commentary by Stephen Barncard
(previously on the web)

By Steve Silberman

It’s a ragged but heavenly version of a sublime tune that Crosby wrote around the same time he was writing Tamalpais High, Song with No Words, Laughing - all those great tunes that ended up on his first solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name (the album it “got away” from).

The earliest version I know is from March 28, 1968, recorded at Hollywood Recorders, LA, by Paul Rothchild and Bruce Botnick. It’s a solo version, from an incandescent solo session that’s about as pure as music gets, with soul-stirring renditions of The Wall Song, Games, Tam High, Laughing (with scat-sung “percussion”!), Wooden Ships, and other great songs. David and Joni [Mitchell] had recently broken up, I believe, and her traces are still hovering about his music at this point, which drives toward the heart of the mystery. If there is a God, Crosby or his heirs will see fit to release this whole session some day commercially - it’s the missing link from the Byrds to the full-on Crosby/CSN “Guinnevere” thing, but a place unto itself.

see the rest of this article at David Gans’ Site.

An Interview With Mixer/Recordist Stephen Barncard

by Matthew Greenwald


I. CREATING THE RECORD


Matthew Greenwald: I’m curious how you went from being an assistant engineer on Déjà Vu to developing such a great relationship with Crosby and working on his solo album.


Stephen Barncard: For one thing, I had stopped assisting, earned my stripes, and became a real mixer with credits with acts like Brewer & Shipley, Seals & Crofts, and the Grateful Dead. But my experiences earlier during Déjà Vu as an assistant were different. Crosby was a very uptight guy during that CSNY record. He had little respect or patience for people like studio assistants or roadies. Support people were only there to serve him. These people would also be a convenient target if things went wrong. So needless to say, I was not visible or useful to him during the recording of Déjà Vu, and he said a couple of things to me that made me feel bad. So I vowed to avoid working with him again. At that time I did not know of the loss of his lady, Christine.


I had started at Heiders Studio in San Francisco in 1969, and by the fall of 1970 I was a “First”—meaning “First Mixer”—and I had some credentials, and had just finished the tracks and overdubs for American Beauty. Jerry [Garcia], Phil [Lesh], and I were just getting ready to mix. At this time Garcia was also hanging out with Crosby, and David was getting ready to do his solo record, so I assume David had conversations with Jerry and asked, “Who would be good for me to work with on my solo record?” So, lo and behold, Crosby’s calling me and asking me to do his record.

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