In the Crosby-Stills-Nash-Young collective, Graham Nash was the last to release a solo record. There is even some evidence that he might have initially resisted the idea, as he wanted to maintain the status of the group, but by 1971, things had changed.

On a personal level, the band had fallen apart, perhaps due mostly to the tension between Stills and Nash over Stills losing Rita Coolidge to Nash, which is surely the primary reason Stills is the only member of the collective who is absent here (although Nash did write a song or two for Stills, including “Better Days”).

The album is intensely personal, filled with songs lamenting his own breakup with Joni Mitchell, but also the most directly political statement made by any of the four since Neil Young’s “Ohio”. In short, this album fires on all cylinders, and it’s still a genuine pleasure to listen to the album in its entirety.

“Songs for Beginners” provides ample evidence that albums were (and still are) one of the most important means of expression for an artist who has a lot that he wants to convey.

Featured tracks:

Military Madness

Better Days

Wounded Bird

I Used to Be a King

Be Yourself

Simple Man

Man in the Mirror

There’s Only One

Sleep Song

Chicago/We Can Change the World

May 1971 - Billboard Charted #35