Stephen Stills' eponymous album was his solo debut after stints in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young). Judging from the cover, it seems to be a naked affair - an intimate record featuring just Stills and his acoustic guitar. Well, guess again: This is one of the most star-studded albums of rock. Guests include all of CS&N (not just Crosby and Nash, the support players as well), Ringo Starr on drums, John Sebastian, "Mama" Cass Elliot and Rita Coolidge on backing vocals, Booker T Jones on organ, and no less than Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Opener "Love the One You're With" mixes excellent vocal harmonies with Latin percussion and it remains his biggest hit. "Do For The Others" is a delicate folk ballad and "Church (Part of Someone)" a richly orchestrated gospel/soul number. "Old Times Good Times" brings him together with Jimi Hendrix. Stills moves to the organ and lets Hendrix handle the guitar parts alone. Need I remark he totally shreds it? Tragically, he was already dead by the time the album hit the stores, which is why it circulated with a dedication "to James Marshall Hendrix". The bluesy "Go Back Home" finds Stills exchanging licks with another guitar legend, Eric Clapton. Check the live video below, where he plays all the guitar parts alone - you'll see that Stills himself was no slouch when it came to electric guitar (He was ranked #28 in Rolling Stone Magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time")."Sit Yourself Down" was the second single of the album and notable for its great backing vocals. "To A Flame" is a psychedelic folk ballad with an elegant string section. "Black Queen" is the simplest production on the album, a blues-folk number with masterful acoustic guitar accompaniment and "Cherokee" is a soul rocker with jazzy flute and sax passages, while "We Are Not Helpless" is an optimistic and uplifting answer to former bandmate Neil Young's desperate "Helpless". The album was very successful (reached #3 of the charts and is included in many an all-time-best-albums list) but Stills wasn't destined for a great solo career and will mostly be remembered as a member of Crosby Stills and Nash (& Young) and for his various collaborative efforts (Manassas, the Stills/Bloomfield/Kooper "super session" etc).
**** for Love the One You're With, Do for the Others,Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home, To a Flame
*** for Church (Part of Someone), Sit Yourself Down, Black Queen, Cherokee, We Are Not Helpless
No comments:
Post a Comment