David Crosby

 

David Crosby has died, reputedly of Covid. I never thought he had much talent. As a songwriter, his lyrics seemed self-indulgent, to listless melodies:

Almost cut my hair

It happened just the other day

It's gettin' kinda long

I coulda said it wasn't in my way

But I didn't and I wonder why

I feel like letting my freak flag fly

This is someone who has nothing important to say.

He was nothing special on guitar, just chording and strumming. When he first became famous, as a member of the Byrds, he did not yet know how to play it. They had to use studio musicians. He first tried the bass, but found it too difficult. 

He fancied himself a producer, but did a famously bad job producing Joni Mitchell’s and Leonard Cohen’s first albums. Cohen had to re-record it all.

He was great at singing harmony. That’s what everyone credits him with. And I love vocal harmony; but even so, his harmonies do not do anything for me. Although he was fine at hitting the notes, and perhaps working out a counterpoint, there was no special quality to his voice. He seemed to me to have only a simple strategy: go high.

So why did he go so much farther than so many starving musicians with more to say?

To be fair, other musicians I respect do praise him. Brian Wilson. Steve Stills. Neil Young was prepared to perform with him. So was Roger McGuinn, for a few years. 

I hear he was always a source of really good dope. That might explain it.

Being a rich kid might have helped there.