AFTER A LONG TIME GONE, CROSBY FINDS THE WAY

When most people weren’t looking, someone rewrote the David Crosby script, transforming a tragic and disturbing tale into an uplifting story loaded with rooting interest. The person responsible for the rewrite, of course, is Crosby himself.

Only he can determine whether his pharmaceutical and legal troubles will remain part of the plot. But Thursday at the Kono Hawaii in Santa Ana, Crosby played his first Southland show since he was paroled in August from a Texas prison where he was serving a five-year sentence on drug and weapons charges. And it was a stunning, emotion-packed performance.

Actually, the solo, acoustic show began inauspiciously. Seated, Crosby opened with “In My Dreams,” faltering when he tried to sing the high parts and grimacing when he hit a bad note on his guitar. But the shaky start turned out to be nothing more than shaky nerves.

After “Dreams,” he chatted with the standing-room-only crowd, mostly about serving time (“Hey rock star--grab this mop . . .”). From that point on, the mustachioed singer was relaxed and at the top of his game, sounding better than he has on local stages in years.

He injected such passion and indomitable spirit into each song that moldy-but-goody pieces like “Long Time Gone” and “Wooden Ships” seemed remarkably poignant, vital and fresh.

Even more impressive were some outstanding new songs, including an exquisite one called “Compass.”

“For two or three years before I cleaned up, I couldn’t write anything,” he explained to the audience. But during his prison term he decided to try again, and came up with “Compass.” Then he added, “It’s a song about finding the way.” Clearly a theme Crosby thoroughly understands.