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No album embodies the relaxed, laid-back, if troubled atmosphere of early 1970s California as well as "If I Could Only Remember My Name." Hallucinogenic, trippy and resembling a foggy dream, David Crosby's solo debut has stood the test of time. A thoroughly unique statement, his album is remembered as a wonderful confluence of spontaneity, collaboration, circumstance and studio prowess. Now, nearly 50 years after its release, the audiophile darling has never sounded so ethereal, present, detailed, balanced and lush.
Remastered, Mobile Fidelity's numbered hybrid SACD underscores the escapist tranquility of Crosby's music and the brilliance of Stephen Barncard's engineering. Equally important are Crosby's unsurpassed vocal performances and the inspired contributions of the many illustrious Bay Area colleagues and friends - including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, key members of the Grateful Dead, and several members of the Jefferson Airplane - that allow "If I Could Only Remember My Name" to function as a paean to community, harmony, and necessary emotional release (and exposure).
The album, always known for its great sound, takes on deeper transcendental qualities on Mobile Fidelity's reissue, resonating with even more spiritual energy. Listeners can now fully hear and see the structure of each song, witness notes seemingly dissolve into thin air, and realize why Barncard - who recorded American Beauty by the Grateful Dead a year earlier - called the echo chamber at Wally Heider Recording "probably the best chamber I've ever used." It was magical. You can hear that on [Jerry] Garcia's pedal steel on 'Laughing.'"
"If I Could Only Remember My Name," ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 40 best stoner albums and rightly described as a "super-stoned campfire jam," is rooted in deep-seated grief and haunting sadness - namely, the death of Crosby's then-girlfriend in a car accident. Originally, the singer wanted to keep his feelings under wraps, but as the sessions and work progressed, mostly on location, the truth seeped out. Though there's no narrative arc or straightforward lyrics, the nine-track record lands on something richer than obvious words: a distinct, lingering vibe that hints at a gnawing, threatening reality lurking beneath a warm, hazy, supportive surface.
1. Music Is Love
2. Cowboy Movie
3. Tamalpais High (At About 3)
4. Laughing
5. What Are Their Names
6. Traction in the Rain
7. Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)
8. Orleans
9 I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here