Crosby Stills & Nash (Rhino High Fidelity)

In May 1969, while psychedelia was peaking, Crosby, Stills & Nash’s self-titled debut quietly redefined rock with its flawless three-part vocal arrangements, sharp lyrics, and intricate, acoustic-driven songs.

“To listen again to Crosby, Stills & Nash’s self-titled first album is not so much to take a trip back in time but a voyage into timelessness,” author Raymond Foye wrote in the album’s liner notes. That transcendent quality was forged under great secrecy at Wally Heider Studios in Hollywood, where the group imposed a strict no-visitors policy while tracking with engineer Bill Halverson. The music from those intense sessions helped define an era, delivering some of CSN’s most legendary tracks like “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Long Time Gone,” and “Marrakesh Express.” A few weeks after the album was released, the trio took these songs to the stage for their historic live debut at Woodstock, performing for half a million people.

After peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH went on to sell over four million copies in the U.S., and in 1970, helped the trio win the GRAMMY® Award for Best New Artist. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and ranks among Rolling Stone’s list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”