Be Yourself
Grassroots Records ****
There is something poignant about this tribute to Graham Nash’s 1971 solo album,
Songs for Beginners
. It’s not just the fact that Nash’s daughter Nile helped organise it (and even offers her frail voice to the mix), but all those involved, from Port O’Brien’s strident reading of the opening
Military Madness
through to Sleepy Sun’s washes of distorted guitar on
Chicago
, fully engage in re-living, in their distinctive ways, this neglected, earnest response to a challenging time. The album was a certainly a cathartic experience for Nash, the Mancunian who deserted British pop for the arms of Joni Mitchell and the songs of CSN, only for both to let him down. What Brendan Benson, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes and a host of other young acts manage to do is find meaning for today in this snapshot of yesterday. See grassrootsrecordco.com
Download tracks: Better Days, Be Yourself, Chicago
