This Path Tonight appeared 14 long years after 2002's Songs for Survivors, but
Graham Nash didn't spend that decade and a half idly. In addition to semi-regular tours with
David Crosby and
Stephen Stills,
Nash archived his
CSN past by curating box sets for all three members along with a live set from 1974 that featured
Neil Young. He also looked to the past via his 2013 memoir Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. Maybe all these glances backward culminated with him turning his attention to the present, where things were in flux. This Path Tonight was written and recorded in the wake of his separation (and eventual divorce) from his longtime wife, Susan Sennett, and by the time it saw release,
Nash claimed that he would never perform with
Crosby again, thereby bringing a close to
CSN. All the elements were in place for This Path Tonight to be a textbook divorce album but, instead, there's hope threaded among bittersweet ruminations. When he sings about "Another Broken Heart," it's not about himself -- he's addressing the woman he's leaving, encouraging her to find a love to help her through. Such a sentiment blends sweetness and self-regard, which is something of a signature for
Nash and his compatriots. Here, this trait seems neither narcissistic nor cloying; it feels settled, relaxed, and assured --
Nash embraces the changes with confidence because he knows where he's heading. He'll still stumble into moments either strident (usually the political songs, including the bonus track "Mississippi Burning") or saccharine (usually the love songs), but that's part of his DNA and
Nash doesn't attempt to hide it on This Path Tonight. Nor does he attempt to turn this record into anything other than a twilight reflection. At times, the production carries an adult contemporary air reminiscent of
Daylight Again, elsewhere it's as spare as he's ever been, and the two aesthetics blend into a record that's comforting yet not complacent.
Nash is no longer looking at the past; he's looking at the future and he's embracing all the changes to come. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine