Stephen Stills solo career - could it have been salvaged?

Of course you would argue, you're named after a really weak Trans song.

 

I remember the Rolling Stone article that came out around the time of the 1977 album the producers, the Albert Brothers, were stunned at how together and focused Stills was during the sessions compared to how he was on his recent solo albums. There are some great songs to come but I agree that 77 is the big dividing line in quality.

 

Croz, you don't need to use a monicker on these boards. We love you, man.

 

I'll roll with this. But no further.
(I may have to re-evluate the Stills-Young album though. 'Til now it's never done much for me but remind me what an outstanding the Human Highway would've been).

 

Somehow Long May You Run is less than the sum of it's parts, but I really like the songs. I like the sound of that album in general, which is mostly a result of using Stills' touring band. Songs like "Ocean Girl", "Let It Shine", and "12/8 Blues" keep the album in the average category.

I read that too, and it was mentioned in other places. They had a "no drugs" policy, and kept to a schedule. It seems like all the guys were doing pretty well at the time.

 

'To A Flame' is a beautiful thing. There's a mix on the Stills box of just a single tracked vocal, and you're willing him to reach the high notes, and he does. It's a thing of vulnerability and wonder.

That first solo LP is just outstanding. He covers a multitude of styles and hits every one on the nail.

The second record (SS2) is at least partly an out-take LP from the first album. Stills recorded a lot of stuff in London in 1970, even possibly some of the Manassas LP dates from those sessions at Island.

I've been an ardent CSNY watcher for decades and I've never heard that either. The teeth story is the one I'd heard.

 

Is "Guardian Angel" from 1974? I recall reading he tried to do it with Crosby and Nash and they fought about the chords.

 

I guess that song originated sometime in 1974. "Guardian Angel" was the song they were working on as CSN, after Neil Young left the sessions in December 1974. Stills wanted Crosby, I believe, to sing a particular note over a chord change that struck Crosby as so wrong that he wouldn't do it. Then they parted ways.

 

I disagree that those are Stills' best available songs at the time. For instance, he was playing "I Give You Give Blind" in concerts that year, as well as "Treetop Flyer," which CSNY tried out in sessions that year. And some other songs in CSNY sessions that year were unreleased Stills songs that didn't go on the Stills-Young album.

I think it's clear that both Stills and Young didn't give that album anywhere near their best efforts. Still, it has its moments.

 

Also, regarding Stills' improved behavior on the 1977 CSN album... I read somewhere that by the end of 1976, he was feeling very gloomy about his career, because the CSNY reunion album didn't happen, the Stills-Young album was a disappointment, and his last solo album hadn't done well either. Worried that the upcoming CSN reunion album could be his last shot to stay a top star, he got his act together and really gave it his all, not just on his songs, but on the Crosby and Nash songs too (much as he did on the 1969 CSN album). That's great, but sadly it seems he didn't do that much post-1977, where he often was the weak link on CSN or CSNY albums. (For instance, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, after Crosby got away from his drug problem, Stills had his own serious drug problem.)

It makes one wonder how much greater his career could have been if he'd kept that 1977 attitude for other projects. It certainly suggests to me that he didn't lose his creativity after his 1966 to 1972 golden era. Instead, for the usual reasons (too much money, drugs, ego, etc), he didn't bother to tap into that creativity as much as he could have.

 

I often think that with a number of artists from the 60's & 70's it was (over)production rather than their talent and songwriting that almost killed their careers in the late 70's and 80's. There is many an album from artists I love that were recorded during that period that I have just not liked and dismissed , but later on have heard the same songs stripped down, played live and realised that actually they are very good songs.
It's not exactly an example of this as I still really like the original, but I love hearing Stephen Stills doing Thoroughfare Gap on his own, acoustically, and really think it is much better than the album version.

 

Croz was probably worried what his swinging jazz-cat friends would think.

 

Typical for songwriters in bands. They always think the fame of the band will carry their half-assed efforts and that their doozies will bolt their solo albums to number one.

 

i think that the still-young album is a perfect album, not a single bad note on the whole thing.

and the 2 songs i have heard with the crosby & nash vocals make it even better.

a true true true under-rated and over-looked gem in the CSNY family catalog.

i was oh so praying for this to be re-issued in HDCD when young did those, but alas...............

 

I thought that the sound quality of the new Neil Young reissues was still pretty good, Renny.

 

Treetop Flyer is pretty good. I thought that song was from the '60's? I do agree he had some decent unreleased stuff. I think his lyrics were interesting on the Stills-Young album.

 

Stills said something like “Think about Crosby, ‘Mr Dissonance’, objecting to dissonance”

 

"Treetop Flyer" dates to the mid-1970s. It's on the Stills album "Just Roll Tape," which is music dating to 1968, but if you read the fine print on the album, it says that all the songs are from 1968 EXCEPT for "Treetop Flyer," which was recorded in the 1970s. So I can easily understand why you have that misunderstanding.

 

Fair enough, all valid points. I like "Cold Cold World" but it is also one of the most self pitying lyrics I've ever heard, it is a bit hard for me to take seriously.

I'm with Chief here- other than the odd song here and there Stills' last gasp of full on 100% greatness was on the CSN album (even though IMO it was Nash who really stole the show on that album). But then, again, other than a song or two I'd apply that to Crosby and Nash as well.

I suspect that as far as songs went Neil didn't exactly give his all with the Stills/Young project because though he naturally agreed to doing it and was probably enthusiastic at first it did not take long for Neil to see how it was really going to be -Stills being Stills, mainly, something Neil like a lot of other people could only handle in small doses- and he got disenchanted, even once they temporarily roped Crosby and Nash into the Long May You Run album. Neil had good songs he could have shared but he probably decided, "Nah, I'm not gonna waste really good songs on this. 'Long May You Run' is enough." I bet Neil was regretting even agreeing to do the album before they took it out on the road...his "Eat A Peach" moment almost seems like it was inevitable in retrospect.

Nash, not Crosby- the "Guardian Angel" argument with Nash is what compelled Stills to slice up Graham's "Wind On The Water" master tape.

I think that was in reference to the incident on the '77 tour Nash recounted where Stills and Cros got into a heated backstage argument over a chord.

 

Ah, thanks for letting me know. I picked that album up off iTunes of course so never read the fine print.

 

The brand new Roger Daltrey album has him covering 'how far' off Manassas. Seems an unusual choice ...should have done 'love gangster' ...would have suited his voice ...

 

Somehow I find it interesting in various ways that Roger Daltrey is covering any song off of Manassas...good on him, though.

 

I kind of like the video from that show "You Can't Dance Alone" for the visual of Stills singing while playing timbales.

 

I gotta walk back my previous post regarding this. Sorry. I re-maintain that BS-Stills (1965-1975) was Stills' "Golden Era". While I do enjoy some of his '77 work with CSN none of it is really on the level as the '65-'75 work. And '76 was not a good year for Stills at all IMO. Had a re-listen to the Stills-Young and Illegal Stills stuff. Not really feelin' it. It is for this reason that I dub '77 the start of his "There's a few gems if you dig" phase, which continues until now. The Golden Era was scorching beginning to end with no missteps and almost no filler. Then '76 is kind of a (cocaine) bust, with '77 the start of his "not bad" material, and after '77...well...there's a few gems if you dig.

 

The giraffe on the cover of Stephen Stills...is that a shout out to Peter Tork? I know Stills said it was for someone.