Allies (Crosby, Stills & Nash album)
Allies is the eighth album by Crosby, Stills & Nash, their second concert document, and released on Atlantic Records in 1983. A live concert clip for "Wasted on the Way" received some rotation on MTV at the time, as did the single "War Games". It peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200.
| Allies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | June 6, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1977–1983 | |||
| Venue | New Universal Amphitheater, Universal City, California; The Summit, Houston; Studio tracks in Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 42:32 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Stanley Johnston, Ron Albert, and Howard Albert | |||
| Crosby, Stills, & Nash chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Allies | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Content
The album starts off with two studio recordings. The lead track "War Games" was written for the 1983 film WarGames and was released as a single by the group, which peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was used in initial early promotional theatrical trailers and in a promotional video for MTV, but their participation in the project was cancelled at the last moment. The MTV video for the song was composed solely of scenes from the movie. The second studio track, "Raise a Voice" by Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, was appended to the 2006 re-issue of Daylight Again as a bonus track.
The rest of the album consists of live recordings from two different tours. The tracks "Shadow Captain" and "He Played Real Good For Free" were recorded in Houston, Texas, on the 1977 tour for the CSN album. Presumably they were chosen as they were strong David Crosby performances, something becoming more difficult for Crosby to muster evidenced by his minimal participation on the band's previous studio album as he dealt with personal difficulties that would eventually lead to his time in prison. The rest of the album derives from a show at the new Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, on the 1982 tour to promote Daylight Again.
David Crosby would spend time in prison in Texas during 1986, putting the group on temporary hiatus.[2] As a result, there would not be another Crosby, Stills & Nash album until 1988 and their reunion with Neil Young, that five-year gap the longest between releases by the group to that point in time.
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "War Games" (studio track) | Stephen Stills | 2:18 |
| 2. | "Raise a Voice" (studio track) | Graham Nash, Stephen Stills | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Turn Your Back on Love" | Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Michael Stergis | 5:04 |
| 4. | "Barrel of Pain" | Graham Nash | 5:46 |
| 5. | "Shadow Captain" | David Crosby, Craig Doerge | 4:30 |
Side two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dark Star" | Stephen Stills | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Blackbird" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 2:30 |
| 3. | "He Played Real Good for Free" | Joni Mitchell | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Wasted on the Way" | Graham Nash | 3:04 |
| 5. | "For What It's Worth" | Stephen Stills | 5:38 |
Personnel
- David Crosby – vocals, guitars
- Stephen Stills – vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Graham Nash – vocals, guitars, keyboards
Additional musicians
- Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar on "War Games" and "Raise a Voice"
- Michael Stergis – electric guitar on "Raise a Voice"
- James Newton Howard – keyboards on "War Games", "Turn Your Back on Love", "Barrel of Pain", "Dark Star" and "For What It's Worth"
- Mike Finnigan – additional vocals on "Barrel of Pain," keyboards on "Turn Your Back on Love", "Barrel of Pain", "Dark Star" and "For What It's Worth"
- Craig Doerge – keyboards on "War Games", "Raise a Voice" and "Shadow Captain"
- George "Chocolate" Perry – bass
- Joe Vitale – drums all tracks except "War Games" and "Raise a Voice"
- Jeff Porcaro – drums on "War Games" and "Raise a Voice"
- Efrain Toro – percussion on "Turn Your Back on Love", "Barrel of Pain", "Dark Star" and "For What It's Worth"
- Joe Lala – percussion on "Shadow Captain"
Production
- Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Stanley Johnston – producers
- Ron Albert, Howard Albert – co-producers on "Shadow Captain" and "He Played Real Good for Free"
- Steve Gursky, David Hewitt, Stanley Johnston, Jay Parti— engineers
- Jeff Kallestad, Gerry Lentz, and Doug Williams — assistant engineers
Charts
| Chart (1982) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard) | 43 |
| Canadian RPM 100 Albums[3] | 92 |
| Dutch MegaCharts Albums[4] | 39 |
| West German Album Charts[5] | 44 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[6] | 59 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | "War Games" | US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 45 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] | 41 | ||
| US Modern Rock (Billboard)[7] | 13 | ||
| US Top Singles (Cash Box)[6] | 53 |
References
- Allies at AllMusic
- Chicago Tribune article retrieved 6 January 2014
- Canada, Library and Archives (2013-04-16). "The RPM story". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
- "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties. ISBN 0-89820-079-2.
- "RPM Top Singles Chart" (PDF). RPM. RPM archives. Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. January 30, 1971. OCLC 352936026. Retrieved September 3, 2016.