Tracks

1. Music Is Love

2. Cowboy Movie

3. Tamalpais High (At About 3)

4. Laughing

5. What Are Their Names

6. Traction In The Rain

7. Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)

8. Orleans

9. I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here

Performer Notes

Personnel: David Crosby (vocals, guitar); Graham Nash (vocals, guitar, piano, background vocals); Laurie Allan (vocals); Jerry Garcia (guitar, pedal steel guitar); Neil Young (guitar, vibraphone, bass instrument, congas, background vocals); Phil Lesh (guitar, bass instrument); Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Kantner (guitar); Laura Allan (autoharp); Gregg Rolie (piano); Jack Casady (bass instrument); Michael Shrieve, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann (drums, percussion); David Freiberg, Grace Slick, Joni Mitchell (background vocals).
Recording information: Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, CA.
Photographers: Robert Hammer; Henry Diltz; Ronald Stone; Joel Bernstein.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Jack Casady; David Freiberg; Mickey Hart; Paul Kantner; Bill Kreutzmann; Joni Mitchell; Gregg Rolie; Michael Shrieve; Grace Slick; Robert Hammer; Ethan Crosby; David Geffen; Elliot Roberts; Henry Diltz; Ronald Stone; Gary Burden.
Arranger: David Crosby.
For his highly anticipated 1971 solo debut, David Crosby recorded a unique, eclectic, and willfully expansive album. The cream of early-70s California rock is assembled here, with the various celebrities joining together in an organic, collective approach that's embodied in the opener, the free-spirited jam of "Music Is Love." Throughout the record, Crosby moves from the sauntering Western shuffle of "Cowboy Movie" to the wondrously spiritual harmonies of "Tamalpais High (At About 3)" and, eventually, the hallowed chants of "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here."
Musically the album has an exploratory, almost jazzy feel, with its bright production cloaking the listener in acoustic strains and lush, layered harmonies. These qualities perfectly evoke the relaxed, hazy California lifestyle of the time. For all its dreaminess though, IF I COULD ONLY REMEMBER MY NAME rarely missteps, and the haunting melancholy of songs like "Laughing" and "Orleans" give the record a depth and durability that surpasses other recordings of the time. The result is an excellent, highly underrated album.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.75) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Forgotten by rock history, and probably by most of its participants, this 1971 curio is a one-of-a-kind freak-folk apogee."

Spin (p.83) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Utopia was so close you could feel it."

Entertainment Weekly (p.87) - "[T]he music stands as some of the greatest to be produced by the early-'70s West Coast scene." -- Grade: A

Mojo (Publisher) (p.75) - "[T]he harmonies are golden, the pace dreamy, the views panoramic."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.113) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[S]ome of the most stunning and poignant music of his career..."

NME (Magazine) (9/18/93, p.19) - Ranked #46 in NME's list of 'The Greatest Albums of the '70s.'

Album: If I Could Only Remember My Name...
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Music Is Love	More Info...	0:03
2)	Cowboy Movie	More Info...	0:08
3)	Tamalpais High (At About 3)	More Info...	0:03
4)	Laughing	More Info...	0:05
5)	What Are Their Names	More Info...	0:04
6)	Traction in the Rain	More Info...	0:03
7)	Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)	More Info...	0:06
8)	Orleans	More Info...	0:02
9)	I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here	More Info...	0:01

Album: If I Could Only Remember My Name...
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Music Is Love	More Info...	0:03
2)	Cowboy Movie	More Info...	0:08
3)	Tamalpais High (At About 3)	More Info...	0:03
4)	Laughing	More Info...	0:05
5)	What Are Their Names	More Info...	0:04
6)	Traction in the Rain	More Info...	0:03
7)	Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)	More Info...	0:06
8)	Orleans	More Info...	0:02
9)	I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here	More Info...	0:01