David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name version on vinyl LP in Remastered edition. This particular edition was published in Europe in publishing company Atlantic on 12. November 2021.

Los Angeles - Singer-songwriter David Crosby's solo debut If I Could Only Remember My Name was critically panned upon its release in 1971. Over the years, however, the album's adventurous aesthetic, layered harmonies and haunting lyrics about loss and confusion have been increasingly appreciated. The album, which was billed as Crosby's solo debut, was not a one-man project. Instead, it was one of his best collaborative works, featuring members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Santana, as well as Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and others.

"If I Could Only Remember My Name" celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and Rhino is releasing it on a 2-CD set that includes the album meticulously remastered from the original analog tapes and accompanied by a bonus CD with a dozen previously unreleased demos, outtakes and alternate versions. The new remastering was overseen by Stephen Barncard, the original album's sound engineer, and has been restored and sped up with the help of Plangent Processes. "If I Could Only Remember My Name: 50th Anniversary Edition" will be available now. The remastered version of the original album will also be released on 180gram vinyl.

The cover notes that accompany the collection were written by Steve Silberman, co-author of Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads. He writes: "...the stories behind the creation of If I Could Only Remember My Name make it clear that the album's uplifting and redemptive qualities are the result of a small group of talented musicians bringing one of their own back from the brink. The album's poignancy was tempered by the fire of a life-changing tragedy."

When Crosby began recording the album in 1970, he was mourning the loss of his longtime girlfriend Christine Hinton, who had died in a car accident a year earlier. At the time, Wally Heider's San Francisco studio became a refuge for Crosby, where Jerry Garcia appeared almost every night, according to his recollections. "He had a smile and then a look in his eyes and was fascinated by the music," Crosby recalls. "Simple, easygoing, charming, funny, ubiquitous. It was kindness, I'm sure of it. Jerry never said it, never even hinted at it. Just, 'Hey, I hear you're doing something. What are you doing? Let's do something."

What they created was music that was embraced by later generations of songwriters and cited as an early example of the "freak folk" genre. The original nine songs explore a wide range of moods and textures. Crosby's swing and Garcia's crisp solos lend intensity to "Cowboy Movie," while "Song With No Words (Trees With No Leaves)" seamlessly transitions between choral folk and modal jazz. For "Orleans," Crosby reimagined a French nursery rhyme and used the studio and its echo to record the chorus with its vocal harmonies.

The second disc contains nearly an hour of previously unreleased recordings from the formative years of If I Could Only Remember My Name. This includes the first germ of the album, which Crosby planted at Hollywood Recorders in Los Angeles on March 28, 1968. Together with producer Paul Rothchild, he recorded the first versions of songs like "Tamalpais High (At About 3)" and others there. These tracks are joined by several unreleased session recordings, including "Coast Road", "Dancer" and an alternate version of "Cowboy Movie" featuring a solo Neil Young instead of Garcia.

Album spans genres Rock, Folk Rock, Classic Rock and Country Rock. 180g Remastered Gatefold 50th Anniversary Edition Vinyl.