Wild Tales

Wild Tales (2013) by Graham Nash. The British musician, Graham Nash, has written an autobiography. It gives the impression of being a tell-all, although of course he could have reserved some details. I found it fun to read, at least the first half. Nash started out as a founding member of the Hollies, then moved on to Crosby, Stills & Nash, and then of course to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A lot of great music is mentioned in passing, and it's great fun to look songs up on You Tube and listen to them again after all these years. It was also interesting to learn that Nash had a romance with Joni Mitchell, one of the great singer-songwriters of the 20th century. And it was enlightening to learn the provenance of certain songs -- for example, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," which Stephen Stills wrote about Judy Collins, and "Our House," which Nash wrote about a day he spent with Joni Mitchell. The second half of the book was kind of a downer, with people (David Crosby in particular) getting in trouble with drugs, and with formerly happy relationships crumbling into acrimony and occasional bitterness. Plus, Nash is quite full of himself and the songs he wrote, so that takes some of the fun out of the book. But altogether, a really enjoyable, nostalgic book to read. Grade: B+