Songs for Beginners

Infobox Album
Name = Songs for Beginners
Type = Album
Artist = Graham Nash


Released = May 28, 1971
September 23, 2008 (CD+DVD)
Recorded = 1970-1971
Genre = Rock
Length = 32:13
Label = Atlantic Records
Producer = Graham Nash
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:njlvadskv8wj link]
* (CD+DVD) Allmusic (not yet rated) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hpfwxzqkldje link]
* "Rolling Stone" (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/grahamnash/albums/album/196928/review/5945245/songs_for_beginners link]
Last album =
This album = "Songs for Beginners"
(1971)
Next album = "Wild Tales"
(1974)|

"Songs for Beginners" is Graham Nash's first solo album, released in May 1971, and one of four high-profile albums released by each partner of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping "Déjà Vu" album of 1970. It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and the single "Chicago" made it to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.

As with the debut albums by both Crosby and Stills, Nash roped in a legion of associates to assist in the recording. The album continued the traits that Nash had come to be known for in a good sense of pop song construction, expressions of emotional sincerity, and fervent political activism. The Top 40 track, "Chicago," concerned both the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the infamous trial of the Chicago Eight, articulating the outrage Nash, and many others, felt concerning those proceedings. The topicality which suffuses the album would always remain central to Nash's work: of the quartet, he and Crosby most directly professed sentiments aligned with those common to the Woodstock Nation. This similarity undoubtedly formed part of the foundation for their long-standing partnership even outside the parent group.

The album was released on compact disc on October 25, 1990, and a remixed version supervised by Nash was issued on 180 gram vinyl by Classic Records in 2001. Both issues are out of print. A reissued edition of "Songs for Beginners" was released on September 23 as CD+DVD-Audio pack 2008, featuring a bonus multichannel hi-rez audio, all new 2008 video interview with Graham Nash, plus a photo gallery and complete lyrics along with the 11-track CD album remastered. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Beginners-DVD-Audio-Graham-Nash/dp/B000Y9PILI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219996288&sr=1-1 Amazon.com: Songs for Beginners [CD/DVD-Audio] : Graham Nash] ]

The song "Simple Man" featured in the opening sequence of the 2007 Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle film "Reign Over Me".

Track listing

"All songs by Graham Nash, except where noted."

# "Military Madness" – 2:50
# "Better Days" – 3:47
# "Wounded Bird" – 2:09
# "I Used to Be a King" – 4:45
# "Be Yourself" (Nash, Terry Reid) – 3:03
# "Simple Man" – 2:05
# "Man in the Mirror" – 2:47
# "There's Only One" – 3:55
# "Sleep Song" – 2:57
# "Chicago" - 2:55
# "We Can Change the World" - 1:00

* Some versions of the album list the last two songs as "Chicago" / "We Can Change the World."

Personnel

Military Madness
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
*Johny Barbata – drums
*Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels – bass
*Joel Bernstein – piano
*Dave Mason – electric guitar
*Rita Coolidge – background vocals
*P.P. Arnold – background vocalsBetter Days
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic guitar, organ, piano
*Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels – bass
*Rita Coolidge – background vocals
*Dallas Taylor – drums
*Neil Young – piano
*Sermon Posthumas – bass clarinet solo
*Larry Cox – whiskersWounded Bird
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitarI Used to Be a King
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
*Johny Barbata – drums
*Phil Lesh – bass
*Jerry Garcia – piano, steel guitar
*David Crosby – electric guitarBe Yourself
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
*Johny Barbata – drums
*Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels – bass
*Rita Coolidge – piano, electric piano
*Everyone Loose There – chorusSimple Man
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, background vocals, piano
*Rita Coolidge – background vocals
*Dorian Rudnytsky – cello
*David Lindley – fiddleMan in the Mirror
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
*Johny Barbata – drums
*Neil Young – piano
*Jerry Garcia – steel guitar
*Chris Ethridge – bassThere's Only One
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, organ
*Johny Barbata – drums
*Rita Coolidge – background vocals, piano
*Larry Cox – whiskers
*Chris Ethridge – bass
*Bobby Keys – saxophone solo
*Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews, Clydie King, Dorothy Morrison – background vocalsSleep Song
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, paper, comb
*Dorian Rudnytsky – celloChicago / We Can Change the World
*Graham Nash – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, organ on "We Can Change the World", piano, tambourine
*Johny Barbata – drums, tambourine on "We Can Change the World"
*Rita Coolidge – background vocals
*Larry Cox – whiskers
*Chris Ethridge – bass
*Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews, Clydie King, Dorothy Morrison – background vocals

Additional personnel

* Bill Halverson, engineer
* Gary Burden, art direction
* Russ Gary, engineer

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)