The 500 - #147 - Deja Vu - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #148
Album Title: Deja Vu

Artist: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Genre: Folk Rock 

Recorded: Wally Heider Studios, California, USA

Released: March, 1970

My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Quite

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #220, dropping 72 places
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Helpless

There was a time when a weekday road trip from London, Ontario, to Toronto, just 190 kilometres away, felt like a perfectly reasonable idea. Back in the late ‘90s, my friends and I would clock out at 4:00 in the afternoon, pile into someone’s marginally reliable vehicle, and cruise down the 401 highway with just enough time to grab a bite before a concert or sporting event. The show would wrap up around 11:00, and we’d be back in London by 1:00 a.m., tucked into bed with the satisfied glow reserved for road trip champions.

Fast-forward to today, and that same journey feels like a test of patience, endurance, and bladder control. Urban sprawl has turned the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) into one giant traffic jam and a brake light testing arena. Construction zones result in more bottlenecks than a brewery assembly line and a pre-show dinner is a bottle of lukewarm water and a slightly crushed granola bar.

On August 25, 2010, my friend Bill Gudgeon and I decided to take a different approach to attending a concert. We had scored two tickets to see Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on their Mojo Tour at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. It was a show made even more memorable because the opening act was the legendary Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN).

Rather than drive directly into the city and battle the inevitable traffic, Bill and I opted to park in Aldershot, about sixty kilometers southwest of Toronto, and take the GO Train the rest of the way. We figured this would spare us the stress of downtown congestion and make for a smoother, more relaxed journey to and from the venue.

We arrived in enough time to grab a quick bite and then see Crosby, Stills and Nash take the stage alongside four supporting musicians. Their 15-song set included five songs from this week’s groundbreaking record, Déjà Vu.

CSNY (l-r) Neil Young, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills.

Released in 1970, Déjà Vu was the trio's second studio release. However, it was the first with the inclusion of Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Neil Young. Consequently, the initialism CSN became CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) – as it would on seven other occasions between 1969 and 2013.

The addition of Young added a new layer of songwriting depth and musical texture to an already formidable trio. Indeed, all four singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalists have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice:

• David Crosby as a member of CSN and The Byrds.
• Stephen Stills as a member of CSN and Buffalo Springfield.
• Graham Nash as a member of CSN and The Hollies.
• Neil Young as a solo performer and as a member of Buffalo Springfield.

Déjà Vu is considered by most fans and critics to be the highwater mark for the quartet. Released in the wake of the Woodstock Music Festival and the political and social upheaval of the time, the album’s themes of introspection, rebellion and life resonated deeply with listeners. It combined folk rock with influences from country, jazz and Latin music, as well as pop sensibilities with the closing track Teach Your Children – a song that also closed the CSN performance Bill and I attended in 2010.

Tom Petty also delivered a phenomenal performance that night. It is one I’ll never forget and I feel fortunate to have seen him live, especially knowing now that it would be just seven years before his untimely passing at age 66 from an accidental drug overdose. His music, energy and presence were unforgettable.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers performing live in 2010.

After the show, Bill and I floated out of the Air Canada Centre on a musical high, making our way to Union Station a few blocks away to catch the GO Train back to Aldershot. Unfortunately, the journey home proved more challenging than expected. Multiple events had just let out, including a Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome) and a concert by progressive metal band Avenged Sevenfold at the Molson Amphitheatre. The surge of people meant we had to wait for space on a second train, and each stop along the route was agonizingly slow as passengers loaded and unloaded in waves. What followed was a tightly packed, grueling odyssey. It was a humid, chaotic crawl along through the GTA, steeped in a pungent cocktail of marijuana sweat, spilled beer, and hot dog breath. It was the kind of ride that tests your patience and your nostrils in equal measure.

Still, I doubt driving would have been any faster. In the end, as my head hit the pillow at 2:30 early Thursday morning, I couldn’t help but borrow from baseball legend Yogi Berra’s amusingly illogical lexicon, “It was déjà vu all over again.” Needless to say, I am hesitant nowadays to accept an invitation to visit Toronto for a show or game -- doubly so on weeknights.