Graham Nash says David Crosby was 'a very interesting couple of people'

Let's address the walrus in the room right away, shall we.

David Crosby, he of the walrus mustache, sweet voice and sometimes volatile disposition, died in January. At the time, Graham Nash — as in Crosby, Stills & Nash — was making plans for a rapprochement after several years of estrangement because of Crosby's admittedly off-putting tongue.

"We were getting together toward the end of his life," Nash said last week. "We were emailing each other and voice-mailing each other."

Then Crosby died as he was rehearsing for another concert tour. His family said long illness. Nash says COVID-19.

"It's very sad for me, of course. He was my best friend for over 50 years. It's like an earthquake; the initial shock is terrible," Nash said. "I will miss him for the rest of my life. There's no doubt about it."

On a new tour that brings Nash to Minneapolis next week, he will sing CSN songs as well as tunes from the Crosby/Nash duo catalog that will prompt him to think of his longtime friend.

"David was a very interesting couple of people. On the one hand, he was very generous, very funny, very brilliant and a great musician. On the other hand, he could be cruel," Nash explained. "I just keep thinking of the good times. So, when I'm singing songs I did with David, I keep a good image of him in my mind."

It's been an emotional year for the 81-year-old Nash — Crosby's death, the return of his ex-lover Joni Mitchell for the Gershwin Prize and a new album of his own, "Now," out May 19.

The album — Nash's first in seven years and only his third since 1986 — is highly personal and overtly political, a mix of love songs and commentary about America, a certain former president and even Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

"I Watched It All Come Down" — a Beatlesque suite with exquisite vocal harmonies — has CSNY written all over it without mentioning the supergroup by name.

"That's a song about the highlights of the incredibly good music that we sometimes made," Nash said, "and at the same time it's very disappointing that we didn't make more music and we didn't stay together longer."

In pieces like the dark, ominous "Golden Idols" and the gently twangy, ironic "Stars and Stripes," Nash comments on politics because "it's the duty of all artists to reflect the times in which we live. We have to talk about what's going on with [Donald] Trump or what's going on with Mitch McConnell and [Kevin] McCarthy and Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, incredibly bad people. But the pendulum will swing the other way, I believe."

Nash is a Brit who has lived in the United States since 1968. He always wanted to live in America, though the writer of the 1971 folkie protest "Military Madness" has never been shy about speaking his mind.

"I'll always be English, of course. I always thought America was an incredibly great country," he said by phone from a Virginia hotel. "It has its problems, of course, with the rise of the right wing and extremists throughout the world and the autocrats. It is getting pretty shaky out there. At the same time, we're going to Mars and we're trying to cure cancer and all the great things that humanity does. America is a great country, and I really love it dearly."

On the new album, Nash gives a nod to the first band that made him famous, England's the Hollies, with "Buddy's Back." The retro pop tune is a collaboration with Hollies buddy Allan Clarke, who came out of retirement in 2019 and this month released an album, "I'll Never Forget."

"I was honored to sing with Allan," Nash said. "It was fun. I think I'm singing on 10 tracks on his album and on 'Buddy's Back,' which I wrote because of Hollies' absolute love for Buddy Holly."

"Now" is filled with tender love songs such as "Follow Your Heart" for Nash's wife, photographer Amy Grantham, whom he married in 2019. There are also selections reflecting on humankind, such as "A Better Life."

"We need to make this place a better place for our kids and our grandchildren, for sure," the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer said. "In a way, it's an extension of [CSNY's] 'Teach Your Children,' isn't it?"

Nash sounds in fine voice on "Now," which is largely a stripped-down project. How does he keep his voice in shape?

"I have no idea. I don't have a vocal coach. I don't do exercises. I just sing," he said. "Every voice on my record is me. I'm doing all the harmonies with myself. I sing well, and I'm glad. A God-given gift, for sure."

When he performs for three nights at the Dakota in Minneapolis backed by guitarist Shane Fontayne and keyboardist Todd Caldwell, Nash expects to include two or three songs from "Now."

"My problem is: What do I throw out? The shows are a couple of hours. Do I throw 'Marrakesh Express' out to put a new one in? Do I throw out 'Our House,' 'Teach Your Children'? What do I do? We'll figure it out."

He might offer his version of Mitchell's "A Case of You," which he performed in March at the televised ceremony honoring her with the Gershwin Prize. She sang "Summertime," the Gershwin classic, and she's headed to June concerts near Seattle with Brandi Carlile.

Nash was excited to see his former lover and forever friend receive the prestigious recognition and return to singing in a public way.

"For many years, Joan didn't think she was appreciated enough. People didn't understand her gift for writing and painting," he noted. "That night she really began to understand how much she is loved by people in the world. That got home to her very strongly that night."

Impressed by her rebound from a 2015 brain aneurysm ("quite honestly, we nearly lost her"), Nash asked Mitchell that night at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., if she had any ideas for songs or paintings.

"She looked at me and said, 'No.' And then she said, 'And not yet.' I believe her. I think she's going to get stronger and be singing better. I think she's back."

With Nash reconnecting with Mitchell and Clarke, shall we ask the obvious? Any chance of a reunion of SNY with Stephen Stills and Neil Young?

"I don't know. That depends on the songs. If they come up to me and have got four or five great songs, then I'm in. I love great music. Certainly, Stephen and Neil can make good music."

Graham Nash

When: 7 p.m. May 2, 4 & 5,

Where: the Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.

Tickets: $100-$140, dakotacooks.com.