For Stephen Stills, revisiting the past feels right

Stephen Stills was famous for spending endless hours in the recording studio, especially in the 1970s. All that work produced a bevy of albums in that decade — a half dozen solo albums, a pair of albums with his band, Manassas, and one studio LP each with Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

“Yeah, it was a crazy amount of time,” Stills recalled in a recent phone interview. “It was right up there with the Eagles. Some of it, it paid off, and some of it suffered for it. We were pretty blase because we had unlimited budgets and stuff like that.”

Stills has had reason to revisit those times of music making in the '70s lately. For one thing, he has done a good deal of touring with Crosby, Stills & Nash — including an extensive tour in 2012 and another run of dates happening this spring — which means playing a good number of songs recorded in the '70s by that group.

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STILLS GETS THE BLUES

429Records.com

Stephen Stills is set to release a blues album this summer. He’s formed a new trio called the Rides with guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Electric Flag keyboardist Barry Goldberg, and their album ‘Can’t Get Enough’ is set for a July 30 release.

The album was inspired by a 1968 collaboration with Electric Flag’s Mike Bloomfield and Blood, Sweat & Tears keyboard player Al Kooper. The ‘Super Sessions’ album featured Stills’ guitar work on one side, and Bloomfield’s on the other.

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Preview the tracks

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The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £9.99

LINK: Folk Icon Stephen Stills Reflects on Buffalo Springfield, CSN&Y and His New Box Set, 'Carry On'

This is an excerpt from the May 2013 issue of Guitar World magazine. For the rest of this story, plus features on Brad Paisley, Testament, Tommy Thayer, Children of Bodum, Steven Wilson and more, check out the issue at the Guitar World Online Store.

“You can’t fit me onto three discs!”

That’s what Stephen Stills told the producers ofCarry On, Sony Legacy’s new box-set retrospective of his remarkable career. The label had originally envisioned a three-disc set, but Stills won his point and a fourth CD. Given the incredible range and scope of his career, there’s quite a bit of ground to cover.

Carry On takes us through his early days as an earnest young folkie and his paradigm-shifting tenures with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash (and occasionally Young) and Manassas. But it also provides evidence of his friendship and musical partnership with Jimi Hendrix and studio collaborations with everyone from Eric Clapton and Booker T. Jones to members of the Beatles and Rolling Stones.

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STEPHEN STILLS HOSTS ROCKIN’ CONCERT FOR AUTISM AWARENESS

The stars were definitely out Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Club Nokia, as two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Stephen Stills and his wife, Karen, hosted a jam-packed Light Up The Blues concert to benefit Autism Speaks.

The evening marked the Stills’ first stab at hosting duties for such a large event, but the capacity crowd was treated to an amazing array of performers.

And there is no doubt that autism is an issue close to the family’s heart, as Stills’ son Henry suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, which is related to autism.

“As parents of a child on the autism spectrum, we recognize the ongoing challenges of every family impacted by this baffling disorder and wish to be part of a community that seeks solutions, and offers support,” says Kristen and Stephen Stills in a statement. “Light Up The Blues celebrates the many gifts of autistic individuals, while supporting Autism Speaks in their mission to raise awareness and continue to enact their successful advocacy on behalf of all those who navigate through the journey of autism.”

Stills kicked off the festivities with a solo performance of legendary Crosby, Stills & Nash song “Helplessly Hoping” before he was joined on stage with the Eagles’ Don Felder. With Felder donning his Fender Stratocaster and Stills on a Telecaster, the two launched into Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” and Eagles’ classic “Hotel California.”

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Stephen Stills Praises His New Box Set But Admits He "Couldn't Listen to This Entire Thing"

Stephen Stills‘ expansive, career-spanning box set, Carry On, hits stores this Tuesday, but the folk-rock great admits that if it had been left to him, the collection may have never seen the light of day.  The four-CD, 82-song package was put together in large part by his band mate Graham Nash, whom the singer/guitarist says was the right man for the job.

“He’s got the patience,” Stills tells Rolling Stone.  “It’s also an organizational skill…He’s got a great memory and he can listen to all this stuff…I wouldn’t have had the patience.”

Stills points out that because of the vast amount of music he’s recorded over the years, Nash and the other people who worked on Carry On “had their work cut out for them with this beautiful package.”   He adds, “I had a roomful of tapes about the size of two garages, and someone had to go poring through them.”

Stephen says he thinks the compilation has “a good arc to it,” but admits that he “couldn’t listen to this entire thing” himself.  “If I did, it would make me never want to play again,” he declares.  “I much prefer the road.  My thing is getting live in front of people.”

Carry On gathers together a wide variety of highlights from Stills’ 50-year career, including selections from his solo catalog, as well as tunes he recorded with The Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Still & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.  In addition to well-known tracks, there are 25 previously unreleased recordings, including demos, live performances and newly remixed songs.

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The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £9.99

STEPHEN STILLS: 'Legacy is something you talk about when you're finished, and I'm not' Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-stephen-stills-on-huge-new-box-set-20130321#ixzz2OGmaCzm1 Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

While many of Stephen Stills' peers and bandmates have issued memoirs recalling their misspent youth and Sixties superstardom, the 71-year-old guitarist is content to let his work speak for itself. Stills, best known for writing anthems for his generation such as "For What It's Worth" and "Love the One You're With," has issued a four-disc retrospective box set that showcases his nearly 50-year career. Spanning from his earliest song sketches to his still-ubiquitous hits with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to forgotten Manassas gems, the venerable guitarist says this collection is his autobiography. He spoke to Rolling Stone last week about the process as well as the real story of his lost sessions with Jimi Hendrix.

How much regard do you have for your legacy?
Well, it's not for me to regard. Graham and everybody had their work cut out for them with this beautiful package. I had a roomful of tapes about the size of two garages, and someone had to go poring through them and find the best versions of [these songs]. Legacy is something you talk about when you are finished, and I'm not finished. To answer invites too much speculation about how much self-regard I have. Ask Crosby that, but not me [laughs].

What is it about Graham Nash that made him the perfect curator of this project?
He's got the patience. It's also an organizational skill. He's got that kind of mind. He's got filing skills, if you will. He's got a great memory and he can listen to all this stuff – hours and hours and hours. He would find these chesnuts – I wouldn't have had the patience.

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The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £9.99

MY POSTBAG: 3 DVDs

Once again there is a picture of me making stupid faces as I clutch the contents of my postbag. We have three DVDs that I have been particularly looking forward to watching - Tony Hawks' second film, Wally live, and a vintage slice of Stephen Stills and Manassas..

It don't get much better than this!

A SUDDEN STEPHEN STILLS STORY (I love alliteration)

Back when I was a spotty teenager, if you had told me that one day I would be writing the sales notes for a Stephen Stills album, I would not have believed you. So, I am in the happy position of being able to scour the online caverns for stories about one of my favourite artists. Like this one:

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-stephen-stills-talks-guitars-csn-classic-songs-jimi-hendrix-550798

Stephen Stills, photographed on 27 June 2012 at the Hilton Short Hills, New Jersey. © Joe Bosso

Stephen Stills looks out the window of his hotel suite in Short Hills, New Jersey, and dreams of bentgrass fairways. It's a clear blue sky outside, and the temperature is an easy-to-take 77 degrees. "Man, I should be playing golf on a day like this," he says.

Today's a show day – there's Carry On, Marrakesh Express, Almost Cut My Hair, Our House, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, among others – and they could easily double the set with just as many biggies. The band members (along with their occasional fourth mate, Neil Young) are all Rock And Roll Hall Of Famers, twice each, in fact, when you consider their previous bands, The Byrds, The Hollies and Buffalo Springfield

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And look what I have found:

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The lost broadcasts are a highly acclaimed series of releases from Gonzo Multimedia, taken from the archives of German TV company Studio Hamburg. All the takes are included with false starts, studio chit-chat and everything else that is usually edited out, left in. As a result these are an invaluable historical document for those of us who are interested in following the highways and byways of rock ‘n’ roll music. For two years from 1971, Manassas were one of the most exciting and critically acclaimed musical ensembles on the planet formed by Stephen Stills during the first hiatus of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. This band mix rock, soul, funk, and Latin influences to produce a melodic and eminently listenable-to (and danceable-to) brand of music. Sadly, internal conflicts tore the band asunder after only two brief years, and all their fans (and fans of Stephen Stills) have bemoaned the fact that there were so few recorded artefacts from the period. The discovery of these lost tapes, and their release on this DVD package are an invaluable boon for all of us. Well done to everyone involved.

Tracks: 1. SOUNDCHECK 3:37 , 2. BOUND TO FAIL 1 1:55 , 3. BOUND TO FAIL 2 2:41 , 4. BOUND TO FAIL 3 2:32 , 5. IT DOESN'T MATTER 1 2:38 , 6. IT DOESN'T MATTER 2 2:34 , 7. HIDE IT SO DEEP 3:15 , 8. SONG OF LOVE 3:23 , 9. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES/CUBAN BLUEGRASS 1 10:28 , 10. JET SET (SIGH) 4:04 , 11. ANYWAY 5:52 , 12. THE TREASURE 8:23 , 13. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES 2 0:47 , 14. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES 3 8:46 , 15. ROCK 'N' ROLL CRAZIES/CUBAN BLUEGRASS/JET SET (SIGH) JAM 14:05.

Check it out:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15485