The film chronicles Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's 2006 North American Tour. While the documentary deals with the interaction between the band, audience, media and general population, the album includes full-length versions of songs that are heard as excerpts in the film. In some ways, the album serves as a kind of live greatest hits collection augmented by key songs from Young's earlier, controversial Living With War album. It offers the listener an opportunity to experience the legendary group's repertoire through the prism of contemporary conflict. In the film, songs from the tour are woven together with archival material, news footage, and audience reaction and observations, as issues surrounding the integration of politics and art are examined and observed.

The performances are presented as they happened, with no overdubs, making CSNY: Déjà Vu LIVE nothing less than exactly what its title indicates, a rarity these days when most "live" albums are tweaked to perfection in post-production. The only instance of "studio magic," so to speak is a 100 voice choir which was recorded prior to the tour at Capitol Records Studios in Hollywood. Concert audiences heard the choir's performance piped into concert venues so that aspect is retained in the album as it serves to replicate the actual concert experience.

In a recent Billboard interview, Young who produced the album with filmmaker L.A. Johnson explained the idea behind the approach. "It really is CSNY. It's not overdubbed, There's no fixes. It's straight from the board. The basic mixes are the mixes that people heard when we were playing it," Young explained. "So it's got rough spots all the way through it, which I think is refreshing, especially considering the subject matter. It is what it is, and that's the message of the music." Backing musicians who performed on the tour and heard on the album include Rick Rosas (bass), Chad Cromwell (drums), Spooner Oldham (keyboards), Ben Keith (pedal steel) and Tom Bray (trumpet). 100 Voices Choir was conducted by Darrell Brown and Rosemary Butler.

Since the group's inception in the 1960's, joining elements of the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and Hollies, its members have been icons of musical activism. The film and the album are extensions of that CSNY tradition that continues to this day. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young have all been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Crosby was inducted as part of the Byrds and, separately, for his role in Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stills was inducted for his role in both the Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash; Nash was inducted as a founding member of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Neil Young was inducted as part of Buffalo Springfield and as a solo artist.

The film CSNY: Déjà Vu is in theatres and offered as video on demand on July 25, released through Lionsgate.

CSNY: Déjà Vu Live track listing (song writers)