Staying In Touch with Crosby,Stills,Nash & Young

Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young were part of the wave of folk rock bands of the 1960s.Indeed,their members came out of earlier folk rock bands:David Crosby from The Byrds;Stephen Stills and Neil Young from Buffalo Springfield;and Graham Nash from The Hollies.Crosby and Stills are Americans;Nash is British;and Neil Young is from Ontario,Canada.Since 1969,they have performed together in various combinations,their strong personalities alternately clashing and blending.Neil Young has always had a vigorous solo career as well.*
They started out as the trio Crosby,Stills and Nash.Neil Young joined them at Woodstock and has been with them off and on since that epic music and arts festival.As of now,it is off after Young bitterly quarreled with Crosby,and the original trio has gone on tour without him.Young said that he loved them,nonetheless.The quartet last performed together in 2013 at the 27th Annual Bridge School Benefit.Their last studio album was "Looking Forward" (1999),which got good reviews.This was preceded by their first album "Deja Vu" (1970);the live LP "Four Way Street" (1971);and "American Dream" (1988).
In 2014,the band released a limited edition box set that was well-received,"CSNY 1974." It consists of 40 previously unreleased high quality live tracks from their iconic 1974 stadium tour.Besides well-known hits such as "Helpless" and "Teach Your Children," there are previously unreleased Neil Young songs "Traces," "Love Art Blues " and two others.These are all on six 180-gram 12" vinyl records in a laser-etched maple LP folio case.Also included are all the tracks on a Pure Audio Blu-Ray disc;digital download code for the tracks;a bonus DVD of the concerts;a coffee table size book of never before seen photos from the tour;and a 7x7 Nash Edition print of the front cover photo signed by Graham Nash and photographer Joel Bernstein.It is available from the CSNY website.*
As for the current tour,it has received high marks so far.Crosby,Stills and Nash performed strong new material in Milwaukee,Wisconsin as well as some old favourites;Crosby and Nash delivered on their classic harmonies;and Stills was spot on with his electric guitar,according to The Milwaukee Journal's Piet Levy.They played for two hours and ten minutes,accompanied by a five piece backing band.That's nothing new,as the late drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves had played on "Deja Vu."
Tonight I am featuring "Country Girl" from their "Deja Vu" album and their apocalyptic song "Wooden Ships," a live recording from the Bill Graham memorial concert at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in 1991.

Tiger Woods Rights Ship

On one of the world's most difficult golf courses,Tiger Woods is beginning to show consistency again.For the second day,he finished at one under par at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin,where the year's last Major,the PGA Championship,is being played this weekend.Despite missing the fairway repeatedly in his twilight-shortened effort,which he will resume early tomorrow morning before going on to the third round provided he makes the +1 cut,Woods steadfastly chipped his way back from the roughs.That was a far cry from his lackadaisical performance at the Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio last weekend.There is definitely more focus in his game so far this tournament.
Another winner of multiple championships,including the PGA also at Whistling Straits in 2004,Vijay Singh of Fiji,thrilled the fans with an eagle shot into the 6th hole,closing his own shortened round at -2.Americans Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney topped the leaderboard at -8 and -7 respectively with their completed second rounds,which they had begun earlier in the day than Woods and Singh.
The New York Mets were grazing the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 in the seventh inning at Citi Field in Queens.
For the week,the market was moderately down,and the futures continued the trend this evening with single digit losses.Retail sales came in at a disappointing +0.2 ex-autos,and weekly jobless claims rose sharply,crimping the market's ambitions for this week.Next week,housing starts and earnings reports from Lowe's and Home Depot figure prominently in the economic calendar.