Scratch a Track: Music Review and Commentary Podcast · The Dude and Grimm Show

Were Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young the first true Supergroup? - Deja Vu Album Review

·41 min·2 clips

“Deja Vu” took about 100 takes, but the hosts say it still had to open side two.

Dude and Grim open on Deja Vu. They jump into the old supergroup debate, asking whether Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young should be called the first supergroup or maybe the first U.S. super group, with Cream in the comparison and the reminder that Neil Young is from Canada and Graham Nash is from England even though the band formed in the U.S. The packaging gets some attention too. They like the gatefold, the textured vinyl, and the way Dallas Taylor and Gregory Yves are credited with smaller names, which gives the record a nice physical feel. Then they move to 'Carry On.' They talk about Graham Nash thinking the album still needed a proper opener, Steven Stills tying two unfinished songs together with a jam the band had played a few nights earlier, and the finished track ending up as one of the album's singles. The organ catches them immediately. It makes them think of Santana, they hear acoustic guitar woven through the song, and one of them even starts drifting toward Led Zeppelin's 'Friends' before pulling that thought back to the album itself. Sequencing keeps coming up. Their talk about hearing records out of order turns into a broader point about how an album can feel off or click depending on where the songs land, because the transitions change the shape of the whole thing. They keep circling the opener. To them, an opening track is not just a front door. It has to hook you, set the tone, and prove the record trusts its own momentum. The conversation stays loose, which is part of the appeal. They are comfortable with half-finished corrections, small detours, and the kind of self-checking that makes the discussion feel lived-in instead of scripted. They also keep comparing the record to other bands, other arrangements, and other listening memories without pretending those comparisons are settled. The tone never gets precious. Even when they are clearly serious about the album, the banter stays warm and a little grubby, which fits a record that still feels like a band figuring out what kind of monster it is. They end by inviting disagreement, asking listeners what they would scratch and leaving the door open for people who want to argue the order, the supergroup label, or the way the record lands in the first place.

As heard by us

A loose, smart Deja Vu hang that turns supergroup trivia into listening context.

This take treats Deja Vu as both classic and a tidy point of debate: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is positioned as maybe the first supergroup, or at least the first U.S. one, with Cream kept in the comparison set.

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Why you'd press play

You want a loose, smart hang about Deja Vu and the first U.S. supergroup question.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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