Remember that old adage about how it's hard to miss someone if they won't stay away? In the case of Crosby, Stills & Nash, that saying still applies, but in a good way. First dominant more than 40 years ago as an early supergroup and originator of the West Coast folk-rock sound, CSN became the voice of outrage whenever issues and circumstance dictated.
The threesome now comfortably nestles into Woodstock-imbued nostalgia but still takes its venerable stance seriously. Flawless harmonies remain intact, and the revered chestnuts from the band's catalogue — "Wooden Ships," "Our House," "Teach Your Children," "Almost Cut My Hair," "Guinevere," and, yes, "Woodstock" — are ready to please even today. While their gray hair and middle-age paunches are all too evident, the bandmates have freely owned up to their bouts and bruises along the way, even while embracing their role as elder statesmen who played an integral part in rock's ongoing evolution. Their participation in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary extravaganza earlier this year and a promised '60s covers album nod to their troubadour tradition, but it's their refusal to retire from the road that best attests to their determination to, in the words of their evergreen anthem of affirmation, carry on.
