In January 1969, Graham Nash was mere months removed from the Hollies, the sublime British rock hitmakers he’d formed in the early 1960s, and only weeks away from completing work on one of that decade’s most defining albums in the self-titled debut from Crosby, Stills & Nash. Joni Mitchell, Nash’s then-girlfriend, was invited to Nashville to record a performance for the brand new “Johnny Cash Show,” and one evening, the couple was invited to the “Man In Black’s” home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where they’d share a meal with not only the Cash family but Shel Silverstein, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan.
“It was an incredible night,” recalled Nash, 83, who will perform April 6 at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. “Johnny stood up, and he started tapping on a glass to get people’s attention. He said, ‘Hey, at the Cash household, we have this thing called singing for your supper. So at the end of this dinner, we’re gonna start singing songs. Who’s gonna start?’ Well, nobody moved! Because Bob Dylan was sitting on the stairs with his wife Sara.
“Nobody knew who I was. I was just this lump of meat on Joni’s arm! So I said, ‘I’ll get up and I’ll be first,’ and so I sang ‘Marrakesh Express.’ I got to the end, and I stood up, I thought I’d done the song pretty good. I turn around — and I walk into a standing lamp which crashes to the floor! I’m mortified! But Johnny took it well, and everybody started up there.”
That same fearlessness permeates Nash’s latest effort “Now,” an album charged with romance as well as the same social fury that’s driven the songwriter through six solo releases and dozens of collaborations.
Clear as a bell, Nash opens the album with “Right Now,” a stiff, guitar-thick driver that eschews nostalgia’s mirror for today’s open window, offering an unfiltered reconnaissance of the moment. That winds into “A Better Life,” a floating ballad of hope for future generations that echoes the sentiment of Nash’s iconic “Teach Your Children.”
“I can see why people would think it was an extension of ‘Teach Your Children’ because in a way it is,” he said. “We have to leave this earth a better place than we left it. We have to think about the future, we have to think about our children — we have to!”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
On multiple tracks from “Now,” Nash takes careful, but brutal, aim at right-wing zealotry and the MAGA point of view. “Golden Idol” emphatically calls out politicians who ignore the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, while “Stars and Stripes” addresses the corruption of American ideals, as the English-born musician mournfully laments the state of his adopted country over low guitar and pedal steel. “I can’t remember when my world was not on fire,” he sings.
“I have to talk about what’s going on. I think it’s the duty of every artist to talk about the times in which we live,” said Nash from his home in New York City. “How could I not talk about politics and what’s happening around the world? How can I not talk about the environment? How can I not deal with life like this? I’ve always tried to tell the truth. When I’m writing a song about something, I need to feel something. I need to feel something deeply in my soul that I need to speak about.”
“Stand Up” is Nash at his most righteous, willing anyone within reach to “rise up, take a stand.” And when confronted with the notion that many artists who’ve championed music’s ability to effect change have found their optimism flagging, the Englishman simply responded, “Well, that’s a shame because mine hasn’t. I still believe that humanity is an incredible creature.”
Another side of “Now” is Nash’s devotion to his wife, the artist Amy Grantham, who he seems to address across most of the album’s loose narrative. Classic love songs such as “Love of Mine” and the harmonica-laced “Follow Your Heart” are perfect slow dance moments, simple, elegant and weightless.
The album highlight, “When It Comes to You,” is Nash at his most melancholy and self-aware as he sings, “You’re the very best thing that’s happened to me, and at this point in my life, that’s something to say.”
Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
“Now” also offered an opportunity for Nash to reunite with his old friend and Hollies bandmate Allan Clarke, who, after a two-decade absence because of personal and vocal challenges, returned to music in 2019. What started with Clarke requesting Nash to sing on two songs for his album “I’ll Never Forget” turned into 10 tunes. But Nash did benefit as well: “Buddy’s Back,” a song he wrote for Clarke’s album, also appears on “Now.”
“It’s about the Hollies’ love for Buddy Holly,” Nash said. “I mean, we were the Hollies!”
As excited and committed as ever, Nash is back on tour, armed with a batch of new songs he considers among his best, along with more than a few selections from his legendary career.
“I’m doing everything from the Hollies all the way through CSN (Crosby, Stills & Nash), CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young),” Nash said. “A normal show is about two and a half hours and it’s filled with songs that people love to hear and new songs I want to play.”
But is the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer concerned that some of those new songs might challenge certain listeners?
“No,” Nash said. “I’m just going do what I do best. I’m going to write songs that I love, and I’m going to sing songs that I love.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Graham Nash
7:30 p.m. April 6 at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. $52.41-$363.50. 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs. 770-206-2022, citysprings.com
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