Thanx pb. One of the most magical combinations of human voices ever to grace the rock world.
Being a crafter of multipart harmonies mah own self, I have some appreciation for what CSN does...and HOW they do it. First, they're all singing in their natural ranges, not trying to cover ranges that challenge their abilities. Second, they're all competent singers; they sing in tune, and their voices sound good individually. Third, their voices all have very different qualities, so the blend is extraordinarily rich. Fourth, their harmonies are well constructed...not a lot of doubling.
Fifth—and IMO, this is the big one—they have David Crosby singing the middle part. Crosby was the high voice in The Byrds, and his harmonies were so brilliantly conceived that they more often asserted themselves as melodies. But in CSN, that function is taken over by Graham Nash. So Crosby holds the top and bottom together with real harmony that integrates everything into a unified whole.
Crosby's parts are extremely difficult to pick out. You're not supposed to pick them out. They're not there to be picked out. They don't sound like melodies...but if they weren't there, the mix would sound entirely different. In fact it would sound weird, because there's such a wide difference between Stills' range and Nash's range.
Nash has the incredible soaring top part. Stills sings the bottom...the melody, the foundation. And Crosby is the glue that holds the whole thang together.
:joker:
