[...]Joe Daly | TNB Music Chats with David Browne | The Nervous Breakdown[...]…

[...]Joe Daly | TNB Music Chats with David Browne | The Nervous Breakdown[...]…

Duke, JT has a voice like butter. That’s his appeal to me. I loved him a lot when I was younger. Now I might consider listening to him to fall asleep.

I remember so clearly when Let It Be came out. My dad brought it home on the release date (I was 7 or 8) and the whole family sat in front of the record player together to listen. Sometimes I really miss vinyl…

I loved going back and listening to Bridge Over Troubled Water after reading this book. The book meets my critical criteria of directing me back to the music and appreciating it in a new context.

Definitely a good portent for music journalism.

Amazing that Joni’s manager made her pass Woodstock for Cavett. I wonder what kind of effect it had on her career back then.

To this day I think my favorite part of Woodstock is seeing Richie Havens kick things off–just him and his acoustic for nearly three hours, into his impromptu “Motherless Child” jam. As classic as it gets.

I’m so glad someone out there is publishing this kind of book. It’s nice to see how accommodating and varied rock lit is becoming. Good portent.

http://www.amazon.com/Legends-Canyon-Classic-David-Crosby/dp/B003NOGNX8

Have you ever seen Dick Cavett’s so-called Woodstock show? Stephen Stills appears on it, with the mud of Woodstock still on his shoes, and, having a seat, instantly goes into this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6_nAVYXuc&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL6C0DDC2AFC250249

The whole show, which can be seen on YouTube, is worth watching. Grace Slick says “motherfucker” live on the air. She fucks with Cavett. Joni Mitchell is another guest, and because her manager was worried about her not being able to make the Cavett show, he forbade her to appear at Woodstock. The song “Woodstock,” which Mitchell wrote and CSN made famous, is somehow tied to all this, though I forget exactly how.

It’s interesting to hear that you don’t relate to Taylor’s music because of the short shrift he gave to the fairly serious issues he faced during those early days. I never thought about it as being inauthentic but if you believe that an artist’s mission is to reveal themselves, then Taylor’s work does ring hollow, given it’s playful optimism.

I used to enjoy Taylor’s music but haven’t returned to it in years. As I now think back on what I liked about it, it had to have been the fantasy elements it carried.

Now CSNY–that’s some music I can get with, even today. They were arrogant, egotistical and criminally-talented guys and I think their lyrics often reflected those qualities, even if they were subtly muted by the harmonies and surface charms of the music. How they ever made room for Neil Young (and why he would even consider yielding his vision to others) amid the already precarious connections among the band is truly hard to believe.

There’s a part in Browne’s book where he really dives in to Still’s time alone in London. He ends up cavorting with pretty much everyone who was anyone at the time–Hendrix, Clapton, members of the Beatles, etc. He more than held his own and I think that his talents as a composer and lyricist remain under-appreciated. The first time I saw CSNY live, the one thing that struck me most about the evening was just how good Stephen Stills was. I never understood just how versatile and polished he was until I saw him in person. I got to see him play here two months ago and it was an interesting experience. Despite the toll of decades of hard living, his voice was pretty strong and his guitar playing was fantastic.

I don’t believe I’ve seen the CSNY doc you mention, though it sounds great. Is it called Deja Vu?

I’m very much looking forward to hearing about your FBI experience, whenever you’re able to discuss it. I’ve got to believe that they’ll have similar strictures on the process, which I trust you’ll navigate well, although I’m counting on a good story.

David Browne makes an interesting point — well, actually, he (and you) make several — about the disconnect between Sweet Baby James and the life of James Taylor. That may, in fact, be the reason I don’t like James Taylor: that he dealt with darkness obliquely, if at all, in his music; and I expect it’s why so many indie types cringe on hearing Taylor’s name while revering certain of his contemporaries, such as Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell. Taylor’s music doesn’t feel very personal, finally. It doesn’t strike a nerve, and that’s precisely its appeal for a generation of grandparents who continue to turn out for his concerts. (Notice that I don’t say “shows”.)

I’ve seen Henry Diltz’s documentary about CSNY. He did direct that, yes? Anyway, he’s featured in it. The doc purports to be about the Laurel Canyon scene of the late sixties and early seventies, but it’s really about CSNY, about whom I knew practically nothing. Certainly I knew nothing about the love-hate relationship of Stills and Young, who could give the Gallagher brothers a run for their money, and I must say I had a lot more respect for Stills after seeing the doc. I never gave him much consideration one or the way other, despite his being in Buffalo Springfield, one of the great bands of the sixties, but I might look into his post-BS work one day.

I love the story about the National Archive. I plan to go to the FBI in a few weeks for a look through their files on a certain public figure about whom I propose to write, and I wonder if this interview provides a preview of the treatment I can expect. Either way, I’ll be sure to bring gas and electric bills, along with my passport as a second form of ID.

Terrific interview, Joe — and Mr. Browne, should he see this comment. I only trust interviews with authors who trust The Nervous Breakdown — well played, indeed.