Deluxe reissue of David Crosby’s first solo album, ‘If I Could Only Remember My Name,’ due in October

Rhino

David Crosby‘s debut 1971 solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name, will be reissued in expanded form on October 15 in honor of its 50th anniversary.

The reissue will be available as a two-CD set featuring a newly remastered version of the album, plus a bonus disc offering demos, alternate takes and previously unreleased songs.

Crosby recorded If I Could Only Remember My Name with an impressive list of guest artists, including Graham Nash, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell; Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart; Jefferson Airplane‘s Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady and David Freiberg; and Santana‘s Gregg Rolie and Michael Shrieve.

The haunting, atmospheric collection of songs came together as Crosby was grieving the death of his girlfriend, Christine Hinton, who was killed in a 1969 car crash. Crosby recalls that Garcia played an integral role in inspiring him to work on the material.

“There’d be that grin, and then that look in the eyes, and this fascination with the music,” Crosby remembers. “Easy, not forced, graceful, fun, ever-present. It was a kindness, I’m pretty sure. Jerry never said that, never even implied it. Just, ‘Hey, I heard you were doing something. What are you doing? Let’s do something.'”

If I Could Only Remember My Name was released in February 1971 and peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200.

One of the unreleased bonus demos, “Riff 1,” has been made available as an advance digital track.  Another bonus tune is an alternate version of “Cowboy Movie,” featuring a guitar solo by Young rather than by Garcia.

Digital and streaming versions of the deluxe reissue also will be available, as will a 180-gram vinyl LP featuring the remastered original album. You can pre-order the reissue now.

Here’s the If I Could Only Remember My Name deluxe reissue’s track list:

Disc One: Original Album

“Music Is Love”
“Cowboy Movie”
“Tamalpais High (At About 3)”
“Laughing”
“What Are Their Names”
“Traction in the Rain”
“Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)”
“Orleans”
“I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here”

Bonus Track
“Kids and Dogs”

Disc Two: Bonus Tracks

Demos
“Riff 1” (Demo)*
“Tamalpais High (At About 3)” (Demo)*
“Kids and Dogs” (Demo)*
“The Wall Song” (Demo)*
“Games” (Demo)*
“Laughing” (Demo)*
“Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves)” (Demo)
“Where Will I Be” (Demo)*

Sessions
“Cowboy Movie” (Alternate Version)*
“Bach Mode” (Pre-“Critical Mass”)*
“Coast Road”*
“Dancer”*
“Fugue”*

* = previously unreleased.

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