Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There are few typically warm, lovingly affectionate, and genuinely positive welcomes to the Philharmonic Hall stage as there is joyfully reserved for what could be said to be the elder statesmen and women of the music world. The ones to whom kick started off the whole love affair with British pop music, to the ones who found fame not once, but over the course of different bands and outings, who made the crowd sing along to the best known, and sometimes more obscure, songs, the heroes of the 60s have always held a special place in the hearts of music lovers.
Such a welcome is assured, such a reception felt like it had mended broken hearts and gladdened the spirits of those in the audience, for those who had ventured to the venue to witness Graham Nash make an appearance in Liverpool, a showing of one of the greats, an occurrence that does not happen with arguably enough frequency, but then again, the humble are often enigmatic, the prolific have to spread themselves all too thin to satisfy everyone.
It will be baffling to some that one person can pack in so much into their lives, not only being a member of one of the early pioneers of British Pop music in the extraordinary band The Hollies, but then going one step further, taking a giant leap across the Atlantic to become the British member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills and Nash, and again with the musically dominant Neil Young coming into the group, this drive, this sense of beguiling passion and gentleness only serves to demand just how important Graham Nash is to the fabric of music.
It may be all too brief, it could be one of the final times such a musician and songwriter steps onto the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall stage but the desire and the fire was unquenchable, the music played with beauty, and in songs such as I Used To Be King, Immigration Man, Golden Days, To The Last Whale/Wind On The Water, Marrakesh Express, Mississippi Burning, the sublime experience of Cathedral and the innocence of Our House, as well as a dedication to The Cavern Club with a cover of The Beatles’ song, A Day In The Life, this legend of our times captured the hearts of those who had never been fortunate to hear him perform, and re-stoked the love to those who had been with him every step of the long and winding path.
A truly marvellous evening of acoustic music and personal stories; for Graham Nash, Time has been the most faithful of friends, to the audience he is rightly considered one of the greats but upon that stage, as the smile never faltered and the guitar and keyboard submitted to his will, he was, and will remain, extraordinary.
Ian D. Hall