On his new album For Free, coming out July 23rd via BMG, David Crosby shares the latest offering from a life devoted to the pure and powerful alchemy of music. Arriving just a month before his 80th birthday, For Free finds the folk-rock legend continuing to tap into the tremendous surge of creativity he’s experienced since the making of his acclaimed 2016 album Lighthouse, this time collaborating with the likes of Michael McDonald, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, and multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Sarah Jarosz. With a transcendent quality that lies somewhere between poetry, prayer, and wild-eyed rock-and-roll, For Free yet again reveals Crosby’s rare gift for imparting essential truths with both undeniable warmth and a profound sense of wonder.
Made with his son James Raymond (a multi-instrumentalist who also served as the album’s producer), For Free features a number of the musicians who joined Crosby on 2017’s Sky Trails, including saxophonist Steve Tavaglione and drummer Steve DiStanislao. Although much of the album encompasses the intricate textures and complex grooves signature to the Sky Trails Band sound, its title comes from Crosby’s gorgeously sparse cover of a Joni Mitchell classic he’s returned to many times over the years. “Joni’s the greatest living singer/songwriter, and ‘For Free’ is one of her simplest,” notes Crosby, who’s accompanied by Jarosz on the track. “It’s one of my favorite songs because I love what it says about the spirit of music and what compels you to play.” True to the original version, “For Free” unfolds in a delicate piano-based arrangement, with Jarosz and Crosby’s voices channeling awe and sorrow to spellbinding effect.
The follow-up to Here If You Listen—a 2018 album created with Michael League of Snarky Puppy, Michelle Willis, and Becca Stevens, who also collaborated with Crosby on Lighthouse—For Free opens on “River Rise”: a majestic and massively uplifting number co-written with Raymond and McDonald, who also lends his iconic vocals to the song’s soaring harmonies. “‘River Rise’ came from wanting to write something very evocative of California, but almost with a country-song perspective—something that speaks to the empowerment of the everyman or everywoman,” says Raymond.
In a particularly meaningful turn for Crosby, For Free also includes a track penned by Fagen expressly for the album. “Steely Dan’s my favorite band and I’ve admired Donald a long time, so that was a thrill for us,” he says. A sharply detailed portrait of outlaws, angels, and drugstore cowboys, “Rodriguez For A Night” merges Fagen’s sophisticated storytelling with Crosby’s warmly commanding vocal presence, ultimately making for a glorious collision of worlds. Crosby taps another friend for the album’s striking cover art, using a portrait Joan Baez painted of him.
Photo by Anna Webber
