Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Had this on rotation for a few days seeing which individual songs stand out but it just hangs together really well as an album. I love the overall sound and Stills' guitar playing is excellent throughout. The second half shifts between styles in a bit of a strange way, I feel like I'd have played with the tracklisting if it was up to me. I already enjoyed the CSNY I've had so far so I'm definitely going to dig a little deeper into Stills' catalogue.
It opens with a classic, swinging, uplifting piece of Hippy Soul, Love The One You're With, and maintains a decent standard throughout. I will happily go back to this one. 4 stars
Church is my fav. Gol. So good. Go back home. Good hell I love it. Dang. I liked this a bunch.
Great rock album - sounds really 70s for being released in 1970. Worth looking up all the people he got to play on this one
I really liked this. I was expecting a folk-ish, singer-songwriter album, which it was. That isn't really one of my genres but I haven't explored it much. I like this because there are small hints of other genres as well.
Vraiment dans les mêmes eaux que CSN&Y ou encore Crosby ou Young solo (évidemment). Mais j'ai préféré cet album à celui de Crosby et beaucoup de Young aussi. Je peux bien croire qu'il était une force majeure derrière le super groupe mentionné plus tôt. 7/10
Wavers a little over the course of the album but underlying is an absolute desire for perfection. Every note has conviction. Hendrix, Clapton and Starr just helping out on some tracks is testament to Stills talent
4.25
A very good record, where you get the full arsenal of Stills. The album has some folky moments ala (CSN/CSNY), gospel infused songwriting and hard rock with killer guitar (guess spot of Hendrix). With only one hit song, the other songs really stand out, shoutout my favorite "To a Flame" and could have been played on the radio. Had to give this 2 listens to fully embrace it and could see myself liking it more on more listens. 4 stars
this is good but doesn't really feel very distinct from its contemporaries in any way that would make me a repeat visitor
After reading the top review on this site saying that this is music for people who clap when an airplane lands, I was somewhat concerned that I quite liked the opening track. Happily the very next track was a bit of a let down. After a complete listen, I am gonna have to rate this better than average though. The great tracks are actually great, and the weaker ones are at least passable. Since the album is short it doesn’t get tired. I guess I’ll live with being a middle aged dude and liking this album, but I still have no plans of applauding pilots for doing the minimum expected of their role.
Classic American rock. They don't make music like this anymore. Favorites: Love the One Your With, Go Back Home, Cherokee
Damn ok soulful white boy
Surprisingly funky in places. I wasn’t expecting that, but it was a pleasant surprise and this made for a nice listen whilst cooking on Christmas Eve. A good length and easy to listen to, although the last couple of songs weren’t as strong. Side A makes this well worth a listen though.
An absolute classic opener backed by 9 more classic tracks.
Nice simple singer/songwriter album. Classic tracks, pleasant ballads, and jamming blues inspired make for a jaunty listen.
first listen it good
## In-Depth Review of *Stephen Stills* by Stephen Stills Stephen Stills' self-titled debut album, released on November 16, 1970, stands as a significant entry in the rock canon. Emerging from the shadows of his work with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), this album showcases Stills' multifaceted talents as a musician and songwriter. The album reflects the tumultuous personal and professional landscape of the time, marked by themes of love, loss, and the search for identity. ### Lyrics The lyrics of *Stephen Stills* traverse a range of emotional landscapes, often drawing from personal experiences. Stills' songwriting is characterized by: - **Introspection and Vulnerability**: Songs like "Do for the Others" explore themes of romantic longing and emotional turmoil. The lyrics reveal a deep sense of yearning, capturing the essence of relationships that are both fulfilling and fraught with complications. - **Countercultural Reflections**: Many tracks resonate with the ideals of the 1960s counterculture, reflecting societal changes and personal struggles. For instance, "Love the One You're With" embodies a carefree yet poignant approach to love and connection amidst chaos. - **Imagery and Metaphor**: Stills employs vivid imagery in his lyrics, as seen in "Old Times Good Times," which evokes nostalgia while grappling with loss. The metaphors often serve to deepen the listener's engagement with the music. However, some critiques point out that certain lyrics can veer into cliché or heavy-handedness. For example, "Church (Part of Someone)" has been described as nearly too earnest in its delivery, which may detract from its impact. ### Music Musically, *Stephen Stills* is a rich tapestry that blends various genres: - **Folk and Blues Influences**: The album features acoustic and electric blues elements that highlight Stills' prowess as a guitarist. Tracks like "You Don't Love Me" showcase his ability to reinterpret blues standards with a fresh perspective. - **Gospel Elements**: Songs such as "Sit Yourself Down" incorporate gospel influences, characterized by vibrant melodies and harmonies that elevate the emotional weight of the lyrics. The backing vocals add depth to the arrangement, creating a communal feel. - **Rock and Experimental Sounds**: The presence of legendary musicians like Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton adds an experimental edge to the album. Hendrix's guitar work on "Old Times Good Times" is particularly noteworthy, blending seamlessly with Stills' organ arrangements. The production is generally polished but retains an organic feel that allows Stills' raw talent to shine through. However, some critics argue that certain arrangements can feel overcrowded or intrusive, potentially overshadowing Stills' vocal performance. ### Production The production of *Stephen Stills* is marked by: - **Collaborative Spirit**: Recorded between tours with CSNY in both London and Los Angeles, the album features contributions from an impressive roster of musicians. This collaboration infuses the album with diverse influences while maintaining a cohesive sound. - **Self-Directed Approach**: Stills took significant control over the production process, allowing him to explore his artistic vision without compromise. This autonomy is evident in his multi-instrumental performances throughout the album. - **Varied Arrangements**: The album's arrangements vary widely from track to track. While some songs benefit from lush instrumentation, others are more stripped down, highlighting Stills' vocal and guitar work. Despite these strengths, some reviews note that certain tracks suffer from overproduction or excessive layering that detracts from their emotional resonance. ### Themes The themes explored in *Stephen Stills* reflect both personal narratives and broader cultural sentiments: - **Love and Relationships**: Central to many songs are themes of love—both its joys and its complexities. Tracks like "Love the One You're With" convey a sense of immediacy in romantic encounters while also hinting at deeper emotional currents. - **Nostalgia and Reflection**: A sense of nostalgia permeates several tracks, particularly those reflecting on past relationships or experiences. This theme resonates strongly in "Old Times Good Times," where Stills reminisces about lost connections. - **Existential Questions**: The album grapples with existential concerns—questions about identity, purpose, and belonging are woven throughout the lyrics. This introspective quality invites listeners to reflect on their own lives alongside Stills’ narratives. ### Influence *Stephen Stills* has had a lasting influence on rock music: - **Pioneering Sound**: The blend of rock, folk, blues, and gospel elements set a precedent for future artists seeking to merge genres. Stills’ ability to navigate these styles has inspired countless musicians across generations. - **Cultural Impact**: As part of the larger CSNY narrative, this album contributes to the legacy of 1960s counterculture music. Its themes resonate with listeners who experienced or continue to engage with similar societal shifts. - **Musical Collaborations**: The collaborations featured on this album have paved the way for future musical partnerships within rock music. The interplay between artists like Hendrix and Clapton exemplifies how collaboration can elevate individual artistry. ### Pros and Cons #### Pros - **Musicianship**: Exceptional guitar work and vocal performances showcase Stills' talents as a musician. - **Diverse Soundscapes**: A rich blend of genres creates an engaging listening experience. - **Emotional Depth**: Lyrical content offers introspective insights into love and relationships. - **Cultural Significance**: Reflects key themes of 1960s counterculture while remaining relevant today. #### Cons - **Uneven Material**: Some tracks may feel less inspired or overly produced compared to others. - **Cliché Lyrics**: Certain lyrical choices can come off as clichéd or heavy-handed. - **Overproduction Issues**: Some arrangements may detract from the raw emotional impact intended by Stills. ### Conclusion Overall, *Stephen Stills* stands as a testament to Stephen Stills' artistry during a pivotal moment in music history. While it exhibits both strengths and weaknesses—ranging from lyrical depth to production choices—it ultimately captures an important chapter in rock music's evolution. Its influence continues to resonate within contemporary music scenes as artists draw inspiration from its innovative blend of styles and heartfelt themes.
A fun and sometimes touching rock/blues album. Some cool instrumentals throughout, and the choir accompanying Stephen Stills was nice. Simple lyrics, but they were endearing. A pull yourself out of the mud kind of album, but not preachy. Standouts: Love the One You’re With, Church (Pt. If Someone), Old Times Good Times, To a Flame, and We Are Not Helpless.
Folk rock that rips, although it doesn't veer too far down the rocky roads of rock exploration, it does fit the bill of a lovely and interesting record. I will say that his blues licks are tight. Solid stuff, Steve.
Enjoyable. First time hearing this guy (though I'm now assuming he's of the Cosby stills and Nash fame). Some songs missed the mark but most were a good listen.
Nice
lovely album, good displays of vocals such as in the last track. But also some unique/playful tracks like Go Back Home that explore using other instruments to get its sound. (Just saw on wiki that jimi played the guitar on Old Times Good Times!)
Album art is a tricky thing. It can give you insight into the psyche of the artist, possibly giving you a clue to the tenor and tone of the album. Stephen Stills's self-titled debut album cover gives you a sense of the quintessential seventies singer-songwriter - a pensive, sensitive soul pouring out a vulnerable masculinity over acoustic strings. Maybe this package is wrapped in the dulcet hushes of the Laurel Canyon sound, perfected so well by Stills and his compatriots in Crosby, Stills, & Nash. But the cover belies the festival of sounds exploding from the grooves on the black lacquer of the disc inside. The album reveals the musical depth of Stills' range and talent, a talent often overshadowed by Neil Young's grungy cantankerousness or David Crosby's infamous alienating personality. Contained within are gospel-flecked hymns to common humanity, classic seventies love songs, muddy blues guitars, and a host of all-star collaborators, including Nash, Crosby, Jimi Hendrix, Booker T. Jones, Eric Clapton, Cass Elliot, and Rita Coolidge. While the opener (Love the One You're With) may resonate with a sense of dissatisfaction, the closing song (We Are Not Helpless) contains the soaring challenges I need to hear this week. " Open up, my friend, and learn to hear." It's a call to feast on this album. A call to not give up on this collective grand experiment. Those who have ears, let them hear.
Solid album, the singles are geat.
Something about the ‘sound’ of this record bugs me a bit - like it’s tape artifacts or something. Maybe this is an Andy Johns signature sound or something haha It’s not always unpleasant but it’s not awesome either... Nonetheless there is some really excellent writing and truly phenomenal playing on this one. Clapton and Hendrix and Ringo Starr and Booker T and Rita Coolidge and Case Elliot and then Halverson/Johns doing the recording - this is a supergroup-style record! Highly enjoyable and if there was one more song with as much oomph as the opener Love The One You're With this would probably rate a 5.
It's just one of those solo albums of Crosby, Stills, Young and Nash group. And similarly to their records, with small exceptions, they are all good, enjoyable, but slightly lacking in substance. I don't think that 55 years really preserved it well. But regardless, the whole group just knew their stuff well enough.
Really nice acoustic guitar and horns
Probably one of the most (unwittingly?) downright hilarious album artwork among all the records mentioned in the 1001 albums book. I mean, OK, it's Stills freezing his ass off while playing guitar outside at a ski resort. But that psychedelic giraffe, man... What the hell??? With such a kitschy cover, you kind of expect the former Buffalo Springfield to sing his own version of the Frozen soundtrack -- if you can forgive me uttering this lame anachronistic joke. And maybe the giraffe will sing it too. But *in a way*, what Stephen Stills does on this record released around the time of Crosby Stills Nash and Young's *Déjà Vu* is not so far from the sentimental, wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve shenanigans of a Disney movie, thanks to his recurrent use of soulful and epic female background vocals throughout this record. And starting with the anthemic "Love The One You're With", the first three cuts are memorable anyway, and certainly up to the level of the best Stephen Stills songwriting chops and performance abilities around the late sixties / early seventies, from CSN to the Manassas project. The rest is maybe a notch under those first three highlights, admittedly. Yet it's still pretty good, especially the closer. Maybe having both this debut and Manassas in the 1001 Albums book is a little overkill, though, and my preference will certainly go to the Manassas album. But hey, if ever a miracle happens and I have room left in my own list, I'll try to remember about this record... Miracles rarely happen. Yet maybe the "christmas spirit" infusing this wonderful album cover will bring Stephen Still a little luck, who knows? 🙃 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 4 8.5/10 grade for more general purposes (5 + 3.5). Number of albums left to review: 39 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 415 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 243 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 306
Great singer songwriter/country with a touch of soul/gospel and a lot of energy
Great album from an incredible singer, songwriter, and musician.
When I got it during the morning, I was not excited about it, but it ended up being the best of the solo projects from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young! (I think I've already got at least one from each on the list) I liked the atmosphere, the lyrics, and the fancy instrumental. Nice job. I'll probably not be looking for more from Stephen Stills so soon, but this one is worth it.
thoroughly enjoyed it
Very early rocky
Surprised. Always liked in CSN and CSNY but never paid much attention to the solo efforts.
Some timeless and beautiful songs in here, but not enough for 5 stars.
Tää on yllättävän kova folkrockalbumi! Mahtavan outo kansi myös. Pitää otteessaan aika nastasti. 4/5
Mies ja kitara-levy paremmasta päästä. 4/5
Not one of the first of the post Deja-Vu CSNY solo albums that I go to but still a solid one that holds up great.
I hear the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young sensibilities. Good guitar. 4/5
Before starting, I assumed this would be a 2 or maybe 3 (at best) star album. The opener, which I already knew, is great. The rest of the album, however, exceeded expectations. This has a more aggressive rock drive to it than I remember hearing coming out of CSNY. I'd listen to this again. 4 stars.
Genuinely surprised to find myself quite enjoying this. Actually noticed myself bopping along after a while. Not going to play again because the algo will mistake it for an interest in CSNY.
Good, but it would be super cool if this guy teamed up with some other musicians.
Loved the guitar and instrumentals here. 4.5
Good variety of cool guitar licks and catchy choruses with some gospel like backing. Only a few tracks didn't land with me
The song was actually amazing and shockingly, I’d never heard it before. It really was just incredible. I feel like the album definitely fluctuated for me and there were a couple au was skeptical of but Stephen Stills really has a lot of talent and it shows here. I would definitely listen to him any time.
My Dad actually had this on an 8 track. Have you ever seen or even used an 8 track? Worst format ever (...not relevant to this review really but it's likely my only chance to reference the 8 track.). 20+ years later a band I was in headlined at my university playing the "Love The One You're With" valentine's dance. In retrospect, kind of a spicy and borderline questionable title for the event. Again, irrelevant to the album. Stills' voice is of course immediately recognizable but his guitar playing has always been underrated. Didn't know he learned lead from Hendrix (who is on track 4 here). Surprisingly diverse album that doesn't necessarily follow the massive single that leads it off; that's not a bad thing - get the pop hit out of the way. Reveals more upon repeat listens - I like it. 7/10 4 stars.
Just going off the cover I expected just some basic folk rock, but there's actually quite a bit of variety on here with the instruments. Makes it an engaging listen, enjoyed it a lot.
At it's best this is sublime, but for much of it, Stills tries to hard to sound gritty black man. Stills sounds best in his relaxed voice. The standouts are the groovy numbers like 'Cherokee' and 'Old Times Good Times' (featuring the last solo recorded by Hendrix before his death). The closing 'We are not helpless' is a suitably dramatic climax.
Good album. Not as good Crosby, Stills and Nash stuff but still very good.
A most pleasant surprise! I was dreading this one, because I don’t really like CSN, and these days I’m not feeling the folky vibe. And then if you had told me about the gospel-like elements? I would have been really worried. But here the music is way out in front of any lyrical embarrassment. Sure, it’s got its corny moments, and its preachy moments, but much less than I would have expected. And on the other hand it’s beautifully balanced and listenable the whole way through. The two best tracks feature just amazing guitar work from Hendrix and Clapton, respectively.
Wow, a who's who of talent participated on this lp, Hendrix, Clapton, Booker T, Ringo, Cass Elliot and Andy Johns in the engineer seat. No wonder it sounds as good as it does.
The only album with Clapton AND Hendrix on it? There's something I didn't think even existed. The first time I heard the opening song, (probably one of Stills' most well-known pieces) I had borrowed an LP and taped it from that. Unfortunately, the player was at a slightly higher speed, so he felt a little Mickey-Mousey. It wasn't until I heard a live version I was like "oh, THAT is how this supposed to sound." I feel dumb that between Hendrix and Clapton I could not identify who played who. I got their songs mixed up, and I would have thought I would have been able to pick them out. Stephen Stills is not my favorite of the four in CSNY, but he is a part of a whole, and you can hear what he brings to them with this album. There is a wide variety here, but still within Stills' wheelhouse. It doesn't sound like him trying to reach too far, Probably one of the few songs that was just okay to me was "Church (Pt. of Someone)" and even that after a quick relisten makes me rethink my thoughts about it. The other song that I could not pick out as "wow" was "Cherokee". Everything else I really enjoyed. Top songs: "Love The One You're With," "Old Times Good Times," "Go Back Home," "Black Queen,"
A good album, but kind of uneven. Side 1 is excellent and starts with the classic "Love the One You're With" (TIL the famous lyric came from something Billy Preston liked to say). Do For the Others is a nice chill song with a great interplay of acoustic guitar and an interesting vocal line. This is followed by the gospel-y Church (Part of Someone) which sounds like it should have been sung by Ray Charles. Old Times Good Times has Jimi Hendrix on guitar in one of his last recordings. Has a great jam at the end that ends too quickly, unlike the next song, Go Back Home w/ Eric Clapton which drags a little prior to the ok jam at the end. Side 2 is a lot weaker than Side 1. Sit Yourself Down and To a Flame are both basic easy listening. Black Queen is a great acoustic blues track, but it's a little awkward to hear a white guy singing "Black queen, where's your black man?" Cherokee sounds like it should be the theme for a 70s TV show. Very dated, and has a strangely abrupt ending that segues immediately into We Are Not Helpless, which starts off as an easy listening anthem, transitions into a motown section a little over 2 minutes in, and then has kind of a gospely anthemic ending. The album is decent, but stylistically all over the place. I think I'd give it a 3.5 given the chance, but I'll round it up to a 4 on the strength of Side 1.
Live the one your with is a strong opener. I actually found myself really enjoying the album- it captures the sound of the late 60s into early 70s so well. Stephen's voice sounds great and the acoustic guitar is on point. Really easy to listen to. Overall I enjoyed it- really great example of folk/soft rock
I don't know why I thought this would be a slow folk album—maybe it's the cover? Anyway, it had a lot more variety than I expected; I really enjoyed it. The cameos were fantastic, and for once I'm really digging the choir elements as well. The stand-out track to me is 'Old times good times'. 4 stars
Stephen has always been an underrated picker. So beautifully woven together with his voice, organs, and backing singers. 3.5, rounding up for one of the greatest songs ever. Do do do do do do do do do do do do..doo doo doot do duh doo, doo doo doot.
Stephen Stills is a wonderful album, very listenable and enjoyable. The only exception is Cherokee, it doesn’t belong on what otherwise would be a masterpiece.
Best Christian album I have ever heard. 7/10
Dope
i’m not sure if this is an album about jesus but i still loved it
So many good songs. Good memories. Quintessential late 60’s protest songs.
Really enjoyed this
Good, varied and a touch indulgent, but still worth knowing. The hit's fine – sort of the ultimate expression or a pithy, justifying maxim for the free love ethos – even if the "rose in a fisted glove/eagle flies with dove" runs quite counter to the practical amatory advice. "Do for Others" and "Church" are strong. "To a Flame" is dreamy, but requires a lot of strings to generate that effect. "Sit Yourself Down" is rock-and-roll self-care / therapy, realistically optimistic and motivationally choral. The rockier tunes are less interesting. The variety is a strength but not all of it is convincing; "Black Queen" and "Go Back Home" seem a reach into funky/bluesy/rootsiness that he can't quite pull off. The gently soaring "We Are Not Helpless" is what SS does best (the latter vaguely predicting of "Colorado" off Manassas and "Southern Cross" all those years hence). Much is made of the appearances of All-Stars but Clapton and Hendrix are one cut each, and the moments are fleeting, though the contributions are solid, if not truly outstanding. Everybody else is just backing vocals – not much to care about there. And why is Mama Cass so far back in the mix if her presence is material? Clearly, this is not as good as Manassas, which is even more indulgent but pays off in being more expansive, too (and has the charming "old fiddle music" side, that's almost believable, almost credible). Still, fine to know if only borderline worthy of being in the mix of this list. This is truly a 3.5 so requires a generous rounding up to get to 4, and it's clearly notch below Manassas, which is dead-on a 4, in one's humble (but reasonably well informed) opinion. He does seem the least rated member of CSNY and claims in lyrics not to care about fame (in at least one song here and at least one on Manassas) which seems like protesting too much and clearly this is best-effort, authentic and earnest music making, delivering at a high level of quality, but perhaps falling short of being truly essential. As to Stills' canonical rating, it is a plausible argument that he is underrated slightly as a solo artist (though rightfully relative to his bandmate Neil Young [to state the obvious]) but given that CSNY has always been slightly overrated, then maybe SS is appropriately rated after all.
pretty great even if most of it feels like background music
Surprisingly great record. Lots of variety in each track and ventures into blues, rock, and soul territory.
Knew the first song ‘Love the one you’re with’ but this was full of nice tracks. Great mix of styles, it was easy to hold your interest throughout. Hard to choose a favorite song. Pleasantly surprised with this album as I was expecting to have a hard time with it
Stephen Stills is the debut solo album by Stephen Stills, originally released in 1970. This would be the first of a string of extremely successful solo albums released by each member of the prolific supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. This one is definitely one of the stronger solo albums of that era, and probably Stills' best solo effort. This record features some amazing musicians, including Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. The span of genres is also quite surprisingly diverse, spanning from blues to jazz to folk to funk and soul. It does get a bit self-indulgent at times, especially the track "Old Times Good Times" where Stills decides to drown out half of Hendrix's solo with his organ playing (turning it up unnecessarily loud at these portions, mind you). Overall solid record with some bangers. Stills would go on to release some more good solo efforts (particularly Manassas) but never reaches the same heights as this IMO.
Very good songs on here, stephen stills is indeed quite a good guitar player
Good, I used to listen to this as a kid and still like it
Вот такой фолк слушать по кайфу, запаха навоза не почувствовал
Stephen Stills' first solo outing is made of more ambitious material than anything his Nash & Young bandmates could conjure up (maybe with the exception of Crosby's). Largely pastoral, at times philosophical, daringly outward looking, this brings a bit of the countercultural dream of the 60s into the 70s even when it appeared to not become what it was meant to. Favorites: Love the One You're With, Church (Pt. Of Someone), Old Times Good Times, Sit Yourself Down, Black Queen, Cherokee.
Good guitar, overall good except his annoying vocals sometimes. The background gospel choir vocals saved some of the songs. Best song: Go back Home
Stills sought out to make an album that could not offend anyone and would be listened to by his contemporary white male colleagues. And he succeeded.
Go take a look at the list of musicians appearing on this solo debut. It’s insane.
Nice guitar.
Aftur lendi ég í því að hafa hlustað á grúppu frekar en einstaka meðlim og átta mig á því að ég hef misst af miklu. Þessi plata er mjög ljúf og mun vera spiluð aftur á mínu heimili í réttum aðstæðum. Hugljúf hlustun
Not bad but not as good as Neil Young or CSNY stuff
And if you can't be with the one you love, love the one your with!
Great time listening to this, starts off strong, wavers a bit in the middle but ends strong, I really liked Cherokee
Loved it, I only know him from Crosby, Still & Nash (& Young) fame, so was nice to hear what he was also up to. Good stuff.
A brief look at my summary shows I'm a fan of CSNY, especially the "Y". Admittedly, never really dug into Stills' solo discography, though I've heard "Love The One You're With" through osmosis enough times. The first half of the record is great, but I feel like the back half hits poorly, for different reasons for each song. "To A Flame" is bordering on AM radio gold, easy listening type music. "Black Queen" feels like a jam that doesn't really go anywhere, content to be decent with diminishing returns as the song progresses. That being said, some of these songs really fucking nail it, blending good songwriting with genuine talent. Call it a 3.5. Favorite tracks: "Love The One You're With", "Old Times Good Times", "Do For The Others"
Liked it more than I thought I would, excellent guitar work and thoughtful songwriting
I didn't get real excited about this album when it came out, but listening to it now I hear several very good songs, some fine guitar, and not much filler. Steve definitely upgraded when he joined Crosby, Nash and then Young, but this is good stuff.
I really liked this album. It's much better than I thought it would be. Stephen Stills is a great singer-songwriter. There's guest appearances from guitar legends Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Another surprise from someone I've never heard of. I'll give "Self Titled" 4 stars.
I was expecting a singer songwriter album from the late 60s and I got that but I also got so much more. This album rocks hard. It has soft beautiful songs but it also has some guitar driven rockers that are very impressive, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since both Hendrix and Clapton contribute lead work on one song respectively. A really good discovery that, though it is definitely of it's time it still manages to sound fresh today. 4.5 stars
Pretty enjoyable — if forgettable — folk rock. I probably won’t seek out more of Stills’ work in the future, but for what it’s worth I thought this album really delivered as far as being an uplifting set of songs that work well when played in succession. A few extended instrumental interludes felt a bit out of place about midway through the album, but it wasn’t a big deal.
Alright, I’ll admit I really enjoyed a lot of these songs.
Wow. Incredible record that's an excellent example of singer-songwriter style of the time. While there may only be a single classic "hit" on the record, every song is an incredibly soulful musical journey.
Stills goes solo tying together soul, funk, and Latin influences with folk, the blues, and an absolutely STACKED featured guest list.
Not my favorite of the CSN(Y) spinoff stuff... but it does have some great guest performances... and overall pretty solid. Going to round up to a 4.
Very good
Loved Buffalo Springfield, and Stills is my favorite out of CSNY. I got this for Love The One You're With but played the shit out of this record for the rest back in the day (Church, Sit Yourself Down, Go Back Home, Black Queen). He's an underrated guitar player, love his voice. 8/10
Nice...who needs c n or y
perus 1970 sooloalbumi nimetty henkilön nimellä, kitaranpaiskuuttaen ja laulaen luennelloin... alle 40min lyhyt katsastus herran mielimaailmasta, ei kuitenkaan pelkkää akustiikkapaskaa vaan tuo rokki elementtejä joka kiihottaa ja yllyttää.. tekemään RIKOKSIA-.... ei olisi koskaan tälläista perkele saatamanppalvomista elektroniikka demoni DEMONI VIEHÄTYS MASIINA.... SE ELEKTRONIEN KITARA... se on antikristuksen kieltä,, se kirkuminen ei ihmiset ymmärrä normaalit ihmiset, mutta jos osaa soittaa niin luciferi saanut kiinni kurkusta... pakottaa rämpyttäneen old times good times
Easy listening. Really like it. The guy is a really good guitar player.
i vibe with these harmonies man. these songs r jus gr8. i FELT that
Smooth as silk and more soul than a shoe
- some nice folky rocky sounds - sorta enjoyed this more than I thought - gets a little groovy in the middle - 3.5
Great album
Fine Stephen Stills album, which was new to me.
Love the One You're With is kinda annoying but the rest of the album is surprisingly good!
good
Some of the songs were lovely but the others I really didn’t like … very dichotomous
Damn! A lot of stills, nash, crosby, & young joint and solo projects on here. Id complain but i like pretty much all of them. This is not an exception
easy rock. never heard of before
Love the one you're with is a fantastic song. Great lyrics bonded to great guitar work. This is generally a uplifting album without being saccharin. A melding of an acoustic folk and blues sound with electric and rock sensibilities. Actual singing is important rather than just a style of vocal delivery. The opening to Black Queen is straight blues styling and some excellent playing. I don't think the singing on it is quite perfect but it is pretty good. I'd love to hear it re-interpreted by some modern bands.
Amazing, wasn't expecting much from the cover and the album name but it was a pleasant surprise.
Really lovely, great stuff, American treasure. 4 stars.
viagem gostosa! a simpatia da capa se confirmou... ps. embarquei tanto que acabou o álbum e fiquei um tempão ouvindo músicas recomendadas sem perceber kkkkkkk
Actually was alright. The back half wasn't as inspired and the production falls flat, but the musical direction is memorable enough to still hold up. Its interesting to look at each member of CSNY and try and figure out why I don't like them as a band. Young's solo stuff is alright (thank god because there's tons of it), and so is this it turns out.
01) Love The One You're With - 8,5 02) Do for the Others - 8,0 03) Church (Part of Someone) - 8,5 04) Old Times Good Times - 7,5 05) Go Back Home - 8,0 06) Sit Yourself Down - 8,5 07) To a Flame - 7,0 08) Black Queen - 7,0 09) Cherokee - 7,0 10) We Are Not Helpless - 7,5 TOTAL: 7,75 (78/100) Nice music, it has everything you expect of the 70's... It even has Hendrix, Clapton, Ringo Starr and Cass Elliot. What more could you wish for.
This was great! I mainly enjoyed Manassas when that came up earlier but it was a bit too long and inconsistent because of that. This was a much more concise and on the whole stronger set of songs and just a good old time
A very good album that doesn't need CN&Y to stand up on its own.
Enjoyed the album. Added quite a few songs to my likes. 3.75-4/5.
Strong upper 4. Lots of love for this album, almost a 5 but not quite. Insane personnel, Hendrix, Clapton, Booker T., Ringo, etc. Live recordings of a number of these songs sit in my all time favorites, but the production does no favors. Great but not the best Stills has done.
4/5
Of all the CSNY guys, S is for sure my fav. Just really appreciate the songs he writes.
7/10. Not bad at all, little over-dramatic. If this truly is my final album on this list from the CSNY extended universe, goodbye, it was an okay time.
Could be my favorite out of all the CSNY-adjacent albums on the list. Or I’ve developed Stockholm Syndrome from having to listen to so many CSNY-adjacent albums (17 and counting!). 8/10
Waffled between a 3 and 4 star on this. Overall a 4 star album with a couple of 2 or 3 star songs. But, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
While listening to each one of these songs I keep reminding that this was released in 1970 - before Sticky Fingers, before before Springsteen’s albums and before most of Zeppelin’s work. It is impressive the swing, versatility, power this album has. I came with low expectations and was surprised. Definitely will come back to this album.
First track amazing Album closer is incredible Everything in between is pretty great 4/5
Good sounds, nothing flashy.
Stephen Stills? Stephen Stills what? Oh STILLS! Like him off of Crosby and Nash! I have already established I know nothing of their work and the album that has appeared so far wasn’t great. I had zero expectations. The album cover doesn’t give anything away. A random dude freezing his bollocks off, sitting on a bench that is covered in about 12 inches of snow. Obviously he’s playing a guitar. And obviously there is a small wooden pink giraffe stood next to him. Of course there is. None of that gives any indication to the whole bunch of tracks that are absolutely dripping in orchestral gospel warmth. Like if Primal Scream had done a whole album like Moving On Up … but better. I thought this was great. I’m really starting to worry that I’m turning into a dad from US sitcom in the 90s.
4- если что
Pleasant sounds for a morning commute. Classics are classics for a reason.
Did not expect to like this as much as I did. There's an abundance of CSNY and their associated work on this list so I wasn't looking forward to it. I was pretty happy with this. I didn't know he was responsible for "Love The One Your With" I always thought it was some one hit wonder
This gets 4 stars for Cherokee
Decent music, I mostly liked the folk/gospel direction. I never realized Love the One You're With had a message that I strongly disagree with, but hey now I do. What an unfortunate (to me) message for such a catchy song.
On a bright sunny Friday I found this album pretty annoying. Listening again the next day, a rainy, grim, lazy weekend morning, I love it.
Rating: ** 4+ ** Notes: Really nice Album. Listended to it during work and got little bit unfocused.... but was nice to work to :) loved the choire. Have to listen it again... maybe its a 5 then. Songs which stood out in no particular order (credits to Uncle Gue for the idea): "Love the One You're With" ------------------------------------------------------------- Rating Scale: 1- very bad 2- bad 3- neutral 4-good 5-very good additonaly -/+ sign if necessary
Gefällt mir! 7.5/10
I enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I would. Varied and interesting the whole way through.
#1 already familiar with this one. Stills was as good as any songwriter at the time.
Album 202 of 1001 Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills Rating : 4 / 5 Favorite Track : Love the One You're With Wonderful album. There was a time when I wondered why Stephen Stills had the following he did. Now, I wonder why he doesn't get more attention for his work. Great songwriting, great production. Great career. This album has many guest musicians including Clapton & Hendrix. Good stuff.
3.75
Great!!
The power of friends.
Great album and voice
As lovely as anything he did in the groups he belonged to in the sixties.
4 - nice easy listen
Strong material throughout with a couple of real standouts, but not really breaking new ground on CS&N(& sometimes Y) territory, and a little unfocused.
The most enjoyable album by one of Crosby, Stills or Nash (and arguably Young) that I've heard so far. Those records have generally been good but a little on the boring side. Not this. Stills goes straight for soulful bluesy folk rock with a big commercial sound. He throws everything at it, drenching the album with gospel choirs, strings, Springsteenesque raspy vocals, guitar licks, saxophone, and even a touch of jazz flute. It's not subtle and it's not particularly clever, but its instantly enjoyable. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Love The One You're With Date listened: 21/09/23
A whole lot of clean guitar playing and singing that sounds like it's coming from the next room. Best track: Go Back Home
I was expecting something sort of straight ahead folky, but there was a lot going on here. Strings, background vocals, horns, and electric guitar (including some from Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton no less!) This is really a great album, so glad I got the chance to listen to it. 4 stars.
Another great album from a great artist that makes great music.
Great music, however would have liked just bit more blues rock or blues guitar by Stills
Not a lot different from CS&N, which I think is a good thing. Good listen, especially the first half
Feels like a perfect record to take us from the sixties into the seventies - enough grounding in folk rock songwriting to feel familiar, enough movement into a heavier, orchestrated sound to feel fresh. Really enjoyable.
I have always liked Stephen Stills voice but have never listened to his solo work. The album starts with his hit, 'Love the One You're With' which feels more akin to his work with CSN(Y) with its layers and production. I really enjoy the more stripped down songs like 'Black Queen' as they show Stills at his most raw and playful. Overall, this is an easy to listen to psychedelic folk/blues/roots record. The caliber of musicianship is insane. The album credits list Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Booker T. Jones, Ringo Starr, and Cass Elliot in addition to David Crosby and Graham Nash. Something about it feels a bit undefined, but I chalk that up to Stills finding his identity outside his massively successful supergroup.
This is fucking miles better than anything his mate Neil Young ever did, it's really good in places. Love the One You're With sounds like a 90s pop hit 25 years early, Church is a soaring uplifting ballad type, Go Back Home is bluesy, generally a really enjoyable listen.
Solid
8/10 solide album. très plaisant. hard rock, rock, soul. beau mélange. a revenir
Before Marvel, there was the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young extended universe. Just like Marvel, they cranked out content but unlike Marvel, almost everything they did was high quality. This album is no exception!
Have and love this album
Mjög kósí plata.
Shocked: there was me thinking that this was going to be a shit album by an artist that I've never heard of and I would spend my time slagging it off but yk what I'm not going to do that bc it's actually quite good. It has hit it's target of being a rock record which gives you that cosy feeling inside, it may not be the most technically advanced but a nice relaxing time.
I enjoyed this, and was a bit taken aback by the stylistic differences from song to song. These CSNY guys really know their stuff. However, I was not super taken overall. All the songs were good, not great (except Love the One You're With) 3.75/5
For some reason I didn't want to like this as much as I did, but it's got a laid back soulfulness to it that I can't deny. The reason I was cautious going in is probably because of the hippie sentiment of the overplayed opening track. I feel that's one anthem that hasn't aged gracefully. Once you get past that though, this is one smooth ride. Covers alot of ground in its 39 minutes.
I have a playlist called 'Warm and Fuzzy' that this would fit really well into. Dreamy, cosy, classic rock for wintertime (as the album cover suggests). Liked 'Old Times Good Times' and 'To a Flame'.
I enjoyed this a lot. Great listen and a great artist.
One of the four horsemen of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young! Stephen Stills, credit the guy for spelling his name right. I really liked this project, some cool sound territory explored. A couple really great guitar tracks, and some that just plain rock. "Love the One You're With" seems like a classic, I really like the background choir on that song. This guy's great. Not sure how much solo work he did but if there's more like this I hope we get another album. Favorite tracks: Love the One You're With, Do for the Others, Old Times Good Times, Black Queen. Album art: Mr. Stills sitting in the snow next to a giraffe statute of sorts. I like the font used for the top. I wonder if he was cold shooting this picture in just a polo? 4/5
Blues. Folk. Emotion. 70s Rock. Best Song: Cherokee
Folk. Blues. Rock
Delicioso álbum
전체적으로 평범한 느낌이었지만 나쁘지 않은 앨범이었다. Overall, it felt ordinary, but it wasn't a bad album.
6/10… power pop / folk / *1970
Opening with the best song ever written about infidelity. Rest of the album is not that exciting, but very listenable regardless. Best track: Love The One You're With Rating: 7/10
Better than Coldplay
Bit of an oddity here considering the popularity of the other act with his name in it. It’s not bad by any means and like the other 3, there’s material here that rightly made its way to the main gig’s sets but...it’s all just a bit of a footnote. A very star-laden footnote, to be sure.
Correct. On passe au prochain, assez de Stills. Pas assez de Young à date par contre.
Stephen Stills- Stephen Stills (1970) This was a game of 2 halves. All the good stuff seemed to be packed into side 1…Church, Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home , the last two with Hendrix and Clapton respectively. The 2nd half was let down with a couple of pretty bad inclusions: To A Flame and Black Queen. And then the weirdest and clunkiest transition between the last 2 songs on the album. Definition of a mixed bag ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well produced, but forgettable. Contains one of the worst guest solos I've heard. Stills himself positively suprised me with his playing.
Good album. Best song was Blackqueen.
pretty standard folk rock. not super interesting
Not at all what I expected, so many different styles rolled into one album. Did enjoy though
This was different than I expected. However, nothing really stood out to me on it. Cool to learn it’s the only album featuring Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton though.
This was good, but at the same time super forgettable, honestly I can remember Love the One You're With, but cannot tell you any of the other song names, or what they sounded like. Some of it was great, most of it was. Idk felt a bit soulless. Some of the other reviews on here do a way better job than what I would be able to convey here... So many features from so many different talented artists, that just felt like they were doing Stills a favor and having a bit of fun, nothing more. Hendrix is on Old Times Good Times which is kind of wild, and Stills is blasting organ over top of his playing lmfao. Also, that haircut is not good... I do like the giraffe though, super surreal looking.
I might like SS the most out of the band. Solid album. Great voice. 3.75
Not bad but certainly not essential listening. Stephen Stills was the 3rd best member of CSNY.
It was ok, but honestly kind of boring and everything was the same. Absolutely nothing stood out, but at the same time nothing was difficult to listen to. It is not an album that made me stop what I was doing and really listen. I only really marked one song as notable and that was go back home. Just scratching into a 3 star
Moments of interest and excitement, but never really grabbed me. 3.5
Enjoyed this - lots of nice moments - but kind of washed over me a bit after a while and not sure how often I’d return.
Not bad, but not my preferred listen.
Pre-listen review: this had better not be more hippie nonsense. Post-listen review: definitely a lot of hippie nonsense, but also this album starts off pretty strong, so it’s kinda in the middle for me.
Pretty middling for me. Didn't dislike it, but it didn't win me over on first listen. There are decent tracks there. Solid songwriting chops. Just, meh
Church Black Queen We Are Not Helpless
Love the One You’re With Go Back Home Cherokee
la guitarrra de love the one you're with me hace acordar mucho a canyon moon de harry styles.
It was aight.
Pretty alright
Good album, cool album cover
I hadn’t heard any Stephen Stills solo stuff before, and I came away from this somewhat disappointed. Love The One You’re With is a classic that sets up the album brilliantly, but it’s followed up with… meh. The sound is a sort of blues rock with bits of gospel and it just underwhelms really. It’s not bad, but it is quite uninteresting and leaves little impression on me.
A perfect example of how an ensemble of incredible musicians does not a great album make (look at the ‘Personnel’ on its Wikipedia article). The one classic track, ‘Love the One You’re With’, is a pretty good folky/acoustic tune with gospel choir-style vocals, but it’s about the only memorable track here. I felt it was very much a by-the-numbers, pale imitation of CSNY (perhaps unsurprisingly). Nothing was bad exactly, and some of it was actually fairly good, but it all felt really insubstantial, like it was missing something, and that it could have been better. A disappointing 3 stars.
Again, nothing really stood out to me, but the overall vibe feeling and sound of this album was better than the last so I’m gonna give it three stars, but was certainly not listening again on purpose and I could not describe to you at all. What any of the songs sounded like or were about?
Enjoyed it. Like James Taylor but good
Good, chill album.
some chill stuff but nun crazy
As a fan of 60s folk-rock I'm well aware of how magical CSN's best stuff is, but unfortunately that knowledge has doomed me to forever pursue the various and sundry solo and duo projects of the three members (and sometimes Y). Much mediocrity has ensued.
Sterk 3. Positivt overrasket. Generelt god vibe. Holder dog en knapp på baladene. En del slitsomme soloer i de mer upbeat låtene, særlig "Go Back Home".
"Love The One You're With" is a song I always change stations to when listening to the radio, so I didn't have high hopes for this one. Surprised I actually found some songs I like, though, and would've rated this higher had it been an EP instead. The songs I liked were "Old Times Good Times", "To a Flame", "Cherokee", and "We Are Not Helpless". The rest either feel like White Boy Blues or Laurel Canyon Hippy-Dippy BS to me. (2.5/5)
Not bad. Of it's time though. Don't get what the love of the organ sound in the 60s and 70s is about. 3/5.
Pretty good! But nothing jumped out to me. And it's short, which is good. Fairly enjoyable, and a lot of variety which I love to see. The only issue is that no singular song what that memorable or catchy, I guess. It's a bit tame. Love the album cover though xD. But I want to make it clear, it's very varied within its style, it doesn't feel repetitive. But that's not really enough to make it good, or even better than average in mu opinion. I don't think I'll be listening again.
⅓ of Crosby Stills and Nash, and ¼ of Crosby Stills, Nash and Young. There was nothing unexpected here. Not sure what genre it would be though. An ok version of love the one you're with, bt that's about all that can be said. A generous 3
A very solid 3 stars. Took a while to warm up, then hit a purple patch of fantastic bluesy, gospelly rock (Church > Old Times Good Times > Go Back Home > Sit Yourself Down). Petered out again at the end for me.
Oh dear, another one of those from that 60's supergroup, preconceptions gone into overdrive. The cover intrigued me with its pink spotted giraffe. Once I put this on I was pleasantly surprised, but it just got better and better. Even his 'Church (part of Someone) was good. The more folkier numbers were passable, but when he rocked out, he did it in style. I have added this to my apple library in the vein hope that I will play it a gain in the future rather than looking at it in a years time and going WTF and deleting it.
Normal 70's pop-folk rock with a classic rock radio staple to open the record. Not something I'd reach for but definitely listenable.
Never trust an album cover from the 60s/70s. I thought I was in for some folk, but man was i wrong. Enjoyed it, strong 3!
3.1 2x
Lame shit
Pretty just ok. There's nothing BAD here, but also, nothing great. Guess the opener has some staying power.
2,7/5
Bomzinho
This is sort of along the lines of what I like but also sort of not
Best Track - "Love The One You're With"
Pretty decent folk rock, I like the rock songs more than the ones leaning into folk but it's all decent
I disliked a song, I liked a song, I disliked a song, I liked a song. For a plain ish singer, it was impressive the number of different instruments used
Started out strong and fizzled a bit for me. Just not a fan of the instruments
The liner notes for this have an impressive array of 60s talent: Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby & Nash, Mama Cass, Ringo Starr... but a while a few songs here are standouts, I just can't help feeling it lacks some punch overall.
Judging from the album cover (and stupidly not realizing this was the Stills from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) , I was expecting the worst - a quirky singer-songwriter softly droning about small nothings, or maybe a wannabe-Dylan with an anemic guitar. Fortunately, I was wrong. This is a very enjoyable blend of blues, soul, gospel and psychedelia, with even a Jimi Hendrix contribution. Stills is a competent singer / player, even if the record somewhat lacks a definite identity - it's not extremely original, and sometimes sounds a bit derivative. Not sure I would listen again, but it was certainly all right as a one-time experience. Much better than the long series of horrendous albums I've had for the last couple of weeks, at least. 6/10
The organ hit at 1:44 on Love The One You’re With is euphoric. I liked this one quite a bit more than Manassas. Maybe it’s a little overindulgent with the string arrangements, organs, choirs, and guest musicians, but it still sounds good. I was questioning why the guitar on Old Times Good Times was so good until learning it was Hendrix and yeah that makes sense. Favorites were Love The One You’re With, Old Times Good Times, Go Back Home, Cherokee, and We Are Not Helpless.
It felt like an amazing jam session that never really formed into an amazing album.
This was good. Love The One You're With is a classic rock radio staple for a reason. I was just missing Crosby, Nash and Young.
"Perfectly passable" might be the only thing I can think of for this album.
Cool backing vocals! The last two songs (Cherokee and We Are Not Helpless) were really cool. My favourite moment on the album was the organ on Old Times Good Times!
That first song is so catchy. Had it stuck in my head all day. I appreciated the really jazzy songs. Overall pretty good. Enjoyable as a singer songwriter kind of album.
If you can't listen to the album you love, love the album youre with! Well, at least 3 stars of love! A fun album!
i can't remember what i thought about this but it was okay
That was calm. 3/5.
CSN needed Neil young to write good songs. This is kinda boring
Without the harmony of CNY it’s just generic classic rock
Fine fine fine
Decent
The sound on this album is so crisp. The acoustic guitar sings but the song writing just wasn’t there and it was missing the csny harmonies
A high and respectable 3!
And here we have perhaps the most average possible album I could've gotten. Well, okay, I'd probably call this "slightly above average" in terms of quality, but in terms of the kinds of albums that appear on this list, albums like this are very representative of what this list is like. I would know, as I'm over 1000 days into this project. Can you tell that I'm ready for this album project to end? Stephen Stills is a talented guy, but I think I've realized that he is just not as talented as Neil Young or even David Crosby. I had my suspicions based on the last Stephen Stills album I got, Manassas, but this just kinda confirmed that for me. Compared to Manassas, I will say that I'm glad that this album isn't as long as that one was, but I also don't like the music of this album as much as the music from Manassas. I don't know what it is, but the sound of this album doesn't connect with me as much as the other album's sound did, even if I thought that that album's sound still wasn't much to write home about. Of course, this self-titled album here has good things on it. "Love The One You're With" is a nice opener. There are some good collaborations on here, including appearances from both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, so that's cool. Other than that stuff, this is a pretty standard folk rock album. I have nothing against it, but there also isn't much that hooked me here. It's alright. Solid 3/5.
This was definition of serviceable. It wasn't good, it wasn't bad, it was just fine. 2.5 / 5
Didn't really listen sorry, sounded ok
Sterk, men læll
cool, but not my genre
A hot start, great out the gate. Then it sort of tailed off into a mix of very similar sounding songs. The guitar tone and riffs are sensational in this album however, and I love the creative use of voice.
Pretty great, wasnt expecting such a vibrant and fun album honestly
Blues probably my least favourite style, but it ain't a bad album. 3/5 Top tracks: Love the one you're with, Cherokee
Don't judge an album by its' strange album cover. I was aware of the opening track, it's a very good one. But the album gets better towards the middle segment with some awesome guitar work. The final track is brilliant. Thanks Stephen. Favourites: Old Times Good Times Go Back Home We Are Not Helpless
Cool simple vibes
Do we get Manassas later?
The more listenable and talkented of CSN - it might get a three if only becasue hes not Crosby.
Thoughts before listening: I'm pretty sure that Manassas has already been on here, and I feel like we don't REALLY need to hear another Stephen Stills solo album as part of this project. Review: "Love the One You're With" is on this album. Apparently this is Stephen Stills' first solo album as CSNY was breaking up, and I'd say the sound closely mirrors that band's sound....just with fewer harmonies. I like this (I like CSNY) and there are some cool guitar workouts on here including "Old Times Good Times" and "Go Back Home". Nothing groundbreaking here, but definitely some solid 60s/70s rock. 3-stars
I was familiar with “Love The One You’re With”, which is a competent and enjoyable folk pop banger. I think I liked it more when I was a kid. I like Stills’ gritty voice and songwriting, generally, but I thought as a whole this was just alright. Some juicy guitar work, occasional lightning hook, but overall it feels like a fine enough singer-songwriter joint that isn’t shaking the earth. It’s often good but only sometimes truly great. Sorry, Steve, I think your best work is still with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY. Feels like the most appropriate three-star rating I’ll give in this project.
Milquetoast. Feels like this should be playing quietly in the background while people are talking. Favorite Songs: Love the One You're With, We Are Not Helpless
a few enjoyable songs but leans too hard into uninspired folk for me to really love it
Gut hörbare Musik. Stellenweise rockig, viel Akustik-Gitarre. Typischer 70er Sound. 3-4/5
Questo mi é piaciuto leggermente di piú rispetto agli altri ma il genere non mi riesce a prendere
It was ok, nothing bad, but nothing memorable.
Stark trea
trevligt och tråkigt
Its a decent solo effort, but WTH is this album cover?
Love the one youwith is such a classic that ditty earns a star alone
With the exception of Neil Young, I feel like these guys were better together than they were separate. That being said, this is a solid album. I'm not sure what the deal is with that giraffe on the album cover though. Favorite track: Love the One You're With
I've only ever heard the opening track before and wasn't expecting some of the more funky tracks. Overall, one to return to periodically. Some good songs on here and with all the other artists involved, I guess that isn't surprising. The opening and closing tracks stand out for me.
No private session used for Spotify. Album was what I expected. I liked the guitar work, don't see myself listening to this again though.
3/5 Favorite Songs: Love the One You're With Do for the Others Old Times Good Times Go Back Home Cherokee
Middling album really. Good musician, some good songs, but nothing that really gripped me. Some weird things on this album though, fairly bizarre. Some people will love this, some will hate it.
Sometimes it feels like Stephen Stills might have wanted to take another pass at some of those vocal takes. Anyway, lots of twelve string acoustic guitar, massive backing vocal choirs, VERY late late 1960s. Don’t think I’ll listen again but pleasant enough. Best: We Are Not Helpless Worst: Black Queen
Serviceable enough for some gentle adult contemporary/singer-songwriter. It's so vanilla and bland though. The lyrics are trite, the music just good enough to be commercial. Even with help from Clapton and Hendrix, he manages to bland it out. Come on, man.... My Rating: 3/5
There were really only two songs that caught my attention on this album: “Go Back Home” and, obviously, “Love the One You’re With.” Beyond those tracks, not much stuck with me. A lot of the album feels rooted in its era, and I don’t think most of it has aged particularly well. The talent is there, but the songs themselves just don’t have much staying power for me.
It's fine. Feels like a cop out to say that, but it is a perfectly fine album. It inspires no strong feelings in either direction. There is enough going on that I can't give it an "it's boring, 1 star" review, but I wouldn't say it is a gratifying listen. It is the ideal of a 3/5 album. Also I spent like 10 seconds trying to remove the hair strand from my phone screen before I realised that the album cover used here has a pen mark on it.
As much as I hate the sheer amount of pysch rock albums in this timespan on this list, this is one of the ones I think should actually be in the list. It’s actually got some level of sauce to it.
This is a fairly interesting album, with intricate parts. Nice pleasant album that showcases his musical abilities well.
Like many of the albums on this list, I enjoyed it and might listen to it again, but question just how special this is to be on this list
not wow music, but still nice to hear in the background
Listening out of the blue in 2026 without any background knowledge it just kind of blends into the background of country from that era. Has a specific nostalgic sound that you really only get from that time.
There’s gotta be at least twenty albums on here from the guys in CSNY and we need at most three
And if you can't listen to the one you love honey // Love the one (of the 1001) you're listening to. I still prefer CSNY but their dissolution also gave us some good records. I know this album deserves more time with it, and maybe that time will come but for now it'll have to remain waiting like a giraffe in the snow.
never as good as the sum of CSN(Y), but still a good album
Stills is at his best in a band...
just all around lovely vibes with meaningful songwriting. 3.5
Stephen Stills reminds me of whole grain bread. Is that weird? I like whole grain bread as it turns out. That being said I can only eat it once a day. In music terms that means once a year.
What a pleasant surprise. I forgot this is who wrote the wrong "Love The One Your With" and based on the album cover I incorrectly assumed it was going to be some country or folk album and it wasnt.
some classic Stills. Nice solo work from an excellent musician.
Hendrix and Clapton in one place. That's pretty impressive
Love the one your with feels like a sad mindset
Chillig, aber bleibt nicht im Gedächtnis
“Love the One You’re With” is catchy and obviously why this record moved units but the rest of it just sounds so tired and bland. It’s like the boomers all decided that they had enough sex, drugs and rock & roll at a NYE party on 12/31/69 and just wanted to get super boring and lame and be the worst people to ever walk the earth for the rest of time. The album cover also looks stupid.
The highest spec version possible of totally generic classic rock.
Perfectly listenable but didn't really grab me.
I was more excited for this one than I ultimately had a right to be. It was just okay.
Decent, enjoyed the bluesy bits
OKish, I guess? Probably a thing 50 years ago. 5/10
This was alright, but not really more than alright. A couple of good songs, a bunch of mediocre ones, didn't overstay its welcome
No suena mal, pero no me llega mucho
Off the dome, Stephen Stills wasn't a name that rang any bells for me. I couldn't recall any of his tracks— although the first song right off the rip was something I was familiar with. "Love the One You're With" is probably about the only track I expect to sonically recognize. It's got this great, gospely but also folk-pop kind of feel to it. The "doot dooting" and hook are insanely catchy, and there's some great guitar work here to boot. "Do for the Others" is, while not a big hit like the starting track, still had this great acoustic-rock sort of playing. The vocals have this raspy, folk feel to them while also incorporating some humming to give it an instrumental feel. "Church (Part of Someone)" has this great, slow-dancing rock kind of feel to it until the chorus kicks in with the organ, culminating in this sort of slow rock gospel kind of track that, while not my cup of tea, was still an enjoyable listen. "Old Times Good Times" has a great rocker tone, although I don't feel like Stills' vocal delivery fits the track as well as the prior ones. It feels almost a little jarring, where it's seemingly too smooth and soft for what the track is. Killer guitar solo on the track, and I love the rock organ too. "Go Back Home" is another, more bluesy rock kind of track. Great guitar tone here, but compared to the prior track, I think Stills' vocal delivery is a lot more fitting here. There's a level of raspyness that I think maybe fits the bluesy rock tone a bit better, and with the mix being a little more minimal the soft delivery seems to sit better within the track. "Sit Yourself Down" brings back what feels like some more of those gospel influences, but keeps that great blues rock guitar tone— but really forces it into the background of the track. "To a Flame" has this slow, cinematic feel to it. Beautiful, but also it just sort of washes over you in a hazy, sort of sunny day kind of wave. It's like I'm really tired after a long day, the sky is a rich red hue as the sun goes down, and I'm trying to fight back the urge to fall asleep. "Black Queen" has this great, solo acoustic tone matched with some raspy humming & vocal delivery. While lyrically void, and sonically dialed back compared to the other tracks on the album, I did think there was something solid about this track. "Cherokee" feels like such a vibe shift coming off the track prior. I like the big band sort of feel to this track, and honestly that guitar tone is so much fun on this one. "We Are Not Helpless" is a solid way to cap off the album. It's a return to the more gospely style tracks earlier. An opening, slower part that hits a more gospely section that then picks up in pace. Overall, I felt like the album was good. I think it has an interesting mix of rock, folk & gospel paired with vocal delivery that hits the mark for the majority of the album. I don't think this is particularly an album I would seek out again, but it's also not one that I struggled to enjoy. Favorite Track: "Love the One You're With"
Average folk rock with a well known opener
It was OK
Pretty solid folk album - really dug some of the imagery of the lyrics. Musically nothing special and the chords were predictable but that doesn't make this bad! He does a lot of cool things on this album. Highlights: Church, Black Queen
A few days ago I had "Manassas" from Stephen Stills. So much better than this one, which is ok but not more.
It's so interesting a super group out a great album and the everyone in it immediately went and did a solo album. Stills has some moments and some talent but comparing this to what Neil Young did is almost unfair. It's alright. Love the one you're with is catchy.
He is a great song writer and composer, but his voice just isn't it. A nice vibe overall, but I don't see myself revisiting this album.
had higher hopes for this but still decent