Déjà Vu (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young album)

Déjà Vu is the second album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, and their first as a quartet with Neil Young. It was released in March 1970 by Atlantic Records. It topped the pop album chart for one week and generated three Top 40 singles: "Woodstock", "Teach Your Children", and "Our House". It was re-released in 1977 as SD-19188 and the cover was changed from black to brown. In 2003, the album was ranked #148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Certified septuple platinum by RIAA, the album's sales currently sit at over 8 million copies. It remains the highest-selling album of each member's career to date.

Recording
The album was recorded between July, 1969 and January, 1970 at Wally Heider's Studio C, San Francisco, and Wally Heider's Studio III, Los Angeles. It was produced by all four members of the band. Stephen Stills estimates that the album took around 800 hours of studio time to record; this figure may be exaggerated, even though the individual tracks display meticulous attention to detail. The songs, except for "Woodstock", were recorded as individual sessions by each member, with each contributing whatever was needed that could be agreed upon. Young appears on only half of the tracks.  

Drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves play on the majority of tracks, and are credited on the cover with their names in slightly smaller typeface. Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel guitar on "Teach Your Children", and former Lovin' Spoonful leader John Sebastian plays harmonica on the title track.

Release
The album was released on 11 March 1970 on the Atlantic Records label, catalogue SD 7200. It was re-released in 1977 as SD-19188 and the cover was changed from black to brown. 

Four singles were released from the album with all but the last, "Carry On," charting on the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Country Girl" by Young is a suite put together from three song fragments entitled "Whiskey Boot Hill," "Down Down Down," and "Country Girl (I Think You're Pretty)," and is so identified in the credits.

The album was issued on compact disc a second time September 6, 1994 after being remastered from the original tapes at Ocean View Digital by Joe Gastwirt.

Reception

Legacy
The popularity of the album contributed to the success of the four albums released by each of the members in the wake of Déjà vu – Neil Young's After the Gold Rush, Stephen Stills' self-titled solo debut, David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, and Graham Nash's Songs for Beginners. In 2003, the album was placed at number 148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, moving up to 147 in a 2012 revised listing. The same year, the TV network VH1 named Déjà vu the 61st greatest album of all time. The album ranked at #14 for the Top 100 Albums of 1970 and #217 overall by Rate Your Music. It was voted number 106 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).

Track listing

Personnel
David Crosby – vocals all tracks except "4+20"; rhythm guitar on "Almost Cut My Hair," "Woodstock," "Déjà vu," "Country Girl," and "Everybody I Love You"
Stephen Stills – vocals all tracks except "Almost Cut My Hair"; guitars all tracks except "Our House"; keyboards on "Carry On," "Helpless," "Woodstock," and "Déjà Vu"; bass on "Carry On," and "Teach Your Children"; percussion on "Carry On"
Graham Nash – vocals all tracks except "Almost Cut My Hair" and "4+20"; keyboards on "Almost Cut My Hair," "Woodstock," "Our House," and "Everybody I Love You"; rhythm guitar on "Teach Your Children" and "Country Girl"; percussion on "Carry On" and "Teach Your Children"
Neil Young – vocals on "Helpless" and "Country Girl"; guitars on "Almost Cut My Hair," "Helpless," "Woodstock," "Country Girl," and "Everybody I Love You"; keyboards, harmonica on "Country Girl"

Additional musicians

 Dallas Taylor – drums all tracks except "4+20"; tambourine on "Teach Your Children"
 Greg Reeves – bass on "Almost Cut My Hair," "Helpless," "Woodstock," "Déjà vu", "Our House," "Country Girl," and "Everybody I Love You"
 Jerry Garcia – pedal steel guitar on "Teach Your Children"
 John Sebastian – harmonica on "Déjà vu"

Production

 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – producers
 Bill Halverson – engineer
 Gary Burden – art direction and design
 Henry Diltz, Tom Gundelfinger – photography
 Elliot Roberts – direction
 David Geffen – agent
 Joe Gastwirt – digital remastering

Charts
Weekly charts

Singles

Certifications

References

Category:Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young albums
Category:1970 albums
Category:Atlantic Records albums
Category:Albums produced by Neil Young
Category:Albums produced by Graham Nash
Category:Albums produced by David Crosby
Category:Albums produced by Stephen Stills
Category:Albums recorded at Wally Heider Studios