4 Way Street

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB−[2]

4 Way Street is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and their first live album. It was originally released as Atlantic Records SD-2-902, shipping as a gold record and peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200. A document of their tour from the previous year, the live recordings presented were taken from shows at The Fillmore East, New York on June 2 through June 7, 1970; The Forum, Los Angeles on June 26 through June 28, 1970; and The Chicago Auditorium, Chicago, on July 5, 1970.

Background

At the time this album was recorded, tensions between the band members were high, with their dressing-room fights becoming the stuff of rock legend, even being referenced by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in their 1971 LP Fillmore East - June 1971. The tensions led to CSNY dissolving shortly after the recording of 4 Way Street; they would reconvene for a stadium tour in the summer of 1974. The next release of new studio material by the firm proper would not be until the CSN album of 1977.

Content

The original double album LP came packaged in typical CSNY fashion, a gatefold sleeve without a track listing. On the gatefold was a black-and-white picture of the band sitting on a bench, with the heads of Graham Nash and David Crosby perfectly framed by a wire clothes hanger hanging in front of them, with recording information and credits in the lower-right-hand corner. The only track listings appear on the album's labels and on the fold-out poster that also included full lyrics.

The album contained material previously available in studio versions, from both the combined and individual work of the four principals, except four songs which had not been officially released as yet. Two songs are by Nash, "Chicago" and "Right Between The Eyes," the former to appear one month later on Songs for Beginners, and two songs by Crosby, "The Lee Shore" and "Triad." His controversial ménage à trois composition, "Triad" had been released by Jefferson Airplane on their Crown of Creation album. Crosby's former band The Byrds recorded but did not release it during their The Notorious Byrd Brothers sessions.

Reception

The album went to #1 upon its release[3] and also garnered a positive review in Rolling Stone where the reviewer called it "their best album to date."[4] Other more recent reviews have also been positive.[1]

4 Way Street was released in expanded form for compact disc on June 15, 1992. The expanded edition included four performances, one by each member, as acoustic solo vehicles. Neil Young performed a trio of songs from his first two solo albums as a medley; Stephen Stills included "Black Queen" from his eponymous debut; Crosby contributed a version of the song "Laughing" from his debut; and Nash performed "King Midas In Reverse", The Hollies' single from 1967, which although credited to Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks as well, was actually written solely by Nash.[5]

Additional tracks from the tour appeared on the CSN box set released in 1991, as well as Young's The Archives Vol. 1 1963–1972 released in 2009.

Track listing

Bonus tracks for 1992 compact disc reissue appear appended to disc one after sides one and two. Disc two contains sides three and four.

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"Stephen Stills0:33
2."On the Way Home"Neil Young3:19
3."Teach Your Children"Graham Nash2:46
4."Triad"David Crosby5:07
5."The Lee Shore"David Crosby4:14
6."Chicago"Graham Nash3:03

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Right Between the Eyes"Graham Nash2:19
2."Cowgirl in the Sand"Neil Young3:50
3."Don't Let It Bring You Down"Neil Young2:35
4."Medley: 49 Bye-Byes/For What It's Worth/America's Children"Stephen Stills4:07
5."Love the One You're With"Stephen Stills2:57

1992 bonus track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."King Midas In Reverse"Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Graham Nash3:43
13."Laughing"David Crosby3:36
14."Black Queen"Stephen Stills6:45
15."Medley: The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down by the River"Neil Young9:41

Side three

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Pre-Road Downs"Graham Nash2:48
2."Long Time Gone"David Crosby5:33
3."Southern Man"Neil Young13:15

Side four

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Ohio"Neil Young3:24
2."Carry On"Stephen Stills13:06
3."Find the Cost of Freedom"Stephen Stills2:16

Personnel

Production personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1971 Billboard Pop Albums 1[3]

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold April 12, 1971
RIAA – USA Platinum December 18, 1992
RIAA – USA 4X Platinum December 18, 1992

References

  • Zimmer, Dave, and Diltz, Henry. Crosby Stills & Nash: The Authorized Biography (First edition), St. Martin’s Press, 1984. ISBN 0-312-17660-0

Notes

  1. ^ a b Eder, Bruce. 4 Way Street at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young > Consumer Guide Reviews". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  3. ^ a b 4 Way Street - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album at AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  4. ^ Kimball, George (May 21, 1971). "Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 4 Way Street > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 83. Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 29 February 2008 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Zimmer and Diltz, p. 51
Preceded by
Jesus Christ Superstar by Various Artists
 Billboard 200 number-one album
May 15–21, 1971 		Succeeded by
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