Stephen Stills is a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who has contributed remarkable, deeply human—and humanizing—songs to the rock 'n' roll canon for going on 52 years. An unabashed liberal who has contributed to numerous political campaigns over the years, Stills puts passion and conviction into his artistry. He always has. Remember the first time you heard "For What It's Worth," the Buffalo Springfield debut released in spring 1967? It set protest in a perfect pop frame, articulating the potent blend of paranoia and aspiration that infused so much '60s politics.
This anthology, produced by Stills, Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein, delivers 82 tracks, 25 of them previously unreleased, spanning pre-Buffalo Springfield acoustic tunes to a spare acoustic recording—featuring the singular harmonies of Stills and Nash—of Dylan's "Girl From the North Country," recorded live in October 2012.
The first track is "Travelin,'" a restless foray, recorded in mono in Costa Rica when Stills was 17. While it is folk-rock, its provenance reflects one of the strains for which Stills is famous: Latin. As an Army brat, Stills spent time in various Latin American countries when very young; his music often has a strong Latin feel, most prominently in "Cuba Al Fin," a smoking edit of a tune recorded in 1979 onHavana Jam, a double LP on Columbia. Stills refined this groove on Manassas, the great double LP he released on Atlantic in 1972. Manassas may well have been Stills' strongest personal expression as a band; he's too often overlooked as a generator and a singular artist, because of the company he has kept, first in Buffalo Springfield and later in Crosby Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young). His collegiality spans onetime lover Judy Collins and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.
This anthology, produced by Stills, Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein, delivers 82 tracks, 25 of them previously unreleased, spanning pre-Buffalo Springfield acoustic tunes to a spare acoustic recording—featuring the singular harmonies of Stills and Nash—of Dylan's "Girl From the North Country," recorded live in October 2012.
The first track is "Travelin,'" a restless foray, recorded in mono in Costa Rica when Stills was 17. While it is folk-rock, its provenance reflects one of the strains for which Stills is famous: Latin. As an Army brat, Stills spent time in various Latin American countries when very young; his music often has a strong Latin feel, most prominently in "Cuba Al Fin," a smoking edit of a tune recorded in 1979 onHavana Jam, a double LP on Columbia. Stills refined this groove on Manassas, the great double LP he released on Atlantic in 1972. Manassas may well have been Stills' strongest personal expression as a band; he's too often overlooked as a generator and a singular artist, because of the company he has kept, first in Buffalo Springfield and later in Crosby Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young). His collegiality spans onetime lover Judy Collins and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.
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