David Crosby Croz

David Crosby - Croz (2014) {Blue Castle Records BCR1142-1}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 267 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 90 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Blue Castle Records / David Crosby | BCR1142-1
Rock / Contemporary Rock / Classic Rock / Songwriter

It's been 20 years since David Crosby released a collection of new songs, but he's hardly been quiet in those two decades. His occasional reunions with Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and sometimes Neil Young get the most attention, but he also appeared on David Gilmour's 2006 album On an Island and, more notably, often worked with his son James Raymond on a band called CPR. Raymond is David's chief collaborator on Croz, a skillful evocation of Crosby's early-'70s haze as filtered through early-'90s professionalism. As always, Crosby is supported by a cast of heavy-hitters, but where 1993's A Thousand Roads sometimes seemed weighed down by cameos (an emphasis on covers also helped shift the spotlight away from the man at the center), Croz is tastefully decorated with sly solos by Mark Knopfler and Wynton Marsalis, the focus forever remaining on Croz himself.

With the appearance of Lighthouse, singer/songwriter David Crosby, age 75, continues a late career renaissance that began with 2014's Croz – his proper studio follow-up to 1971's classic If I Could Only Remember My Name. This set was produced by Snarky Puppy boss Michael League, who co-wrote five of these nine tunes with Crosby. The producer, a lifelong fan of the 1971 album, approached Crosby about recording something quick and dirty over a couple of weeks. He was met with incredulousness. The artist was used to working on albums for months, even years. After three days, they completed three new songs, and Crosby was all in.

In some ways, For Free plays like the culmination of David Crosby's late career purple patch. Working once again with James Raymond – his son who has turned out to be an unusually empathetic and intuitive producer – Crosby mines similar territory as he has on the records he's released since 2014's Croz, yet For Free contains its own distinctive vibe…

Sky Trails, his third album of original material in four years, continues fearless folk rock legend David Crosby’s unexpected late-period resurgence. In his eighth decade, Crosby is not only surviving, but thriving personally and creatively. Out September 29th on BMG, Sky Trails features a full band sound that takes Crosby in a new musical direction as the set tilts toward jazz. "It’s a natural thing for me," says Crosby, who joyously embraced the challenge of the shifting song structures. "I’ve always felt more comfortable there. There’s complexity, intricacy and subtleties in the music. I like that stuff."