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Stephen Stills: Carry On

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Stephen Stills: Carry On
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 on Havana 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.

Not surprisingly, the box reprises numerous hits, including "Love the One You're With" (in a 45 RPM single mix previously unreleased on CD), Springfield's "Uno Mundo" (again, a 45 RPM single mix previously unreleased on CD), an alternative mix of "Carry On/Questions," by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and "Marianne," a perfect pop single from Stephen Stills 2 (Atlantic, 1971) that should have been a hit (and is the best song Marshall Crenshaw never wrote).

But song craft and fervor aren't Stills' only touchstones. Above all, he's a player, particularly in his innovative guitar work. He can be filigreed and delicate, as on "Treetop Flyer"; ominous and darkling, on a stunning, live acoustic rendition of Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown"; virtuosic on a panoply of stringed instruments on "Bluebird," one of his early experiments in meter, genre, mood; and downright fierce, going toe-to-toe with Jimi Hendrix on "No-Name Jam." Like his voice—slightly raspy, engagingly courtly no matter how insistent—his guitar sound is unmistakable, even when it's hard to identify as a guitar.

It's curious to think Stills was a little kid when the Kingston Trio and Woody Guthrie were current. It's enlightening to consider that when he sprang forth full-blown, in "For What It's Worth," he was not only prescient, but he was also ultramodern. Always in the forefront, whether with Springfield, CSN&Y, in Super Session, or on his own, he's been his own man, fluent in various musical and spoken languages, conversant with themes as fluffy as young love and as gnarly as politics.

The booklet that accompanies this labor-of-love anthology includes essays that speak to Stills' preoccupations—chief among them drives toward personal liberation and gender and economic equality—and singular technical prowess. The liner notes in a booklet that runs 115 pages are adulatory and, better yet, informative. One regret is that there's nothing here from Super Session, a 1968 Columbia LP featuring Michael Bloomfield (then late of the Electric Flag), Al Kooper (then late of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and Stills, still wet behind the ears from Buffalo Springfield. Stills' wah-wah work on Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (in a version fully equal to that of Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity) and on the distortion-rich classic "You Don't Love Me" would have been nifty here, and might have replaced a few of the later offerings in which Stills subordinated his guitar to synthesizer.

Despite that absence, Carry On is a powerful set attesting to the stick-to-itiveness, creativity and versatility of a man of unmistakable voice and uniquely creative musicianship. Summing it up is challenging; enjoying it is a continuously unfolding pleasure.

Track Listing

CD1: Travelin'; High Flyin' Bird; Sit Down I Think I Love You; Go and Say Goodbye; For What It's Worth; Pretty Girl Why; Bluebird; Rock & Roll Woman; Special Care; Questions; Uno Mundo; Four Days Gone; Who Ran Away?; 49 Reasons; Helplessly Hoping; You Don't Have To Cry; Suite: Judy Blue Eyes; 4+20; So Begins The Task; The Lee Shore; Carry On/Questions; Woodstock. CD2: Love The One You're With; Old Times Good Times; Black Queen; No-Name Jam; Go Back Home; Marianne; My Love Is A Gentle Thing; Fishes And Scorpions; The Treasure; To A Flame; Cherokee; Song of Love; Rock & Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass; Jet Set; It Doesn't Matter; Colorado; Johnny's Garden; Change Partners; Do For The Others; Find The Cost of Freedom; Little Miss Bright Eyes; Isn't It About Time. CD3: Turn Back The Pages; First Things First; My Angel; Love Story; As I Come Of Age; Know You Got To Run; Black Coral; I Give You Give Blind; Crossroads/You Can't Catch Me; See The Changes; Thoroughfare Gap; Lowdown; Cuba Al Fin; Dear Mr. Fantasy; Spanish Suite; Feel Your Love; Raise A Voice; Daylight Again. CD4: Southern Cross; Dark Star; Turn Your Back On Love; War Games; 50/50; Welfare Blues; Church (Part of Someone); I Don't Get It; Isn't It So; Haven't We Lost Enough?; The Ballad Of Hollis Brown; Treetop Flyer; Heart's Gate; Girl From The North Country; Feed The People; Panama; No Tears Left; Ole Man Trouble; Ain't It Always.

Personnel

Stephen Stills
guitar and vocals

Stephen Stills: guitar, vocals, piano, organ, bass, clavinet, percussion, vibraphone, Coral electric sitar, steel drums, and more; many other musicians.

Album information

Title: Carry On | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Rhino

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