
Laura Allan - autoharp, vocalJack Casady - bass
David Freiberg - vocalJerry Garcia – guitars, pedal steel guitar, vocal
Mickey Hart – drums
Paul Kantner - vocal
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, tambourine
Phil Lesh – bass, vocal
Joni Mitchell - vocals
Graham Nash – guitar, vocals
Gregg Rolie - piano
Michael Shrieve - drums
Grace Slick - vocal
Neil Young – guitars, bass, vibraphone, congas, vocals
Production
Stephen Barncard, engineer, digital remastering producer
Ellen Burke, assistant engineer
Gary Burden, art direction
Henry Diltz, photography
Elliot Roberts & Ronald Stone, management
David Geffen, direction
Bill Dooley, digital mastering engineer
