Stephen Stills

Music for people who clap when an airplane lands. Neil Young is Mario, David Crosby is Luigi, and Stephen Stills is Toad. I will not elaborate further, but there are mountains of factual evidence to support my claim. Four albums featuring this guy on a list like this is insanity. That's like four crusty phone videos by your drunk neighbor Ted on a "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" list.

Imagine being Stephen Stills. You’re in Buffalo Springfield, responsible for many of their hits, you’re their leader, but there’s high tensions, due in no small part to creative differences between you and Neil Young. So the band breaks up and you start a new band with the guy from the Hollies and the guy from the Byrds that likes to write songs about threesomes. You bust your ass recording a debut album where you play the majority of the instruments: a real tour-de-force showcase for your talents and it is massively successful, a smash hit. What is your next move? To fill out your arrangements live, you, for some reason, invite Neil Young, the guy who tried to take over to your last band, to join the band. There’s no way he’d do it again, right? Young’s arrival brings even more success to the band: the follow up album you record with him goes to number 1, sells 8 million copies…but the recording sessions were full of conflict and you find yourself butting heads with Neil Young once again. There’s no way he’s going to do it again…try and take control from you over *your* band, right? Neil Young: “I’ll fucken do it again” Then, a month after your album is released, May 1970, the Kent State massacre happens. Neil Young walks into the woods and comes up with “Ohio”. You and the boys put some vocal harmonies over his song, which is more aggressive than anything else you’ve ever recorded. Your record company rushes the song out for release at the same time that “Teach your Children Well” is climbing the charts. You go on an extended tour that summer and by July 1970, CSNY is calling it quits. So, you, Stephen Stills, start a solo career and have success, but your old foil, Neil Young is starting to have hit after hit, becoming a massive star. By the time 1974 rolls around and Young agrees to reunite CSNY for a stadium tour, he is the pretty much the main draw and a precedent has been set: CSNY only happens when Neil wants it to happen. The success of the band you started, the band whose career was started by the excellent record you toiled over in the studio, is now fully dependent on Neil Young being around to pull in a big payday and Neil has had no problem pulling the plug on CSNY at a moment’s notice. Sure, CSN can draw a crowd, but CSNY is another story and that’s how it’s going to go for the next 40 years. Now, reader, I’m sure you’re feeling pretty bad for Stephen Stills. What an outcome for the guy who was supposed to be “it”. Don’t feel too bad…for starters, he’s got tons of money. He definitely treated Neil Young pretty poorly - to the extent that a few of his albums after this one have a Neil Young cover on them as a sort of mea culpa, but also…he managed to get one of Jimi Hendrix’s last solos captured on tape for this album (Good Times Old Times) and then proceeded to bury parts of it under his own organ playing (that’s not a euphemism, get your mind out of the gutter). If you’re still feeling bad for Stills after all that, go ahead and listen to his 1978 album, “Thoroughfare Gap”. Any good will you still had for the man will evaporate in no time - Seriously, you owe it to yourself, as means of better understanding Stephen Stills, to hear “You Can’t Dance Alone” and especially “Can’t Get No Booty”.

I am a stereotype but sometimes that's okay.

A timely companion to After The Gold Rush earlier in the week. Went into this with low expectations, as I have thought Love The One You're With to be a weird and terrible song since I saw Bucks Fizz perform it at Thorpe Park randomly over 35 years ago (disappointingly instead of their current hit at the time which was a real banger, even without any ripped skirts). But I digress: LTOYW is awful here too, the rest isn't as bad although run-of-the-mill, '70s singer/songwriter stuff. Go Back Home is pretty good. Stills seems to be the least interesting of the CSNY set, but I've heard worse solo albums. Yawn

Stephen Stills' Stephen Stills hung out with me on my drives to and from my first day of work on this continent, amiably addled company on the way in, something of a guardian angel through the scary rainstorm coming home. Just a very easy album to get on with, hang-out yacht rock. The tunes are laid back, as are the jams - long enough to get absorbed in, short enough to swerve tedium. It's more a vehicle for eyes-closed emotional vibes than for melodies. Earnest, sincere and hopeful, this is music I would once have despised, mistaking doomed idealism for complacency. What the heck is the percussion doing on the opening Bucks Fizz song? Whatever it is, I like it! ‘Love the One You’re With’, I can imagine Clapton hiding behind his heroin beard when Stills was playing that back to him. This list always leads me back to Clapton, my Anti-Mecca. And Neil Young, my hairy Vatican. With one eye to Si's review, this is not as good as 'After the Gold Rush', but better than Young's songs on 'Deja Vu'. On that subject, this record has inspired an idea to reenact the making of Robert Altman’s “The Big Sleep”, with Stephen Stills as Philip Marlowe/Elliott Gould, Graham Nash as gangster Marty Augustine, David Crosby as Sterling Hayden/Roger Wade/Hemingway, Rita Coolidge as Eileen, John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Robert Altman, and special guest star Eric Clapton as Terry Lennox, whom will be shot by Stills at the climax. Neil Young will play the naked hippy girls living across from Stills. As too many of the cast are already dead, this will have to be a written exercise. The twist ending is a final shot of Crosby/Hayden rising back out of the night sea, eyes black, described in Hemingway barks.

3.5 considering i expected to really dislike this, i was pleasantly surprised. the first half was definitely stronger than the latter in my opinion but it was overall very pleasant background music while i was getting ready. church was my favourite it made me quite happy to listen to.

Is it bad? No. But is it good? Also, no.

At times good, at times less good.

No. 205/1001 Love the One You're With 4/5 Do for the Others 4/5 Church 4/5 Old Times Good Times 3/5 Go Back Home 3/5 Sit Yourself Down 4/5 To a Flame 4/5 Black Queen 3/5 Cherokee 3/5 We Are Not Hopeless 4/5 Average: 3,6 Nothing groundbreaking. But am enjoyable folk-rock album.

Okay

Guitar work is great but the song structure is just so...straightforward. Feels like an album full of studio musicians propping up a talented guitarist. Some really abrupt endings. Cherokee into We Are Not Helpless is jarring. Fav Track: Love the One You're With

Right, I literally don't know who he is. I'm not being stupid or anything, but I physically don't know who Stephen Stills is. He could be the leader of the Special Boat Squadron Service.

Haven't heard this before. Starts off with a classic, super-catchy track that everyone knows and continues with great songs throughout. Sometimes it seems hard to tell where CSN(Y) ends and the solo records begin. This is a little bit like that to me.

What an absolutely stacked personnel list for this album! Aside from 2 tracks being essentially CSN, Hendrix, Clapton Booker T, AND Ringo were all on here!? The songs were fun to listen too. They were both funky and sweet and sound very of the time. “Go back home” was the highlight for me though the first track is a classic. In retrospect, since I’m going 5 here I should have done the same for OK Computer.

decent album, funky rock, very listenable

vier bis fünf

4.6 - Bit of me, not gonna lie

I've never heard this before, as I usually stick to CSN&Y stuff. What a voice. Lovely harmonies and enjoy the bluesy, gospel soul sound on songs like Church. Bit of a Joe Cocker sound on it. I was quite surprised by this as it’s a lot more pacey and rocky than I was expecting. I thought it would be more acoustic folky ditties, but it gets quite shreddy and funky at times. Old Times, Good Times and Go Back Home are great examples of this and feature Hendrix and Clapton providing solos, respectively. 

 Enjoyed nearly every song here but To a Flame was a bit of damp squib after a belting first half of the album.

 Overall, this is excellent and I’ll be diving into more of the CSN solo work.

Un gran placer el tiempo que pase con este álbum, un gran placer

Awesome

Really great album. Heavy on the blues with some great folky lyrics.

Rock me to sleep, Steve.

Delightfully jammy. It’s got that classic CSN palette, but applied in a looser way. I dig it.

peak folk rock. Core rock instrumentals without getting too loud. amazing album from start to finish

loved this album, very soft melodie’s

Damn, I expected soft and tender just from seeing the album cover, instead I got rich, thoughtful and expressive. I resonated with this album on an emotional level. Stills' musical choices on the album hit home quite right. He also knows how to keep the tempo going throughout the album. His amazing feel for composing and lyricism really shines in this solo debut album. It was also amazing to read about his inspiration wrought from Jimi Hendrix and his regret of not making a full album with the man.

Where has this been all my life? The songs on this album vary between great and excellent. Stephen Stills possesses a brilliant voice, awesome songwriting ability, AND he is a top notch guitarist.

Quite enjoyable.

If you can't listen to the album you love, honey, love the album you're with. And I did today. One I've never listened to, but so good!

Super-duper!!

Outstanding. Please play Love the One You’re With at my funeral. Thanks.

What an exceptional album… didn’t realize how Stephen Stills played all those instruments… didn’t realize Rita Coolidge busted up CSNY… didn’t realize that the song “Love The One You’re With” - a fantastically realistic love song - came from such a great album. Just terrific!

Such familiar sound. Feels like I've known him forever without eer knowing who it was. Great album

Favorite Track: Go Back Home

..Ja fanfaairt soivat..

Well now. Another confirmation for me that this list is a delightful use of my time. I absolutely loved this. Funky, rocky gospel nonsense with someone talking to God on a Hammond? just take my money

JAMS

Still one of the best albums of all time. It is incredibly varied with consistent high quality. Stills is a formidable singer, guitarist, songwriter and overall musician.

this was a lovely surprise

Absolutely great - every song was remarkable. I had heard of Stills just from Crosby, Stills & Nash but never actually listened to him separately. Will definitely add to my favourites and listen to it again.

great album i love the acoustic feel mixed with the gospel additions on some of the tracks. lyrics go from so so to really good so they even out. the blues fusion with roots notes is perfect. best songs: church, love the one you’re with, we are not helpless

Hat Spaß gemacht

Engaging and fun. Great album… Stephen jumped up to my top rated artists.

BL: I've heard the name Steven Stills be mentioned a few times but never really got the chance to dig into him in any particular way so will be excited to hear this record. AL: I loved this record a lot. The perfect mix between emotional ballads and more traditionally upbeat story writing. Highly worth the listen, stylistically nothing mindblowing especially for the time. But the musicianship and lyricism was highly worth the listen. Also a special mention to a very cool (but very 70s) cover art FT: "Love the One You're With", "Church", "To a Flame", "We Are Not Helpless" 5/5

Slow and beautiful

great

This was a complete surprise. I knew Love the One You’re With and I thought the rest would just be him noodling. This whole record maintains the heights of its first track. This is great 70s blues and keep an amazing momentum throughout

Soup for the soul.

My First «play on repeat»-album! Right up my alley, and this will be a stater in my collection. Awesome songwriting, great musicianship, and a whole album I enjoyed from start to end.

Aika kova. Ei ihan kympin kokonaisuus, mut kai tää silti viiteen tähteen pyöristyy. Folkkia, countria, bluesia, gospelia.. kaikki 70-luvun saundeilla ja menolla.

Liked this wayyyy more than I thought I would, thought it'd just be cool songwriting but the amount of different styles and themes across this album while still remaining super cohesive is fantastic. Cool asf

A nice album from an incredible songwriter. I wish he had more songs to make this album a little longer, though. 4.7/5 Favorite: “Sit Yourself Down” Least Favorite: “Cherokee”

Hendrix and Clapton as features on the same record is pretty incredible. Then you’re gonna flute it up another notch on Cherokee? Get out of town

Didn't really care for his collab work with Bing Crosby and Ogden Nash, but this album kinda slaps.

Really enjoyed that album and there are definitely some songs, i will enjoy further on. Never heard of Stephen Stills before, but his lyrics and guitar skills are outstanding and top class. I am really glad now, having joined this 1001 gen app. My top 3 in a particular order are: 1) Do for the Others 2) Go Back Home (awesome song concerning the sequences of e guitar, bass and piano. Outstanding e guitar solo btw) 3) Black Queen (really enjoyed the country style guitar parts) 4.8

Significant contributer to the rock genre. I‘m loving the blues and rock combinations in the songs. Knew him already from CSN(&Y). Love their songs too. Personal Top3 in no order: Old Times Good Times Go Back Home Black Queen

One of the first vinyls I bought because it was easily obtainable at thrift stores. It kicks ass. Love the whole thing still to this day

Great record.

Man this was really great. Great arrangement, vocals, songs, and not horribly dated like much of the stuff of the era. Very strong from start to finish. 9/10.

I enjoyed that hell out of this. Really good songwriting, delightful performances, and great production. There's such a good blues vibe here. It's chill but still energetic. I can't really find anything bad to say about this one. Over the corse of the relatively short album it steadily rose from a 4 to a 5-star album. That's despite the saxophones and jazz flute, mind you. The guitar work on "Black Queen" alone is enough to overcome a half-dozen saxophone solos. Which is good because "Cherokee" pushes my limits on both.

4.95/5 je reexoute. Très bon e chanson d'un super artiste.

I thought this would be mostly Americana songs in the vein of Love the One You're With, but it was very eclectic. Some blues, soul, and funk mixed in. And I enjoyed reading about and listening for the other notable musicians who contributed, like Ringo and Hendrix.

Pleasant surprise. A little more three dimensional than CSN, a little more 'rawk.'

Can't do much better than Stephen Stills.

What a tremendous album from the Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Album standouts include Love The One Your With, Do For Others, Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home, Cherokee, and We Are Not Helpless.

All those years I thought that voice belonged to David Crosby

Something about this type of music that just soothes my soul! Just good old classic folk rock with some awesome harder guitar riffs in there. And backing guitar in sone tracks by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and other legends! This is a great album. Listen again: yes Purchase for my collection: yes Favourite Song: Love The One You’re With

Classic american vibe with very chill gospel influences. Great stuff

Impressive

I was already familiar with "Love the One You're With", and was expecting the rest of the album to fall in line with that song. Pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't the case. As the album rolls along, Stills pulls from gospel, blues, and psych to deliver a fascinating and varied album experience. It feels like he set himself up to go anywhere with his solo career, so I'm not curious to see how that went. It's also very much a debut album, with some songs being stronger than others. Thankfully the production is consistently good and the music is well made regardless of my feelings about individual songs. Overall I wasn't expecting to like this as well as I did, and I'm glad this project brought it to me. Bonus points for having a giraffe on the cover. *This is a 3.5, but rounding up instead of down.

It’s fune

I'm that giraffe

Tasteful soul music that gets down to basics. There will always be a place for calming "sit by the fire" music.

A solid album.

Damn Stephen!!!! I would’ve never guessed that he would have this much soul based on that album cover. I thought I was in for something else but this brother showed me something! He made me feel something which is what I think music is all about. I’m happy that this project is getting me hip to artists I have slept on. I just did a deep dive because I felt ignorant and I’m realizing how influential this gentleman is to rock music. Didn’t realize this was a debut solo album. Now I can hear the parts of the album where he’s figuring his stuff out and why I didn’t really connect with the latter half of the album. It felt like a shift from the beginning and it was kind of jarring. Album was still enjoyable nonetheless. 3.8/5

Like very much. Back and forth between 3 and 4, but sticking with 4.

Ja det märks att det är hög kvalitet på denna skiva. Tight. Välkomponerat och producerat. Han sjunger mycket bra. Så objektivt är det riktigt bra. Det klickar inte helt för mig dock. "Do for the others" är nog bäst. Det får bli en fyra, för den förtjänar det, för det är bra! Synd bara att den inte träffar helt rätt för mig, hade varit roligare.

Oklanderligt hantverk och väldigt trevlig lyssning rakt i igenom. Bra sång och bitvis grymma gitarrer. Saknar det lilla extra för ett toppbetyg, men en solid fyra är det. Favoriter är Love the one you are with och de gitarrdrivna Old times good times och Go back home.

I found it pretty decent. I’d never heard of this artist before.

An outstanding album with lots of tasteful songs. Both singing and the guitar are used in a way that makes the music enjoyable. While the exact genre varies within the record, it just makes you feel good, empowered with humanity and compassion, as well as sheer talent. Definitely a good album worth relistening.

Love love love. The richness of the production, the choirs, the little hits of strings ontop of some killer guitar maje this top tier. Church is a new favourite song and cant wait to find more of his stuff.

While not as mind blowing as some of the stuff Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and Young) did together, it’s a solid album. The closing of Go Back Home in particular great

it was pretty good i really liked all of the guitar licks. i was confused for a minute because a lot of the tracks sounded familiar to me and the guitar playing before i realized that was because jimi hendrix and eric clapton played the electric guitars in the album. i probably should have listened to it at like a more preferable time because i just listened to it in the shower. but it was still good, not the best i’ve heard but better than most. my favorites were “church(pt. of someone), “old times good times,” “go back home,” and “black queen (lp)-version.” 🖤

Pretty fine folk rock. Not entirely my jam, but better than the stuff I’ve been giving 3 to lately, so I guess I have to round up to 5.

The leadoff track, Love the One You’re With is definitely the most well known piece here but I think it is a pretty empty song. Catchy melody and chorus but lightweight. Thankfully, the rest of the album is more interesting. It shows Stills range from folky, singer-songwriter tunes to more funky blues and hard rock. Favorite songs: We are Not Helpless, Go Back Home, Old Times Good Times and Love the One You’re With (it’s an earworm). Least favorite: To a flame. It’s that ethereal 70s dreamy soft rock type of song that does nothing for me and never will. Overall an enjoyable experience.

Pleasantly surprised by this one - considering my lukewarm reception to CSNY, I wasn't expecting much, but it turns out when he's doing his own thing Stephen Stills goes hard! A couple of these are probably going to make several of my playlists now, thanks for the suggestion 1001 albums!

I love the more gospel-y parts, like on We Are Not Helpless. The man is a stellar guitarist and songwriter and I loved a lot of this. But I wonder why gospel songs by a white dude from the 70s made it to this list, and not actual gospel

Adventurous folk rock with powerful arrangements. The organ leads, the bongo percs and the gospel alike vocal harmonies were especially nice! Songs like Love the One You're With, Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home and We Are Not Helpless will stay with me.

Just a solid album, could listen on repeat

A decent listen - you really can't go too far wrong slapping a gospel choir into some classic rock, can you? Fave tracks - "Love the One You're With" and "Church (Part of Someone)"

Mr. Stills of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. He has a beautiful voice and is a talented instrumentalist with the guitar and piano. This was a pleasant album though I must say this also seemed like an odd pull from his work.

This was good! I’m pretty much burned out on classic rock at this point but I can’t deny this was a good album.

Warm and earnest and lively, occasionally soaring. Quaity is strong throughout but "Do for Others" and "Church" "To a Flame" and "Sit Yourself Down" and "We Are Not Helpless" are best of lot. The presence of all these all-stars barely moves the needle on what's a strong effort throughout from a dude who no one seems to like (or maybe just had the worst coke habit of all these cats) and is thus largely overrated today.

A pretty solid album. I do think that some of these songs are missing the presence of Crosby, Nash, and sometimes Young.

7.5/10. Really really good album and had me vibing for the majority. Fantastic variety on this album and the crispest guitar playing I've heard in a while. The tunes had great feel to them and were very memorable especially the iconic 'Love the one you're with'. I think it tailed off very slightly towards the end and just missed that oomph to make it a five, but it really was up there.

4.5? Really enjoying this!

This is pretty peak dad music. The shredding on Black Queen rips and it sounds like a song from the 90s done by like Pearl Jam or someone.

This is a really cool album that shows what Still brought to CSNY. He creates a very distinctive sound that is present across the CSNY albums and is present in its unfiltered form here. Just a really solid album with great music and lyrics all the way through 4/5

I had NO IDEA Stephen Stills was one of the members of "Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young." That is so cool. I really really liked this album. The solo in "Old Times Good Times" slaps. The electric guitar parts shock me, but fit so well. "Love the One You're With" is a CLASSIC. His voice is really enjoyable to listen to. The horn sections are tight too. This was a great listen. This album just feels like one right out of the 70s. Actual rating is a 4.25 Liked Songs: "Love the One You're With" , "Church (Pt. of Someone)" , "Old Times Good Times" , "Sit Yourself Down" , "Black Queen" , "Cherokee"

73/100. Stephen Stills’ self-titled debut is a solid record. It has a warm, uplifting feel that makes for an enjoyable listen. The guitar work is well-crafted, and the use of choral backing vocals adds a rich, layered texture to the sound. While it doesn’t necessarily break new ground, it’s a well-executed and confident debut that showcases Stills’ talents.