ALBUM REVIEW: Graham Nash’s Sprawling Career Gets Condensed on ‘Over The Years’

A perfect Greatest Hits starter pack for any fan of CSN/CSNY.

While most fans of ’60s/’70s rock know British singer-songwriter Graham Nash as the “Nash” in folk-rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash, fewer are aware that the N in CSN has had an exquisite solo career spanning five decades – or that he was a member of British pop/rock group the Hollies for that matter. (He’s a double inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work in both groups no less.)

Arriving 9 years after the massive 64-song box set Reflections, Over The Years’ is a new compilation that condenses Nash’s career into 15 carefully selected greatest hits, along with a second disc of rare demo recordings.

This includes his best-known songs with CSN and CSNY (“Marrakesh Express,” “Our House,” “Teach Your Children Well”), as well some of his biggest solo tunes (“Military Madness,” “Better Days,” “Chicago / We Can Change The World”). The dressed-down demos, featuring Nash alone with a guitar or piano, are nearly as good, and even more revealing of his singular talents.

Any fan of Crosby, Stills & Nash who doesn’t know Nash’s solo oeuvre would do well to start here with Over The Years, before digging into his greater catalog.

Score: 🚂🚂🚂🚂/5