Rating: 
Summary: Good but painful to watch if you're a CSN fan...
Review: Even though I'm only 22 I'm a die-hard CSN fan; I've seen them twice in concert and own every album they've done and their box set. I own this concert on video, along with "Acoustic" and "Long Time Comin'" and I have to say I rarely watch this. The performances are for the most part well done, but it's painful to watch because of David Crosby's condition at the time of filming. Obviously under the influence, Crosby's vacant stares are broken by occasional periods of standing closed-eyed and wooden before the micropohone, sweat beading on his forehead. To make it worse, Stills and Nash spend much of the concert trying to divert attention from their stoned comrade--Nash is extrordinarily hyper during this set, moving around much more than usual. The set is adequate for the most part; their performance of "Wasted on the Way" is very good. Still though, it appears Stills and Nash are singing harder and louder to make up for Crosby's lack of enthusiasm.
Many of the tracks on "Daylight Again" the album were in fact recorded without Crosby's participation; the studio version of "Wasted on the Way" featured Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit singing harmony with Stills and Nash instead of Crosby, and Crosby was replaced by Art Garfunkel on "Daylight Again," something that wasn't advertised too heavily. Crosby was "incapacitated" for much of this album, and, unwilling to destroy another man's work, declined to re-record the previously mentioned tracks. Perhaps this is part of the reason, chemical influences aside, that his enthusiasm for them seems minimal during this concert. If you're a fan of CSN, do check this out, but don't expect it to be a concert you watch over and over again. If you can get your hands on it, I recommend the video "Long Time Comin'" instead. It contains footage of the boys at their prime, in '69 and '70 (Stills's performance of "4+20" the day after Woodstock is amazing) and is a better investment than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good but painful to watch if you're a CSN fan...
Review: Even though I'm only 22 I'm a die-hard CSN fan; I've seen them twice in concert and own every album they've done and their box set. I own this concert on video, along with "Acoustic" and "Long Time Comin'" and I have to say I rarely watch this. The performances are for the most part well done, but it's painful to watch because of David Crosby's condition at the time of filming. Obviously under the influence, Crosby's vacant stares are broken by occasional periods of standing closed-eyed and wooden before the micropohone, sweat beading on his forehead. To make it worse, Stills and Nash spend much of the concert trying to divert attention from their stoned comrade--Nash is extrordinarily hyper during this set, moving around much more than usual. The set is adequate for the most part; their performance of "Wasted on the Way" is very good. Still though, it appears Stills and Nash are singing harder and louder to make up for Crosby's lack of enthusiasm.
Many of the tracks on "Daylight Again" the album were in fact recorded without Crosby's participation; the studio version of "Wasted on the Way" featured Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit singing harmony with Stills and Nash instead of Crosby, and Crosby was replaced by Art Garfunkel on "Daylight Again," something that wasn't advertised too heavily. Crosby was "incapacitated" for much of this album, and, unwilling to destroy another man's work, declined to re-record the previously mentioned tracks. Perhaps this is part of the reason, chemical influences aside, that his enthusiasm for them seems minimal during this concert. If you're a fan of CSN, do check this out, but don't expect it to be a concert you watch over and over again. If you can get your hands on it, I recommend the video "Long Time Comin'" instead. It contains footage of the boys at their prime, in '69 and '70 (Stills's performance of "4+20" the day after Woodstock is amazing) and is a better investment than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: I have good news, bad news, and mixed news...
Review: First off, hats off to P. Duffy, who writes quite an engaging review on this concert recording. I don't agree with everything he had to say, but his riveting description of David Crosby's demeanor in this production is right on the money. Basically, Crosby is as near to flatlining as any human being could possibly get. He often appears on film like one of those life-size cardboard cut-outs you might buy of Elvis or James Dean. His vocals, always Crosby's strength, are a sad, unemotional, hollow fascimile of what once was. It is going through the motions personified. P. Duffy questions whether Nash's Gibson was plugged in, but I listened closely to the audio track to see if I could hear Crosby's "playing", and I can't. I don't see anything heroic in his on-stage presence, or in Stills or Nash aiding and abetting him being anywhere except a hospital. That's the bad news.
The mixed news is that this film was made. The year was 1982, and Crosby, Stills and Nash were touring in support of their third album, 'Daylight Again'. Luckily, video technology had caught up with the boys, and made it logical to put an entire concert on film. I don't know of any earlier complete performance by the band that has been captured on video, save the acoustic PBS performance, although the complete Woodstock show is probably in the vault somewhere. So the good news is we're fortunate to have this. The bad news that mixes in is that the band was far from their peak, which occurred on the 1969 and 1970 tours. By their 1974 tour with Neil Young, much of their music, while still compelling, had lost significant social importance. David Crosby's compromised status robs many of the best CSN songs of their trademark harmonies, and neither Stills nor Nash are able to hit the high notes like they once did. Furthermore, the track selection is to a degree geared to promoting the worse of their three collectible recordings, 'Daylight Again', and their late 1970's efforts. There are many songs in the CSN catalog that deserve inclusion over 'Barrel of Pain', 'Blackbird' (these boys don't need to delve into anyone else's catalog), 'Magical Child', 'Cathedral' (give me 'Military Madness', please), and the studio take of 'Daylight Again' (not even a live performance). Another unfortunate consequence is that the early 1980's was not an era that was kind to the wah-pedal guitar. It's Stills' forte, and is sadly omitted here (catch an earful on his DVD with Manassas, or the live '4 Way Street' CD).
And now the good news. Let's start with the track selection. As would be expected, David Crosby only tenders two lead vocals, an uninspired 'Delta', whose vocals seem to penetrate the night no more than a foot from the speakers, and the obligatory 'Long Time Gone', where David replaces true emotion with growling, and defers half of the chorus to Stills. Given his equal standing in this band, we're fortunate that only two songs put David front and center. Graham offers a couple nice tracks, including 'Chicago' and 'Just a Song Before I Go', but Stephen carries the show. His guitar work is exemplary, especially on 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes', where his soloing will have your jaw hanging. 'Treetop Flyer' is a nice rarity, well performed, although Stills all but apologizes for the content after singing it.
There are a few songs included that we may never see a sterling performance of. 'Love the One You're With' live has never approached the full production wall-of-sound featured on Stills' first solo album, and 'For What It's Worth' and 'Teach Your Children' always seem to be used for the dreaded audience participation numbers, as they are here. Somewhere in the vault is a live sound-check of Stills during his 1979 visit to Cuba performing 'For What It's Worth' solo with an electric guitar, and there is a 'Smothers Brother's Show' version by Buffalo Springfield, both of which need to be released in their entirety.
I caught CSN at the Meadowbrook Music Festival on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan on this 1982 tour, and found the performance less engaging than when I had first seen them in 1977. I'm glad I saw them, however, since it was their last meaningful outing. This production opens by noting that CSN were originally brought together at the home of Mama Cass Elliot in 1968, and closes by dedicating the film to her. It is fitting since, in many ways, this film represents the swan song for CSN as a viable force on the music scene.
Rating:
Summary: No Nash
Review: Graham Nash is no front man. I can see from this production that is why Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ended. It should have been Crosby, Stills, Taylor, and Young. Remember Dallas Taylor?
Rating:
Summary: Well worth having.
Review: Hey Paul Duffy (see review below), could it be that Cathedral is a great song and you are just a wanker? There's a reason Graham Nash has sold millions of records and you are relegated to writing amaturish reviews on Amazon. What is LCD anyway?It does seem like they've done some post production magic on this video. As I recall from my laserdics of this concert, Graham was off key several times during the show. Is it my imagination or did they clean that up some? Of the CSN I've seen on video I like this one the best (for sound quality & performance). Too bad they didn't film the 4-Way street concert. That is one of the best live albums ever produced.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth having.
Review: Hey Paul Duffy (see review below), could it be that Cathedral is a great song and you are just a wanker? There's a reason Graham Nash has sold millions of records and you are relegated to writing amaturish reviews on Amazon. What is LCD anyway? It does seem like they've done some post production magic on this video. As I recall from my laserdics of this concert, Graham was off key several times during the show. Is it my imagination or did they clean that up some? Of the CSN I've seen on video I like this one the best (for sound quality & performance). Too bad they didn't film the 4-Way street concert. That is one of the best live albums ever produced.
Rating: 
Summary: Blind adoration
Review: I don't care what these guys do or don't as long as they keep on making music. It can be sad that "Daylight again" is possibly one of their worst performances ever but then again it's CSN and therefor alone worth buying.
I've played it several times now and I each time I feel great!
Rating:
Summary: It's better than nothing
Review: I go this DVD as soon as it became available. Working my way through the menu I began to listen to the songs I really wanted to hear. It was tough because there are so many great covers of their stuff on this concert. Wooden Ships shows Stills just blistering the guitar. I had my 15 & 24 year old watch it with me and just waited to hear them respond. They DID. Then i took them to Suite Judy Blue Eyes and that floored them as well. Same with Southern Cross and Wasted on the Way, especially the vocals. Stills' voice is so strong on this, as is Nash's. Stills is clearly in control both vocally and musically. When i first saw the DVD it appeared that Crosby was stoned out of his mind. When i checked the date of the concert i realized this was just before I saw him at The Wax Museum (an irony for his present condition) in Washington, DC. He was barely coherant then and kept leaving the stage to do whatever it was he was doing to stay high. He had the same look in this concert. His voice is tentative and he comes across as almost terrified to be on stage. Nash's harmonies are heavenly as usual. The song selection and delivery is well worth the investment. The back and forth between Stills and Finnegan during Wooden Ships is amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Add this to your collection
Review: Knowing the street date was June 9th, I stopped off at Best Buy, they didn't have it, but that's not surprising, they didn't have Cat Stevens two weeks earlier. I then went to the local record store and there sat one copy each of CSN "Acoustic" and "Daylight" again. I now own about 100 Concert DVD's, all are classic rock, two weeks earlier I picked up Cat Stevens "Majikat" from 1976, Doobie Bros "Rockin' Down the Highway" from 1996 and Simon & Garfunkel at Central Park from 1981. One of my first DVD purchases about two years ago was a Supertramp show from 1983 and I've been turned off on buying older shows ever since, normally looking for newer concerts because of the audio and video. However recently I picked up the Doors Collection and the 1968 L.A. show that's included is pretty good so I've expanded my horizon. If your a fan of Cat Stevens, his new DVD will blow you away, even though I've held a grudge for his changes in lifestyle and religion it was easy to forget all that. Now, two weeks later I'm sitting down to watch CSN Acoustic & Daylight Again. I start off with the older 1983 Daylight again. I've been a fan since 1969 but have never seen them in person, I own the Woodstock DVD, and I can remember wearing out the Deja Vu record while stationed overseas in 1970-'71 and later the Four Way Street album. First off, the DVD audio and video are excellent, as good as any current DVD recordings. The concert was pretty much as I expected, a good backup band, a mix of old and newer songs, some acoustic, some electric and some with Graham on piano. I didn't know Graham Nash played guitar, it's interesting when they open and you see three guitars standing side-by-side. I would recommend buying this DVD, giving it 4 out of 5 stars. The second DVD, "Acoustic" recorded 1991, I'll probably rewatch more because it includes more of the songs I like. Stephen Stills is plugged in quite a bit of the time, so the main difference is there are no drums or keyboard backup, however CSN is good either way. The audiences on both concert DVD's are really into the band, but on the "Acoustic" DVD the San Franciscan crowd is a bigger part of the event, probably because it's a little smaller venue and the band invites them to be more vocal. Even though it's billed as acoustic, it's an energetic show, I would give "Acoustic" 4-1/2 stars. Do what I did, buy both DVD's.
Rating:
Summary: They made it look like hard work :(
Review: This concert was almost emotionless. It seemed to me like they had to WORK at this concert instead of enjoying themselves on stage they were almost " stiff". No excitement in the atmosphere at all. The concert was downright " boring "
Nash tries to get some enthusiasm going , but it just didn't work. " Wasted on the Way" was the best performance of this concert , all the other songs are easily " fast-forwardable"
If you're a CSN collector you need the DVD, if you're just a fan, skip this one and go for another CSN concert with some Umph ! This one lacked it , that's for sure.
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