On his new album “Now”, folk rock legend Graham Nash sings about the happiness of the moment and love. But the record holds even deeper reflections.
‘I Thought I’d Never Love Again’: British-American folk-rock legend Graham Nash (CSNY, The Hollies)’s new album ‘Now’ opens with a defiant song about a man’s return to love life who has… already wanted to prepare for his end.
The 81-year-old Nash sings about himself. “There was a moment when I thought I would be alone and face my death in loneliness. Then I fell in love with my wife Amy,” says Nash in an interview with the German press Agency.
Nash speaks in a soft voice. He’s extremely polite. It was not for nothing that he was always considered a gentleman among rock stars. But the fact that his life also consisted of “sex, drugs and rock’n’roll” has become less and less of a secret in recent years.
End of his 38-year marriage
Almost as if he wanted to finally shake off the image of the nice grandfather’s son-in-law, he kept talking about drug use, the many female fans he had slept with and the end of his 38-year marriage to actress Susan Sennett, whom he played for many years younger artist Amy Grantham left.
His adult children, two sons and a daughter, will not forgive him for separating from his mother, as he told the Guardian last year. They cut off contact with him. But Nash is undeterred. He is determined to savor life to the last breath. “Here I am, still living my life, right now,” he states on the rocking song “Right Now.”
Homage to the role model of his youth
With the rest of the album, Nash proves that he doesn’t just live in the moment. He takes the listener on a profound journey through his more than 60-year career, which begins chronologically with a tribute to his youthful role model, Buddy Holly. With the song “Buddy’s Back” he returns to his roots from the times when he celebrated success with the Hollies.
The band was named after rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1959 at the age of 22. The song was co-written with Nash’s former school friend and ex-Hollies bandmate, Allan Clarke, with whom he is still in contact. “I’ve sung with Allan since I was six years old,” says Nash, who was born in Blackpool, England, but has lived in the US since the late 1960s.
The songs “Golden Idol”, “Stars and Stripes” and “Rise Up” sound more like folk rock, which Nash helped launch as a member of CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) in the late 1960s. , in which his political commitment to peace and against nuclear armament shines through. He still believes in the ideals of the hippies, he says in a dpa interview. “They believed that peace is better than war, that love is better than hate,” said the musician, who has recently appeared at demonstrations again and again.
Former relationship with singer Joni Mitchell
For his profound lyrics, Nash draws from the things that move him personally. What still doesn’t seem to have let go of him is the split from Canadian-American singer Joni Mitchell (79) more than 50 years ago. He leaves it open whether the soulful song “Love of Mine” is dedicated to her. But he reveals that he still sends his former partner flowers for her birthday every year.
Nash, who doesn’t want anything to do with retirement, shows himself keen to experiment with the tracks “Theme from Pastorale” and “I Watched It All Come Down”, which have a touch of classical music with string music in the background.
“Now” is an album that not only celebrates life in the here and now, but also invites you to look back at the good things from the past with gratitude.