Whistling Down The Wire
	Produced by David Crosby & Graham Nash
	Released on July 1976
	US CHART POSITION #26 . . . GOLD RECORD (10/19/76)
	Find it at GEMM
ABCD-956 cover [high resolution photo]

A lbums like this rarely stir any literary inspiration in the ranks of critics. “Sub-par CS&N” they sniff, and back down goes the coffin lid. The first time I heard this record, I admit that it didn’t stir any great feeling in me. But periodically, as I thumbed through the dog-eared spines of albums A through C, Whistling Down The Wire would jump out, and back onto the platter it went. Twenty-plus plays later, I can tell you that this is a pretty enjoyable record. Of course it’s not Déjà Vu all over again; it’s not even as good as the pair’s first record together. But it is good -- good enough that critics should make an effort to inspire fans of David Crosby and Graham Nash to track this down. Why? Maybe it’s the mournful, Dylanesque feel of Nash’s “Marguerita” or Crosby’s mellow “Time After Time.” Perhaps it’s the way that “Taken At All” and “Broken Bird” deliver the promise pregnant in the names Crosby and Nash. It certainly isn’t for “Spotlight,” a forgettable number that may have given Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden reason enough to label the album “smug, elitist and dull.” Whistling Down The Wire won’t change your world, merely expand it slightly. Crosby’s fans, denied a proper catalog to call their own, might cling to “Dancer” and “Foolish Man.” Nash’s fans have more options, but few as attractive as the entries in the C&N files. I wouldn’t call my affection for CS&N zealous, though I’ve often felt that Stephen Stills’ solo work was also given short shrift. The trio’s immediate solo albums are the most interesting, but among the releases that followed Whistling Down The Wire is more respectable than some. Give it a fair shake and you may discover an occasional friend.

ABCD-956 back cover	ABCD-956 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. SPOTLIGHT    (Danny Kootch/Graham Nash)    2:49
2. BROKEN BIRD    (Graham Nash/David Crosby)    2:42
3. TIME AFTER TIME    (David Crosby)    2:30
4. DANCER    (David Crosby)    4:48
5. MUTINY    (Graham Nash)    4:44
6. J.B.'S BLUES    (Graham Nash)    2:40
7. MARGUERITA    (Graham Nash)    4:11
8. TAKEN AT ALL    (Graham Nash/David Crosby)    3:06
9. FOOLISH MAN    (David Crosby)    4:27
10. OUT OF THE DARKNESS    (Craig Degree/Graham Nash/David Crosby)    4:22

CREDITS

DAVID CROSBY -- vocals, acoustic guitar
GRAHAM NASH -- vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar & harmonica
CRAIG DEGREE (DOERGE) -- acoustic piano, organ & glass harmonica
TIM DRUMMOND -- bass
DANNY KOOTCH -- electric guitar & dobro
RUSSELL KUNKEL -- drums and percussion
DAVID LINDLEY -- electric guitar, slide guitar, violin, viola, pedal slide
Laura Allen -- zither
Lee Holdridge -- string arrangements (4,10)
Sid Sharpe -- orchestra leader
Stephen Barncard -- engineer
Don Gooch -- engineer
Gary Burden for R. Twerk & Company -- art direction & design
Joel Bernstein -- photography

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