Friday, March 29, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.
Who: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
When: 8 p.m. today.
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Tickets: $55, $80, $105, $230.
Information: 891-7777.
Las Vegans are accustomed to visits from aging entertainers who have become shadows of their former selves, and have lost relevance with the passing of time.
But David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young each eligible for senior-citizen discounts not only have remained relevant over decades, but continue to exhibit much of the talent that put them in the same league as The Beatles and other peer rock groups of the late-'60s and early-'70s.
Tonight they bring their "Tour of America" to the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
It is their second road show in two years. In 2000 they embarked on the "CSNY2K Tour," which was the first time the four of them had together since Young walked out on the group in 1974. However, they have reunited sporadically to record albums (among them, "American Dream" in 1988 and "Looking Forward" in 1999).
Judging from reviews of the most recent tour, which began in February, CSNY has reached back into its nostalgic bag of hit songs and pulled out an evening's worth of music that not only is poignant, but as meaningful today as when the songs first hit the folk-rock charts.
CSNY performed at the America West Arena in Phoenix on Tuesday. John Carlos Villani, who reviewed the show for the Arizona Republic, noted that during the three-plus-hour concert the four musicians demonstrated they still have what it takes to put on a powerful performance.
"The band members played with loads of energy, save for Crosby, whose voice gave out from time to time, evidence he is still recuperating from a bout with the flu," Villani wrote.
According to Villani a number of songs were chosen for their relevance to Sept. 11, including "Feed the People," "Half Your Angels" (originally written in response to the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995) and "Let's Roll," which Young wrote in homage to the passengers on United Airlines flight No. 93, who died in a crash while attempting to overpower hijackers.
Ron Rodrigues, editor-in-chief of Radio and Records magazine in Los Angeles, says the secret to the continued success of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is simple:
"They really are good at what they do," Rodrigues said during a telephone interview. "The last time I saw them (two years ago), they truly were good. They didn't sound like a nostalgia act.
"I didn't hear them back 30 years ago, but what they do compares very favorably to their recordings."
Rodrigues said the foundation of any good rock 'n' roll band is its music.
"Listen to the lyrics," he said. "They hold up so well. The instrumentation, the production and the technical quality (of their old recordings) all hold up well and probably wouldn't need to be changed a bit if it were recorded today. Those are the signs of greater writing, great music and great vocalists."
Rodrigues said Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young are great individually, as well as a group.
"All these guys have done solo projects to various degrees, with Neil Young the most successful of the four," he said. "... even on their own, they are very highly respected."
CSNY is considered by some to have been the first super group -- a band formed by members from other major bands.
Crosby, 60, was a founding member of The Byrds ("Eight Miles High"). Stills and Young, both 56, were with Buffalo Springfield ("For What It's Worth"), and Nash, 60, was with The Hollies ("Bus Stop" and "Carrie Anne").
In the summer of 1968 Crosby, Stills and Nash met at Stills' home in Los Angeles for a jam session, liked what they heard and decided to form CSN. They needed backup musicians and in 1969 recruited Young as lead guitarist and occasional vocalist.
The group debuted at New York's Fillmore East concert hall in July 1969, and the two months later performed at Woodstock. In December they appeared at the Rolling Stones' concert at Altamont Speedway in California.
Among CSNY's earliest albums were 1970's "Deja Vu," which featured the hit singles "Teach Your Children, "Our House" and "Woodstock," and 1971's "Four Way Street," which included "Ohio," Young's protest of the 1970 shooting of four Kent State University students.
"They didn't sell as many records as The Beatles, but they really were the first super group," Rodrigues said. "And they meshed well. They were very musically attuned to each other. All of them had pop, folk and rock roots from their previous bands, and they blended expertly."
Performing at Woodstock ignited their career from the beginning.
"It helped their visibility as a group tremendously," Rodrigues said.
Their timing was also right for radio airplay.
"Rock radio was just becoming of age in the late '60s," Rodrigues said. "It was around in '66 and '67 in the larger cities -- like Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco -- but in '68 and '69, when rock radio went FM, it reached all sizes of cities around the country.
"CSNY heralded in the beginning of the new age in radio. For rock radio to exist, they needed things to play and CSNY became a staple in that era."
Heart of gold
Howard Kramer saw CSNY this year when its tour came to Cleveland.
"It had a subdued intensity to it," said Kramer, associate curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. "They were covering their entire career as a group and as individuals."
They even reached as far back as The Byrds to perform "Eight Miles High," a hit when Crosby was with the group.
"They also did a couple of songs by Neil that are not yet out," Kramer said, describing CSNY as a "giant" in the music world.
"There is a very unique chemistry with the four of them," he said.
Kramer added that CSNY has avoided becoming caricatures of themselves through the decades by maintaining their dignity.
"Nothing Neil Young is involved in would embarrass him," he said. "All of them are doing what they feel good about doing. They wouldn't do it if they didn't want to. All of them are very successful individuals. They don't do it for the money, they do it because they like it. They play hard, and they play great."
Larry Rodgers, pop music reporter for the Arizona Republic, has followed CSNY for decades. He caught them on tour in Washington, D.C., in the '70s and found the show to be less than inspiring.
"It was a fairly weak show," Rodgers said. "They had the reputation of doing better in the studio than onstage."
He said that may have been because during their young, carefree days they didn't focus on their live performances as much as they did on their studio work.
"Their studio work was always brilliant," Rodgers said.
He last saw them two years ago and thought their live performances had improved over the years.
"They have evolved," Rodgers said. "They're spending more time on rehearsals. They take themselves a bit more seriously."
Rodgers said most of those in the audience of the concert he attended were Baby Boomers.
"I was struck by how few teens were in the crowd," he said. "But still, it was a touching experience for Baby Boomers. As far as (CSNY's) relevance for younger generations, some of their themes are still relevant today, but whether they are reaching the younger audience, I have my doubts."
But, Rodgers pointed out, many of their classic tunes are relevant whether you are 15 or 50 years old -- songs such as "Long Time Coming" and "You've Got to Speak Out Against the Madness."
"It still holds true as we see various protests against completely different issues (than those of the '60s and '70s)," Rodgers said.
He said there were powerful harmonies in the 2000 concert, recalling, "There were moments in the show that sent a chill down the backbone."
Rodgers said younger listeners could see a piece of history if they attended a CSNY concert.
"Basically, with younger listeners, if someone attended the show they would get a glimpse of music from a time when harmony and lyrics were important elements of pop music," he said. "If you listen to a lot of what is out there now ... the lyric has lost a lot of power.
"It would be an opportunity to get a glimpse of a time when a high value was placed on lyrics. The group's politics were a strong element of their music. It's a group of guys who care about making a better world for everyone out there. It would be a nice glimpse."
