Crosby, Stills, & Nash: Dear Mr. Fantasy

Every Monday, I feature a cover tune of someone else’s hit. Back on January 30, I featured Traffic’s “Mr. Fantasy” album and in the process of researching that piece, I found this recording from Crosby, Stills, and Nash with their version of “Dear Mr. Fantasy.”

Stephen Stills sings the lead and plays lead guitar. I don’t have the liner notes so I am not sure who is on organ – it could be Stills, Nash, Joe Vitale, Mike Finnegan, or Paul Harris. They are all credited to the album. Graham Nash fills in on the harmony vocals while David Crosby is missing in action. Stills also adds his own verse in the process of this recording.

The author with Graham Nash in 1982

This song was recorded in 1980, however, it remained unreleased until 1991 when it appeared on two compilation CDs:  “CSN” (the boxed set) and “Carry On.” It is quite a bit heavier than Traffic’s original recording from 1967 which is below. While I appreciate this rendition, it would be hard for anyone to improve on Traffic’s original.

Traffic’s Original

Live Version by Stevie Winwood from 2003