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On the morning of Monday, August 18, 1969, at 3:30 a.m., David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash took the stage at Max Yasgur’s farm.  The threesome’s self-titled debut album had been released in May, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and yielding a pair of hit singles, Nash’s “Marrakesh Express” and Stills’ “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.”  But CSN wasn’t done yet.  On August 16, they’d launched a tour in Chicago with a new bandmate, Neil Young.  The Woodstock performance was CSNY’s second ever, and the audience wasn’t expecting Young’s incendiary presence.  (The mercurial performer, for his part, wouldn’t allow himself to be filmed by the ever-present cameras there.)  After the Woodstock show, CSNY returned to the road, and busied themselves composing material for 1970’s Déjà Vu.  Their September shows at New York’s late, lamented Fillmore East have become the stuff of legend, and on October 25, one of those concerts will finally see release on 1 CD, 2 LPs, and digitally.

Live at Fillmore East, 1969 has been sourced from newly-discovered multitrack tapes and boasts both acoustic and electric sets as originally heard by the New York audience on September 20, 1969.  Their fourth show in two days at the East Village venue – today the site of an outpost of Apple Bank and an apartment complex – the concert featured drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves.  In the press release, Stills states that “the acoustic part of the show took care of itself, but now that we had equipment and Dallas and Greg and sizable shows to do, we just went for it. What we lacked in finesse, we made up for in enthusiasm…A band on the run. Expecting to fly.”

The setlist drew upon a number of songs from Crosby Stills & Nash including “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” as well as Crosby’s “Guinnevere” and “Long Time Gone,” Stills’ “You Don’t Have to Cry” and “Helplessly Hoping,” Nash’s “Lady of the Island,” and Crosby, Stills, and Paul Kantner’s “Wooden Ships.”  Additionally, it previewed Déjà Vu with “Our House” (sung by Nash to Joni Mitchell, in the audience) and Stills’ “4 + 20.”  Young looked back to his debut album with “I’ve Loved Her So Long” and to Buffalo Springfield with “On the Way Home;” Stills’ Springfield tune “Bluebird” was also performed (in its “Bluebird Revisited” arrangement.)  “Down by the River” was reprised from Young’s 1969 album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Stills’ “Find the Cost of Freedom” would later appear as the B-side of Young’s “Ohio” on a CSNY single.

Young comments in the press release, “For me, CSNY was a chance to reunite with Steve Stills and carry on the Buffalo Springfield vibe. Crosby’s great energy was always our catalyst. Graham and Stephen’s vocals, along with David’s and mine, were uplifting every night. Great moments I will never forget.”  Stills and Young compiled and mixed the original eight-track recordings with John Hanlon at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles to create this release.  The vinyl is all-analog (AAA)-cut.

Graham Nash reflected, “Hearing the music again after all these years, I can tell how much we loved each other and loved the music that we were creating.  We were four people reveling in the different sounds we were producing, quietly singing together on the one hand, then rocking like f–k for the rest of the concert.”

Live at Fillmore East, 1969 hits stores on October 25 on 2LP, CD, and digitally.  A clear-vinyl edition will be available exclusively at select brick-and-mortar retailers on the same day.  The live “Helplessly Hoping” is streaming now.  You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Live at Fillmore East, 1969 (Rhino, 2024)

1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Acoustic Set

1. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
2. “Blackbird”
3. “Helplessly Hoping”
4. “Guinnevere”
5. “Lady Of The Island”
6. “Go Back Home”
7. “On The Way Home”
8. “4 + 20”
9. “Our House”
10. “I’ve Loved Her So Long”
11. “You Don’t Have To Cry”

Electric Set

12. “Long Time Gone”
13. “Wooden Ships”
14. “Bluebird Revisited”
15. “Sea Of Madness”
16. “Down By The River”
17. “Find The Cost Of Freedom”​

2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Acoustic Set

Side One

1. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”
2. “Blackbird”
3. “Helplessly Hoping”
4. “Guinnevere”
5. “Lady Of The Island”

Side Two

6. “Go Back Home”
7. “On The Way Home”
8. “4 + 20”
9. “Our House”
10. “I’ve Loved Her So Long”
11. “You Don’t Have To Cry”

Electric Set

Side One

1. “Long Time Gone”
2. “Wooden Ships”
3. “Bluebird Revisited”
4. “Sea Of Madness”

Side Two

5. “Down By The River”
6. “Find The Cost Of Freedom”