Manassas

Molasses

A double album, recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami in the 1970s. Many multiple takes of every song, recording sessions lasting over four days without a break, obsessive work and re-work from one of rock's most arrogant men. Stills claimed that critics hated him (possibly true), that he was passed over for the cover the Rolling Stone in favour of David Cassidy (probably true), and that Ahmet Ertegun pulled the album from stores as soon as it went gold to force him back to CSN (paranoid much?). Do I detect the influence of ... cocaine? In a June 1972 review for The San Diego Door, Cameron Crowe said "Manassas always remains admirable if not exciting. The musicianship is generally excellent with the only pitfall being that the droning Stills' vocal pervades all but one of the LP's sixteen cuts". He also stated the "lyrics represent a low-point in Stills' lyricist career". I tend to agree.

Like a comfortable, stable boyfriend who is always consistent and dependable, and theres nothing so wrong with the way he looks and he has a decent job and he treats you right, but for some reason you still cant help but feel like something's missing.....

As soon as I saw "double album" I knew we were in trouble. A double album in the early seventies, what a recipe for disaster. As Emily Bronte once noted about Austen's Pride and Prejudice, "sprawling masterpiece my arse". Who did these hippies think they were? There's something horrible about the whole CSN (and sometimes Y) thing and the reverence that they are afforded. Has anyone taken themselves more seriously than Stephen Stills? I mean rock and roll, in all its guises, is supposed to be fun. Oh dear, each "side" has a "theme", my favourite being "Consider" which is side 3. Let me tell you anyone who makes it to side 3 has a lot to "consider", like what life choices did I make to be listening to Manassas. And poor Chris Hillman, a fine musician cursed to be constantly standing in the background to self obsessed hippies and weirdos. I've listened to the whole thing, and bar one or two tracks it is in the same key and tempo throughout each of his so called "themes". The whole thing just grinds on and on and on. And please, I don't care how good the playing is if the tunes are rubbish and the singing dreadful. Graham Nash tells a great story about he and Stills were given a personal preview by Dylan of the new songs for Blood on the Tracks. Nash walked away stunned by how good they were, Stills could only comment that Dylan was a terrible guitar player. That's cause he wouldn't know what a good song sounds like to save his life. 0/5

Southern rock, the exact proportion of which varies. I like the rock parts more, though I'm not against a slide guitar solo. Pass on the fiddle tracks though.

This album sounds like Steven Stills listened to Santana and the Allman Brothers and was inspired to organize a jam. There are some solid jams and breakdowns but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of sing craft here—and it’s definitely not as compelling as Santana or the Allman brothers. “Fallen Eagle” was kind of hilarious though, could be the anthem fir the last 4 yrs. found myself waiting for this to end.

The man is a genius. Versatile, skilled, smooth, every aspect of the album appealed to me. I want to hear more Stills and definitely more CSN!

I'm not on enough cocaine for this. Enough with your summery bullshit, Stephen.

3.6 - A crowd-pleasing option for when you’re entertaining your Republican in-laws. Side A makes me picture a Tom Selleck-looking dude cruising down California’s highway 1 in a convertible Trans Am, heading to the beach with a lady friend. “Fallen Eagle” changes the vibe abruptly to farmers market-style country/gospel/bluegrass. From there, it sounds mostly like inconsequential Eagles-type rock but with better guitar licks and a more firm foundation in 12-bar blues. Check out the shimmery guitar and synths on “Move Around.”

So the month after this was released Rolling Stone mag  decided not to put Stills on its cover and instead decided to put Keith Partridge on the cover. What a dis.  Stills getting away from pure folk and multipart harmonies that defined CSN was a good thing. The country tunes and Byron Berline's  capable fiddle playing  make for some excellent toe tappers. On the other hand, this album is the poster child for the need to remove albums from the 1001. It's important that the list is refreshed as new years come and go since we would otherwise have a stale list. Also with the goal of keeping the list from getting stale,  albums that are no longer relevant need to be yanked. This album is a good candidate. Music is a 3 but -1 for losing to Keith Partridge. Man that's gotta hurt. 

Manassas is the 1972 debut double album by Stephen Stills' new band of the same name, originally released in 1972. Stephen Stills is so damn underrated as an artist. Fresh off CSNY success, he puts together this amazing band. Everyone on here is an awesome musician, and the band is tight. The whole album feels like a jam session. The songs span across many genres including blues, country, bluegrass, folk, jazz, psychedelia, etc. Some people may call this album bloated but I am thankful to have so much content from such a short-lived band. It also helps that each song is so different. As much as I love CSNY, I really wonder how this band would've continued on in the future had they never have to disband for the 1974 CSNY tour.

Such a good album but I just wish it was on Spotify ughhhhhhhhh :(((((

Love this!

Muy guapo

This is the album you play driving down a country dirt road, which is great because I live down a country dirt road. It's Americana, just enough country. I could have done without the Jesus song though.

Let me start off by saying something nice about Stephen Stills, because I’ve been pretty rough on him in past reviews - including calling him the dumbest member of CSNY and mocking him for letting Neil Young take over CSNY after having experienced the exact same situation with Young in Buffalo Springfield. There’s a stretch on this record, from about “It Doesn’t Matter” to “Move Around” (which I’m guessing was the third side of this double album when pressed to vinyl) where Stills and the band turn in some great songs that move to more ethereal territory and feel like a type of songwriting that is underrepresented in his catalog. I think that stretch of the album is really very good and there are few other songs here that I thought were great as well. But once again, I must implore you to listen to the song “Can’t Get No Booty” from his 1978 solo LP, Thoroughfare Gap, so that you can see where Stills took his southern fried blues rock in the late 70’s.

not terrible but nothing really stands out either. But boy is it long

Is safe a word to describe music? This was a very…safe album.

too long and idgaf but some nice songs

Really boring generic stuff. Not bad, just nothing interesting about this.

Like many double albums, this could stand to have some fat trimmed here and there. But Stephen Stills has assembled a top-notch group of talented musicians, and the concept of a different musical style per side is an intriguing one.

I enjoyed this album to a point. Stills’ blend of folk, rock, Latin, and country styles worked very well and it’s clear that his band was on the top of their game when this was recorded. Unfortunately, this album is just too bloated. The highs on this album are great, but are weighed down by so much extra baggage.

This took a lot of listening to before I really got into it. It is a good collection of west coast, americana and country, with similarities in places to the Band, Grateful Dead and early Eagles. Can't say there were many stand out tracks, but Colorado, So begins the task and Move around were all decent

It's a double, broken up into four sides with somewhat different vibes: The Raven; The Wilderness; Consider; and Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay. Thankfully it's not absurdly long for a double (I'm fresh off the trauma of the Smashing Pumpkins). It's never awful but genre-wise it's mostly not really my thing. I think I like the Consider songs the least, and The Raven and Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay songs the most.

I didn't necessary dislike it, but it was a little boring.

This whole album is very samey. It kinda long and nothing stands out.

I know literally nothing about this, other than knowing about CSNY. What a slog. I don't think this is bad but it's way too long and way to samey and boring.

Not necessarily flawed on any front but a dull listen nonetheless.

1972. Country rock, folk rock, roots rock

All sorts of country rolled up into one great package. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. Just like “Something/Anything?” by Todd Rundgren, this album also has 4 individually titled sides, each with their own particular vibe, and just like that album, I split this into 4 miniature albums. Once again, it really worked. Side 1, taking up the first 5 tracks, is titled “The Eagle”, and it’s rad as hell – sort of an “Americana bossa nova” vibe to the whole thing, blending the 70s rock sensibilities of bands like Chicago or Boston with a little bit of Afro-Cuban percussion and riffs. Not a single miss there – just 17 minutes of pure jams that clicked really, really nicely for me. It’s a stellar start to the album. Side 2, taking up tracks 6-11, is titled “The Wilderness”. It’s a REALLY nice set of country music tracks, with a bluegrass lean that really appeals to my sensibilities. Great fiddle solos, excellent use of the steel guitar, some lovely texturing by the piano, & some really nice lyrics throughout to create some vivid midwestern imagery. The only vague knock I have is that Stephen Stills doesn’t have the full country twang that some of his contemporaries have, but he sounds great regardless. I deeply enjoyed it; special shoutout to “Don’t Look at My Shadow”, which has a perfect finish to the entire side / first half of the album. Side 3, tracks 12-17, is titled “Consider”, which doesn’t really have a specific theme, but it’s just a great variety set. I really liked it – lots of bouncing around between genres & styles of rock, jumping around from influence to influence. “It Doesn’t Matter” feels a lot like a Byrds track, “Bound to Fall” feels like a Beatles cut (sort of White Album-y?), “How Far” feels a lot like Simon & Garfunkel, “Move Around” feels sort of like a David Bowie track, & “The Love Gangster” has a bit of Jimi Hendrix in it that really pulls the funk together. It’s a super fun set of tracks, and it might be my highlight of the whole album. Side 4, tracks 18-21, is titled “Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay” – I was in the zen state for a lot of it, so my analysis won’t be as fruitful, but I liked it a lot. Certainly a rock-driven side, & even though there’s a bit of a homogeneity that emerges after leaving the zen state, it’s really enjoyable in the moment. There’s some great percussion patterns, some really smooth guitar melodies, vocals that glide kinda like silk, and some really nice solos that carry a good chunk of each track. “Blues Man” is a lovely tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Al Wilson & Duane Allman, who all happened to die in 1970 & 1971, all in their 20s. It’s a strong way to end a side called “Rock & Roll Is Here To Stay,” and a solid way to end the entire album. In a weird way, this might be my least favorite side, but only because I didn’t feel like I was as engaged by the content of the tracks, and more so mesmerized & sucked in by their soundscapes and vibes. It’s still a really good set of tracks, though. As a whole album, there’s really not a single miss here. This is weighed down a bit by its length, so I understand why this has a 3, but for my money’s worth, Stephen Stills has proven himself a very, very, very capable artist outside of the vague mythos of CSNY. Obviously, this is “Manassas”, but it’s a band Stephen Stills put together to act as a backing band to perform tracks he wrote entirely by himself. It’s listed on Spotify as a solo Stephen Stills album, & that’s honestly kind of fair. I’d be remiss not to give an incredible amount of credit to that backing band though – they killed the instrumentals on almost every track here. The songwriting isn’t as sharp as the sharpest stuff on the CSN/Y albums we’ve gotten, but it’s certainly not dull. When it clicks in the most vivid ways, it really clicks, especially so on Side 3. It’s a shorter double album, thankfully sitting at just 74 minutes, but if you treat it like 4 mini-albums of around 18 minutes each, it’s a really fruitful set of tracks with a wide variety of styles & soundscapes that never really manages to miss. As a whole, this feels like it’s gone underappreciated in the larger canon of 1970s rock, & that’s kind of a shame. I really, really liked it, & I think it’s worth giving a 5. I’m very glad it’s on the list. Good on you, Stephen Stills (& all the other people you credited on the cover that I’m too lazy to type out).

Great

Absolutely brilliant. This album gives you good old fashioned rock &roll, country, bit of R&B. Musically sound, excellent guitar throughout, Still's vocals, and excellent production. This one definitely deserves its place.

First song: This album is too long. Last song: This album isn't long enough.

Wow!!!

Great music. Great writing. Great musicians.

What a great guitar player Stephen Stills is. Big fan of CSN(Y), very nice to be exposed to some of the great solo stuff and while this isn't as magical as the CSNY classic albums, it's great.

Stills of Crosby Stills Nash. Great album with lots of bluesy bits

good flow between songs

Sometimes in music a group of people will get together 3just make pure music Magik. That's this album. Everything in its right place from first note to last. I think it'd be closer to the top 5 greatest albu s of all time if those things weren't popularity poles.

Another revelation. Holy smokes, what an album. A new favourite.

5/5

Classic. If you like Crosby, Stills and Nash, this is right in your wheelhouse. The songs are all well-crafted, with beautiful melodies and some flat out rock n roll. Song of Love, Rock and Roll Crazies, Jesus Gave Love Away For Free, Colorado, So Begins The Task, Johnny's Garden are my favorites.

This was an unexpected love from me

Awesome. Never actually listened to CSNY or any of the members other than the hits. Stills is rocking in this album with this band

This is really good music. It feels good to listen to. It's perfect for working, for doing yard work, for driving on a nice day with the windows down, for having a BBQ. Just really love it.

This album is one of the few I'll argue literally every person truly does need to hear before they die. This is a transformative experience. My review can't really do it justice. Go and listen.

Hadn’t heard it but really glad I have now. Solid all the way through and varied enough to keep me interested.

Great!

a lot of good vibes here. I felt like I was out in a prairie or deep in pine forest or on the streets of a city.

Just great song after great song, all in short little bursts

Such an incredible guitar player, and an amazing voice. The guy you hear the least about from CSNY, but arguably the most important member. He part in Suite:Judy Blue Eyes at Woodstock was one of the greatest moments in Rock n Roll history. This album brings back memories of cross country drives from concert to concert in my 20s.

Catchy, bluesy, good for bbq

'Goeie muziek jongens!' zou mijn vader zeggen. Dit is toch tijdloos, of niet? Je krijgt meteen zin om in een ouwe Amerikaanse auto door de binnenlanden van de States te trekken. Countrybluesamericana, of wat het ook maar is. Kun je me midden in de nacht voor wakker maken.

We hebben weer eens te maken met een dubbelalbum en in de tijd van vinyl spreekt men dan over 4 kanten. Manassas heeft die 4 kanten dan ook een aparte naam gegeven. Die allemaal toch wel een eigen karakter hebben. Kant 1 - The Raven - is fijne folkrock, meerstemmig, bands als Eagles en the Band schieten me gelijk te binnen. Kant 2 - The Wilderness - komt met meer country en folk, waarbij instrumenten als een steel guitar en een viool vaak acte de presence geven. Kampvuurmuziek. Kant 3 - Consider - gaat weer meer richting de prog en psychedelische rock, ook al is het veelal akoestisch. Steppenwolf komt in me op, al is het misschien alleen maar om het akkoordenschema van Johnny's Garden dat lijkt op The Pusher. Kant 4 - Rock & Roll is here to stay - komen er weer meer versterkte gitaren de boel versterken. Fijn om het album swingend en bluesy te eindigen, Allman Brothers stijl. Sowieso vrijwel alle nummers herbergen de karakteristieke harmonieen waar Stills bekend om staat. En er wordt heerlijk gitaar gespeeld. Het voelde absoluut niet als een straf om het hele dubbelalbum uit te zitten en alle nummers verdienen het om er op te staan. Ik heb me buitengewoon goed vermaakt hiermee. Weet je wat, ik deel lekker 5 sterren uit.

Good stuff

I'm torn on my ranking for this album; while I really enjoyed it, it is pretty fucking long. I like that the original album was broken up thematically by side; it means that the vibe consistently changes up and doesn't feel stale. And the overwhelming amount of material, and good material at that, is pretty mindblowing. Overall it's a real groovy scene, man. I can put this album on any old Saturday and just vibe out. Straight through or shuffled I think it would be a great time. Fuck it, five stars.

Excellent. 5/5

Nice album, I like it - BUT I cannot see the influent relevancy. Stile - mix between funky rock, country and ballads

Double albums don't get much better than this.

Diverse and well-crafted with songs that flow from one to the next. Loved it. Helped me pass the time while trying to beat this stupid-ass level in Super Mario Wonder.

Are you a fan of the Muppets? If so then you'll easily recognize how this album sounds like Electric Mayhem, or should I say influenced Electric Mayhem. I really enjoyed this, I especially found it interesting how this went from rock to blues to country to folk. The early 70s were really an interesting time when music was what you wanted to play and bands could cross into whatever genre felt right in the moment. I liked this one a lot

The first time I heard Johnny's Garden, it was playing in our favorite hipster burrito restaurant and I had a pretty nice margarita buzz going. I scribbled some lyrics on a napkin so I could do an AltaVista search to find the name of the artist and buy the CD. Could I give it some of the same criticism as I recently did for Christina Aguilera --- that it's long and the songs are kind of samey? --- why yes I could. And yet, this is a favorite. Top shelf.

Really amazing collection of songs. Plenty of variety, I listened to this all three times today! Terrific!

Very calming and peaceful album. Some songs give me a Steely Dan vibe, mixed with Jimmy Buffett (may he rest in paradise). Overall, a fan! I've seen this album before at the record store and paid no attention to it. It will definitely be something I add to my collection next time I come across it. Great work vibe album! Have been enjoying it all day - 3:41 PM, 6 Sept. 2023

Nice

baita sonzao, rock e country

cool

Super album

Has a vibe very in line with CSNY, a little more edgy and rock like than I picture from them. Segued perfectly into more of my favorite era of classic rock on Spotify too!

Didn't know a lot about Stephen Stills going in, just that he was in CS&N, who I only know a few songs from. I was pleasantly surprised. Great mix of a lot of genres (rock, country, blues, funk, etc.), nice harmonies and lyrics. I'm going to have to give this a 5/5 and listen to it again.

Phenomenal.

Honestly I quite enjoyed this, more than I was expecting. I think this was an example of an album suiting my day perfectly, having spent an afternoon driving along an old country road into Warwickshire to run an errand. Worked nicely with seeing the sun setting over the horizon on a winter day at the very beginning of the year. I really liked the Latin vibes at the end of Both of Us (Bound to Lose), and the whimsical country vibes of Fallen Eagle and Don't Look at My Shadow was fun. However, Bound to Fall came on at just the right time, just at the last glimpses of the sun before it set, to make it a real special moment. I just wish that song was longer. Yes I'm certainly not in the American South, but whatever. This album had a bit of everything to do with Southern Rock, Country, Blues and Folk, and while it probably wouldn't appeal to me on a normal day, it worked exceedingly well today. This is going into my driving playlist. Favourite: Bound to Fall

Lively, lovely and groovy, in equal measures. Latin-country-blues-rock-LA sound-etc...

Love this. Had only heard one or two songs before. If you told me it was CSNY I would have believed it. Great mix of styles that blend really well.

oh fuck yeah, love Stephen Stills (as well as the rest of CSNY) this was really fun, easy 10/10 some of the country stuff was a little boring but it’s easy to get back into it

Wow, did I love this listen! Great music, harmonies were so pleasing and I loved the concept of the album being in 4 themes with slight changes in the genres for each section! It made for such an interesting listen and I didn't end up minding the longer length because I was vibing with it so much. Definitely an album I will be returning to!

6/5….remember it so well…good rockin’

Damn Joe Rogan for taking this off Spotify!

weirdly really vibed with this. 5 stars I guess

great album

Endelig et dobbelt album der kan noget. Delt op i 4 sektioner med rock, blues og folk og masser af gode numre. Enkelt få fyld, men generelt godt

Wow! This is what CSNY aspires to and sometimes reaches. Guess we know who is the heartbeat of that outfit. Bunch of really good musicians having a great time.

One of the best albums ever made. Stephen Stills was really at the top of things with this, CSN, CSN&Y and his first solo album.

long album. that’s a good thing though it was really good. would listen again!

Just slightly disappointed that this album is not about man asses. That aside, the album didn't disappoint at all. It's just simply good rock music. What sets it apart is the variation within the album, the wide range of influences Stills infuses his rock with and the fact that no matter what style he mixes in, it all sounds good. My favorite track is the final, bluesy song of the album.

Grote fan hiervan.

Absolutely rocks - great guitar playing and tone. All the good parts of CSNY, but much cooler. Bluesy rock.

I really enjoyed this album

Great album, loved the concept of 4 different sides with different genres

Great discovery for me!

Great album full of talented musicians playing roots music. Lots of highs, but some lows that end up sounding like wallpaper. I've always enjoyed Stephen Stills' harmonizing. Happy to have listened to this since I never knew it existed.

Cool album

Nice flow at the beginning of the album. I love the vocal harmonies that come in sometimes.

Classic SS,

Loved it.

Good solid music.

Brilliant album for the most part. A couple of tracks towards the end were kinda middle of the road which cost it full marks.

I only know Stills from CSN(Y) so this would be interesting. Some cool songs - both of us, don’t look at my shadow, it doesn’t matter, bound to fall. Honestly just the second side is really great, don’t look at my shadow onwards. Overall a nice country tinged blues rock album. Nothing earth shattering but overall good. I’m debating three or four stars. I like it and I don’t mind it being on the list. Not a personal top 100 by a long shot though. How would it compare to Tusk? Let’s do four.

Great album