There’s an unknown quality in Neil Young’s voice that has helped cement his legacy as one of music’s all-time greats. A prolific songwriter and a masterful guitarist, yes—but when he lays down a vocal track, whatever tune he’s written plunges to new, uncharted depths of humanity.

Take his contribution to Crosby, Stills and Nash for example. The then three-piece band boasted one of the finest harmony collections in all of music, welding together intricate vocal parts for a final result that transcended the normal solo vocal take.

And what sat at the heart of that success was an idea that the harmonic prowess within the band was achieved by the otherworldly alchemy that existed when just those three musicians began singing with one another. So, for Young to come in as a fourth harmony and make such a stellar impact—most notably on songs like ‘Ohio’ and ‘Carry’ on—speaks to his own vocal calibre.

However, Young already had a rich history of collaboration with Stephen Stills as part of Buffalo Springfield . The sort of alchemical relationship that makes the work of Crosby, Stills, and Nash so compelling similarly existed within the respective working relationships of Young and Stills.

During an interview with Mojo in 1995, Young was asked what compelled him to work with Stills, to which he simply answered, “His voice”.

He continued: “He was a really great singer. He had the beginnings of being an electric guitar player, too. Somehow we could play lead guitar parts simultaneously and not get in each other’s way. And that’s real rare. It gave the sound a real edge. And it has absolutely nothing to do with what he does by himself and what I do by myself”.

In terms of Young’s former point, Stills’ vocal ability is plain on so many hits for both Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills and Nash. A sacred sonic weapon that many members of each respective band was eager to protect.

When Young’s inclusion into the band was proposed, Graham Nash had doubts, claiming: “We had just discovered this vocal sound and just made this great record. After many discussions, after it was decided that Neil should be invited to join, I didn’t like the idea at first because I didn’t want to disturb that vocal sound”.

He continued: “We were intimately linked, and we knew where we had to go with any particular piece of music. And that would all have to change with the addition of another voice.”

But as Young knew, there was edgy undercurrent to the paired guitar playing of both him and Stills. While Young’s vocal introduction added depth and edge to the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young soundscape, it was the added layer of guitar-playing complexity that added to the bands greatness.

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