Stephen Stills – Stephen Stills

Many hands, one musical identity

Stephen Stills’ first solo album, released in 1970, is a useful place to meet the musician behind the famous group names. After Buffalo Springfield and the initial success of Crosby, Stills & Nash and CSNY, his own name takes the cover. He wrote all ten songs. His instrumental contribution extends well beyond guitar to bass, keyboards and percussion. The changing musicians around him help reveal the range of that ability.

“Love the One You’re With” begins with an inviting chorus and an additional colour that can slip past unnoticed: Stills plays steel drums. In a later recollection, he traced the title idea to a phrase used by Billy Preston. The expression became a song; the arrangement turns it into a communal movement, with rhythm and several voices working together.

Two guests, two different encounters

Jimi Hendrix plays on “Old Times Good Times”, Eric Clapton on “Go Back Home”. That distinction is more revealing than the simple fact that both appear on one LP. They contribute to different songs and different musical situations. Stills provides the continuity as writer and fellow player, while each guest introduces his own energy. This album does not document a joint Hendrix-Clapton session.

Hendrix’s contribution sits alongside Stills’ organ playing; on “Go Back Home”, Clapton’s guitar has room within a more extended song. Moving between the tracks makes the personnel credits tangible: a famous name becomes a particular musical intervention. The record appeared after Hendrix’s death and is dedicated to him. That gives their encounter an additional biographical resonance without turning it into a supposed farewell session.

Between the famous names

“Black Queen” focuses attention on Stills’ acoustic guitar and voice. Placed among larger arrangements, the blues feels like a close-up. “Do for the Others” offers another aspect of his writing, while “Church (Part of Someone)” and “We Are Not Helpless” explore the effect of multiple voices. Those differences shape the album. Working under his own name allows him to move beyond a single band texture.

The remaining credits trace a broad musical circle. David Crosby and Graham Nash are among the backing singers, as is Rita Coolidge. Ringo Starr plays drums on “To a Flame” and “We Are Not Helpless”, appearing on the sleeve as “Richie”. Stills and Bill Halverson produced the record. Familiar collaborators and the freedom of a solo project coexist throughout. Listening from beginning to end, it is worth following which jobs Stills takes on himself and which he leaves to his guests.

This edition

AAPA 074-45 is Analogue Productions’ Atlantic 75 Series double LP: two 180-gram records playing at 45 RPM. Acoustic Sounds credits Bernie Grundman with mastering from the original analogue master tape. The edition includes a Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacket, and the publisher lists Quality Record Pressings as its pressing plant.

Also on SACD: Stephen Stills

Artist page: The whole Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young family

Customer questions: Atlantic 75: which titles are worth buying? · Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe

Series: Atlantic 75 Series – all 75 albums, time journey and the people behind Atlantic

Musicians

Documented selection of participating musicians. Personnel may vary by track; this list does not claim to be complete.