So when the singer told an expectant Playhouse audience that they were in for "a whole lot of music" there was never any doubt that an epic night lay ahead.

CSN has never been the steadiest ship. Formed out of the ashes of the Hollies, the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield in 1967, the trio (plus, when he could stand to be around the others for any length of time, Neil Young) have always trodden a fine line between triumph and disaster, with gargantuan ego and drug issues often overshadowing their indisputably impressive recorded output.

Together again for the umpteenth time, the trio granted Edinburgh a two-hour plus set which encompassed every facet of their dysfunctional collective personality. Glorious harmonising sat snugly alongside dull muso self-indulgence. Breezy classics rubbed shoulders with ponderous newies. And sharp and witty onstage repartee got up close and personal with backslapping smugness.

Thankfully the combination of a receptive crowd and an in-form band rendered the low points bearable and the high points remarkable.

Emerging to a cacophonous partisan roar, it was clear from the off that CSN were determined to fly their flag high. Steven Stills may have let himself go somewhat since his svelte 60s prime but his skill as a guitarist remains undiminished. The bulky fret-strangler excelled all evening but it was during set opener Carry On that the visceral thrill of hearing his blues influenced playing combined with the trio's famous harmonies hit home the most.

Edinburgh Evening News  by DUNCAN FORGAN

More heartfelt nostalgia was soon to come with trusty classics, Marrakech Express and Long Time Gone giving both Nash and Crosby the chance to shine.

It is a moot point as to whether rock veterans should be allowed to play new material on astronomically priced re-union dates, and there was a definite lull as Nash and Crosby embarked on a tedious plod entitled Jesus of Rio which reeked of dull, waistcoat-clad, 1980s-style middle of the road.

Mercifully, the rest of the trio's contemporary output was a great deal more palatable, with special mention going to Stills' impassioned soul-man impression on an adaptation of the old Otis Redding belter Old Man Trouble.

With Stills providing the facial theatrics with his spotlighted solos and Nash being the steadying influence in the middle of the stage, it was left to Crosby to come out with the twin musical highpoints of the night. The lyrics of Guinevere and Wooden Ships, both from the trio's debut album, may not have the same resonance they did in the patchouli-scented heyday of hippydom, however, Crosby's angelic voice, perfectly preserved against the odds, could still melt even the hardest cynic's heart.

True to Nash's word, the music kept on coming and the crowd's fix was eventually only sated after a nine-minute jam tagged to the end of Wooden Ships, and separate encores of Woodstock and Teach Your Children - two classics to end their Playhouse love in.