If I Could Only Remember My Name
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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If I Could Only Remember My Name is the debut solo album by American singer-songwriter David Crosby, released in February 1971 on Atlantic Records. The guest musicians on the album included Graham Nash, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and members of Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and the Grateful Dead. The ensemble was given the informal moniker of The Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra. It was one of four high-profile albums (all charting within the top fifteen) released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their chart-topping Déjà Vu album, along with After the Gold Rush (Neil Young, September 1970), Stephen Stills (Stephen Stills, November 1970) and Songs for Beginners (Graham Nash, May 1971). It peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and earned a RIAA gold record certification in the United States.
Track listing
All songs written by David Crosby except where noted
Side one
- "Music Is Love" (Graham Nash, Neil Young, David Crosby) – 3:16
- "Cowboy Movie" – 8:02
- "Tamalpais High (At About 3)" – 3:29
- "Laughing" – 5:20
Side two
- "What Are Their Names" (Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Michael Shrieve, David Crosby) – 4:09
- "Traction in the Rain" – 3:40
- "Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)" – 5:53
- "Orleans" (traditional, arranged by David Crosby) – 1:56
- "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here" – 1:19
2006 reissue bonus track
- "Kids and Dogs" – 7:01
2021 50th anniversary edition bonus disc
- Demos:
- Recorded March 1968:
- "Riff 1" – 2:22
- Recorded March 28, 1968; produced by Paul A. Rothchild:
- <li value=2>"Tamalpais High (At About 3)" – 1:53
- "Kids and Dogs" – 3:07
- "Games" – 3:17
- Recorded May 31, 1968; engineered by Michael Nemo:
- <li value=5>"Laughing" – 3:58
- Recorded 1969:
- <li value=6>"Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)" – 3:12
- Recorded 1970:
- <li value=7>"The Wall Song" – 4:15
- "Where Will I Be?" – 3:41
- Sessions:
- <li value=9>"Cowboy Movie" (alternate version) – 10:57
- "Bach Mode (Pre-Critical Mass)" – 2:00
- "Coast Road" – 5:16
- "Dancer" – 5:03
- "Fugue" – 2:03
Trivia (is this true?)
In a 2010 list of the Best Albums published by the Vatican City newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, If I Could Only Remember My Name came in second to the Beatles' Revolver.