IF I COULD ONLY REMEMBER MY NAME

Audio Mixer: Stephen Barncard. Recording information: Wally Heiders, San Francisco, CA. Photographers: Salli Sasche; Graham Nash; Henry Diltz; Roger Ressmeyer; Ronald Stone; Herb Greene; Joel Bernstein. For his highly anticipated 1971 solo debut, David Crosby recorded a unique, eclectic, and willfully expansive album. The cream of early-70s California rock is assembled here, with the various celebrities joining together in an organic, collective approach that's embodied in the opener, the free-spirited jam of "Music Is Love." Throughout the record, Crosby moves from the sauntering Western shuffle of "Cowboy Movie" to the wondrously spiritual harmonies of "Tamalpais High (At About 3)" and, eventually, the hallowed chants of "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here." Musically the album has an exploratory, almost jazzy feel, with its bright production cloaking the listener in acoustic strains and lush, layered harmonies. These qualities perfectly evoke the relaxed, hazy California lifestyle of the time. For all its dreaminess though, IF I COULD ONLY REMEMBER MY NAME rarely missteps, and the haunting melancholy of songs like "Laughing" and "Orleans" give the record a depth and durability that surpasses other recordings of the time. The result is an excellent, highly underrated album.