So why is Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s So Far on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
While So Far is a bit of an oddball – in that it’s a mid-career “best of” compilation pulling from both the Crosby, Stills & Nash trio and the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young foursome – it captures an incredible swath of their collective work.
“Our House” is particularly blowing my mind as of this writing. It starts with a gentle, almost Harry Nilsson vibe – singer songwriter over a piano – before swelling into a gorgeous Beatles-esque number that fully flexes the harmonies and vocal dynamics that only David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young can bring to bear.
Many of you might be even more familiar with Madness’ cover of “Our House,” which became a huge hit around in the early 1980s. As a huge fan of Madness’ ska-based music (see: One Step Beyond, #957 of best 1,000 albums ever), I’m always amused that this is what Madness is often best known for, as an aside.
“Ohio” is one of the defining songs of the Vietnam era, written in response to the killing of four students (“…four dead in Ohio”) by National Guardsmen during the Kent State protests. It’s a beautiful and passionate and wonderfully angry rock song.
“Wooden Ships” is a more eclectic, psychedelic tune that shows off the groups’ musical chops quite nicely.
Some stats & info about Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – So Far
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Soft Rock, Album Rock, Singer Songwriter
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was So Far released? 1974
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #710 out of 1,000
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s So Far on YouTube
A lyrical snippet from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s So Far that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
This summer I hear the drumming, four dead in Ohio.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.