Bentley's Bandstand
Listening to demonstration recordings is probably like being a peeping tom: you're really hearing something never intended to be heard outside a certain few. But in an age where every little bit of commercial sales counts, expect to see more and more collections like this start to surface. Luckily, these songs stand up, even in their stripped-down state. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were still warm from the oven when most of these were made. The stellar trio was getting ready to record their debut album, and were more an exciting promise than a real band at this point. These harmonies alone were enough to make most ears stand at attention, and in many ways CSN were inventing the whole new concept of a supergroup. Several tracks here are too skeletal to really tell what lay ahead, but some are mesmerizing peeks into the future. Demos also is a study in just how much work is involved in shaping greatness from early musical germs. It is no fluke why certain groups go all the way, and a peek into the cupboard here is like falling into an undiscovered diamond mine. And this was only the first look.
