Four Way Street

 

Four Way Street
Live album by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Released	April 7 1971 (original) June 15 1992 (expanded)
Recorded	June 2–July 5 1970, New York, Chicago & Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	99:45 (original) 149:55 (expanded)
Label	Atlantic Records
Producer	David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Neil Young
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B-) link Rolling Stone (not rated) link
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young chronology
Déjà Vu (1970) Four Way Street (1971) So Far (1974)

Four Way Street is the third album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, released in 1971, shipping as a gold record and peaking at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. A document of their tour from the previous year, the live recordings presented were taken from shows at The Fillmore East, New York, June 2–June 7 1970 The Chicago Auditorium, Chicago, July 5 1970 and The Forum, Los Angeles, June 26–June 28 1970.

The album contained material previously available in studio versions, from both the various affiliations and individual work of the four principals. Two songs each by Nash and Crosby had not been officially released by its writer at the time of the arrival of this album in the shops: "Chicago," soon to appear one month later on Nash's Songs for Beginners album, and "Right Between the Eyes"; "The Lee Shore" by Crosby, as well as his controversial ménage à trois "Triad" composition, recorded by Jefferson Airplane on their Crown of Creation album of 1968, and by The Byrds, but not released until 1997 as a bonus track on The Notorious Byrd Brothers reissue.

The expanded edition included four songs by each member as an acoustic solo vehicle. Young performed a trio of songs from his first two solo albums as a medley; Stills included "Black Queen" from his eponymous debut, a tune he would revisit many times in his career; Crosby added a version of the song "Laughing" from his debut; and Nash did "King Midas In Reverse," The Hollies single from 1967, his bid to have that band taken as a more serious entity in the pivotal year of flower power. Though credited to Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks as well, "Midas" was actually written solely by Nash: the three Hollies had had a pact to share publishing regardless of authorship, in an arrangement similar to that of John Lennon and Paul McCartney while in The Beatles.^[1]

At the time this album was recorded, tensions between the band members were high, with their dressing-room fights becoming the stuff of rock legend, even being referenced by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in their 1971 LP Fillmore East - June 1971. The tensions led to CSNY dissolving shortly after the recording of Four Way Street (and many months before its release). The next release of new material by the firm proper would not be until CSN of 1977.

Four Way Street was released in expanded form for compact disc on June 15 1992.

The original double album LP came packaged in typical CSNY fashion, a gatefold sleeve without a track listing. On the gatefold was a black-and-white picture of the band sitting on a bench, with Nash and Crosby's heads perfectly framed by a wire clothes hanger hanging in front of them, with recording information and credits in the lower-right-hand corner. The only track listings on the album appear on the LP's labels, and on the fold-out poster that also included full lyrics.

Track listing

Original album

LP side one

1. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (coda)" (Stephen Stills) – 0:33
2. "On the Way Home" (Neil Young) – 3:19
3. "Teach Your Children" (Graham Nash) – 2:46
4. "Triad" (David Crosby) – 5:07
5. "The Lee Shore" (Crosby) – 4:14
6. "Chicago" (Nash) – 3:03

LP side two

1. "Right Between the Eyes" (Nash)– 2:19
2. "Cowgirl in the Sand" (Young)– 3:50
3. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" (Young) – 2:35
4. "49 Bye-Byes/America's Children" (Stills) – 5:30
   • Includes a live version of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth"
5. "Love the One You're With" (Stills) – 2:57

LP side three

1. "Pre Road Downs" (Nash) – 2:48
2. "Long Time Gone" (Crosby) – 5:33
3. "Southern Man" (Young) – 13:15

LP side four

1. "Ohio" (Young) – 3:24
2. "Carry On" (Stills) – 13:06
3. "Find the Cost of Freedom" (Stills) – 2:16

1992 Expanded edition

Disc one

1. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (coda)" (Stills) – 0:33
2. "On the Way Home" (Young) – 3:48
3. "Teach Your Children" (Nash) – 3:02
4. "Triad" (Crosby) – 6:55
5. "The Lee Shore" (Crosby)– 4:29
6. "Chicago" (Nash) – 3:11
7. "Right Between the Eyes" (Nash) – 3:37
8. "Cowgirl in the Sand" (Young) – 3:59
9. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" (Young) – 3:31
10. "49 Bye-Byes/America's Children" (Stills) – 6:35
11. "Love the One You're With" (Stills) – 3:19
12. "King Midas in Reverse" (Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Nash) – 3:43
13. "Laughing" (Crosby) – 3:36
14. "Black Queen" (Stills) – 6:45
15. "Medley: The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down By The River" (Young) – 9:41

Disc two

1. "Pre-Road Downs" (Nash) – 3:04
2. "Long Time Gone" (Crosby) – 5:58
3. "Southern Man" (Young) – 13:45
4. "Ohio" (Young) – 3:34
5. "Carry On" (Stills) – 14:19
6. "Find the Cost of Freedom" (Stills) – 2:21

Personnel

• David Crosby – vocals, guitar
• Stephen Stills – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Graham Nash – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Neil Young – vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards
• Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels – bass
• Johnny Barbata – drums

Additional personnel

• Bill Halverson – engineer
• Gary Burden – art direction/design, photography
• Joel Bernstein – photography
• Henry Diltz – photography
• Joe Gastwirt – digital remastering

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1971	Billboard Pop Albums	1

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	April 12 1971
RIAA – USA	Platinum	December 18 1992
RIAA – USA	4X Platinum	December 18 1992

References

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