Crosby, Stills & Nash

Malcolm Leo's Crosby, Stills & Nash documentary Longtime Comin' makes its DVD bow in a very nicely produced release that presents the movie in its optimal state. It is somewhat lacking in detail and backstory, and ideally the group's history would be told in a feature longer than 60 minutes, with an actual narrator (or more than one) and a more formal structure; but as a survey of their history, Longtime Comin' is eminently satisfying and watchable. Following a slightly ponderous but loud rendition of "Long Time Gone" from late in CSN's history, the documentary jumps back to 1969 and the performance of "Marakesh Express" from Woodstock: The Lost Performances -- then we get a quick cut to Joni Mitchell explaining her professional relationship to the group, followed by Stephen Stills' performance of "4+20" on The Dick Cavett Show immediately after the festival. Stills' recollections of his early contact with David Crosby is interrupted by a short segue to a Byrds lip-synced performance of "Mr. Tambourine Man" from mid-'60s television, and Graham Nash's performance of "Carrie Anne" as part of the Hollies, and a short interview with a very animated and outspoken Nash, circa 1967 -- that cuts to footage from the Sunset Strip and Buffalo Springfield's performance of "For What It's Worth," augmented by performance footage of that band from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (complete with a quick cut to the ominous, brooding Neil Young). Clips follow of "Helplessly Hoping," a period interview with a very stoned David Crosby, and more of Nash talking about pop music's revolutionary possibilities with the next generation follows, with a segue to "Teach Your Children." One treat is a live CSNY performance of "You Don't Have to Cry" from The Tom Jones Show in 1970, featuring Young's presence in the background once more -- he steps to the foreground for a thunderous performance of "Down by the River." The most interesting part of the documentary is the middle, where we see the bickering that helped keep the group from gigging or recording at various points in their prime years, incidents that they now regret. The performances from Daylight Again are very good but intrinsically less interesting than they should be, as that concert film is available as a free-standing DVD on its own. In the end, the film cuts back to Woodstock and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (letterboxed, to capture the triptych screen layout), which gives way to a visual/audio jump-cut to a more recent performance of the same piece and Stills' acoustic guitar pyrotechnics and the group's vocal acrobatics. And it ends with the studio version of "Carry On" over the closing credits. The disc is mastered with very loud, rich sound, and the picture is about as good as any of the familiar footage has ever looked. Each song gets a chapter-marker and the menu -- which opens automatically on start-up -- offers individual song selection as well as a complete play option, and offers the choice of stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide