Stephen Stills (album)
Stephen Stills | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 16, 1970 | |||
Recorded | January, June–July 1970 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Folk rock, hard rock[1] | |||
Length | 38:56 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Stephen Stills, Bill Halverson | |||
Stephen Stills chronology | ||||
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Singles from Stephen Stills | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
Stephen Stills is the debut solo album by American musician Stephen Stills released on Atlantic Records in 1970. It is one of four high-profile albums (all charting within the top fifteen) released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their 1970 chart-topping album Déjà Vu, along with After the Gold Rush (Neil Young, September 1970), If I Could Only Remember My Name (David Crosby, February 1971) and Songs for Beginners (Graham Nash, May 1971). It was primarily recorded between CSNY tours in London and Los Angeles. It was released in the United States on November 16, 1970, and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 1970.
The album features many themes common to 1960s' countercultural beliefs, with many songs directly inspired by Stills' on-going and previous relationships with girlfriends and members of CSNY. The album was an immediate commercial success, in both the UK and the US, going top ten and being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Background
The album was mainly recorded at
Hendrix and I cut a bunch of stuff together, this is one of the few things that surfaced. He was a very dear friend of mine, we were lonely in London together and hung out a lot. I left England suddenly, and years later I learned from Mitch Mitchell that Jimi had been looking for me everywhere – wanted me to join the Experience as the bass player, which would have been my greatest dream in life! It had something to do with a manager deciding it was a wrong career move and said, 'we don't know where he is.' I learned to play lead guitar from Jimi he showed me the scales and said things like, 'You begin by thinking about the chord position and base your improvisations on that.' Or he'd make some little remark like, 'F sharp is really cool,' and we'd develop a jam around that. We'd make up songs, play the blues. He'd improvise until the inspiration began to ebb, then he'd look at me and say, 'You drive.' You had to hear that cat play acoustic guitar! We once jammed for about five days, one long marathon session in my beach house in Malibu. The sheriff's deputy overheard our guitar playing. When he found out it was us he asked permission to park his police car directly outside the house so he could listen in while he fielded radio calls. Told us not to worry about a thing, he'd be looking out for us.[8]
Writing and recording
The song "We Are Not Helpless" was wrongly assumed by many critics to be a response to Neil Young's song "Helpless" from the Déjà Vu album.[9] "Love the One You're With," Stills' biggest solo hit single, peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 19, 1970, and another single pulled from the album, "Sit Yourself Down," went to No. 37 on March 27, 1971.[10] "Sit Yourself Down" and "Cherokee" are thought to be written about Rita Coolidge,[11] with whom Stills was romantically involved during 1970.[12] "Do For the Others" was written for David Crosby about the death of his girlfriend Christine Hinton.
Title and packaging
The front cover photo was taken by photographer Henry Diltz during a snowy September morning outside Stills' cabin in Colorado. The pink giraffe on the cover is thought to be a secret message to one of his girlfriends, specifically Rita Coolidge who had just left him for Graham Nash, which was one of the contributing factors for the demise of CSNY.[13] In the liner notes on the back cover Stills included a poem called “A Child Grew Up On Strings.” by Charles John Quarto[14] Stills dedicated the album to Jimi Hendrix, who had died two months before the album arrived in stores, as to "James Marshall Hendrix".
Release
The album peaked at No. 3 on the
Reception
Reviews of the album were decidedly mixed, ranging from lukewarm to positive. Ed Ward in a contemporary review in Rolling Stone felt that the album had an "elusive" quality, and though he didn't dislike the album, and admired parts, he felt it lacked "meat". However, he felt that "Love the One You're With" would make a "killer single".[20] In another contemporary review, Robert Christgau awarded the album a C+, saying he "effortlessly swings," picking out "Go Back Home" for praise, and is too "damn skillful to put down". Yet he felt there was something "undefined about the record."[21]
However, three contemporary reviews Record World, Cashbox, and Billboard were full of praise for the album. Record World called Stills "one of the steadiest performers on the rock circuit" and said the "result of the album was stupendous".[22] Cashbox said Stills' "keyboard, guitars and vocals were brilliant" and the songs were "among the best he's ever written".[23] Billboard said Stills was "a complex talent bursting with soul and depth" and "via brilliant arrangements takes rock to new and musical heights."[24] Richard Williams for Melody Maker 1970, said "'Love the One You're With' and 'Sit Yourself Down' are both comfortable and smooth-harmonised songs, which could have come from Déjà vu. 'Church (Part Of Someone)' is a stretched gospel song, maybe the best he's ever written with thick choral responses (I'd dig to hear Lorraine Ellisson singing it)'.[18]
Mick Jagger was quoted in the NME 1970 saying, he's 'been listening to... and really likes Stills' new album... finding it really funky'.[25]
In a retrospective summary
Rankings
In 1974, it was ranked number 70 by the
Track listing
All tracks are written by Stephen Stills
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Love the One You're With" | 3:04 |
2. | "Do for the Others" | 2:52 |
3. | "Church (Part of Someone)" | 4:05 |
4. | "Old Times Good Times" | 3:39 |
5. | "Go Back Home" | 5:54 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Sit Yourself Down" | 3:05 |
7. | "To a Flame" | 3:08 |
8. | "Black Queen" | 5:26 |
9. | "Cherokee" | 3:23 |
10. | "We Are Not Helpless" | 4:20 |
Total length: | 38:56 |
Personnel
- Stephen Stills – vocals, guitars, bass, piano, organ, steelpan, percussion; horn and string arrangements (3, 4, 7, 9)
- Jimi Hendrix – electric guitar (4)
- Eric Clapton – electric guitar (5)
- Booker T. Jones – organ (9); backing vocal (10)
- Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel – bass (1, 3–6)
- Conrad Isidore – drums (3, 4)
- John Barbata – drums (5, 6)
- Ringo Starr – drums (7, 10)
- Dallas Taylor – drums (9)
- Jeff Whittaker – congas (1, 4)
- Sidney George – flute, alto saxophone (9)
- Rita Coolidge, David Crosby, Priscilla Jones, John Sebastian – backing vocals (1, 5, 6, 10)
- Cass Elliot, Claudia Lennear – backing vocals (5, 6, 10)
- Graham Nash – backing vocals (1, 6, 10)
- Judith Powell, Larry Steele, Liza Strike, Tony Wilson – backing vocals (3)
- Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals (10)
- Arif Mardin – string arrangements (3, 7)
Additional personnel
- Bill Halverson – producer
- Andy Johns – engineer
- Gary Burden – art direction, back cover photography
- Henry Diltz – front cover photography
- Charles John Quarto – sleeve poem
- Joe Gastwirt – digital remastering
Charts
Albums
Year-end charts
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Singles
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Certification
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[44] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^ "Notable Abodes - Fulbrook Lane, Elstead, Surrey". www.notableabodes.com. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
- ^ Reiff, Corbin (16 Nov 2015). "50 Years Ago: Stephen Stills Leaves CSNY Behind". ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved 25 Jan 2021.
- ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
- ^ "March 15, 1970 Jimi was recruited by Stephen Stills to lend guitar to his upcoming debut solo release". jimihendrix.com. Retrieved 25 Jan 2021.
- ^ "CSN Box Set Tracklist". albumlinernotes.com. Retrieved 25 Jan 2021.
- ISBN 978-0952954040.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ Coolidge is partly of Cherokee heritage, and is name-checked by Stills in "Sit Yourself Down" using her nickname "Raven."
- ISBN 0-312-17660-0.
- ^ "Stephen Stills: Stephen Stills : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 2009-04-15. Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ "Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 25 May 2006.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ Fong-Torres, Ben (1974-08-29). "The Reunion of Crosby Stills Nash & Young". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ^ a b Uncut (2018). Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Ultimate Music Guide. pp. 20–21.
- ^ "Stephen Stills – Creem Magazine – The Uncool - The Official Site for Everything Cameron Crowe". Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- ^ Ed Ward (January 7, 1971). "Stephen Stills Stephen Stills > Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 74. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2007.
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: stephen stills". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ Page 1. "Record World Article" (PDF).
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Page 26. "Cashbox Magazine" (PDF).
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Page 63. "Billboard Magazine Review" (PDF).
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Uncut (2017). The History Of Rock 1970. p. 35.
- ^ "Rocklist.net....NME Writers Best Of Lists..." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
- ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- ^ a b c "Stephen Stills". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ a b "STEPHEN STILLS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2013-04-16). "The RPM story". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992.
- ^ "Swedish Charts" (PDF).
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com - Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ a b c "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ a b c "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ "Top Popular Albums". Billboard. 1971-12-25.
- ^ Billboard. 1971-12-25.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
- ^ Hung, Steffen. "Stephen Stills - Love The One You're With". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
- ^ OCLC 352936026. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ "Stephen Stills Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
- ^ "American album certifications – Stephen Stills – Stephen Stills". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
External links
- Album online on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company