bigcoolguy.com

How did I not know about this album? My friend Dan, who I share a lot of musical interests with, recently sent me a bunch of albums that he has enjoyed listening to over the years, including Stephen Stills' self-titled album.

Although it is very different in its construction, this album sits very comfortably in my collection with albums like Janis Joplin's Pearl. That's no surprise, since this album and Pearl were recorded at about the same time, although Joplin was dead before this album was released. Similarly, Stephen Stills features a dedication to Jimi Hendrix, who jams with Stills on one track on this album. Much of this album features beautiful gospel-style backing vocals, with help from people like Rita Coolidge, John Sebastian, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Cass Elliot and Shirlie Matthews. However, it is Stills' soulful vocals and songwriting, and his inspired guitar and keyboard playing that make this a fantastic album. Stills plays most instruments, apart from drums, on quite a few of the songs.

Stephen Stills opens with the "flower power" classic Love The One You're With. With its rich backing vocals, it sets the stage for the rest of the album. This song was a hit and is well known, so not much to say. It is followed by the much sparser Do For The Others, indicating that this album is going to vary a bit.

Church (Part Of Someone) is an aptly titled, gospel-infused track that is led by Stills' soulful vocals and piano playing. With its huge backing vocals, and filled out with a string section, this is probably my favourite track on the album.

This is followed by Old Times Good Times, which is a fantastic jam with Jimi Hendrix. As with Stevie Winwood on Hendrix's own Voodoo Chile, Hendrix seems to bring out the best in excellent organ players. This song alone is worth the price of admission, with Hendrix's guitar playing taking a back seat to Stills' inspired organ playing for much of the track.

Go Back Home also appears to be a fabulous jam. It features extended guitar work from Stills, with Eric Clapton on 2nd lead guitar. Sit Yourself Down is another ballad, vaguely in the style of Church but lacking most of the gospel undertones. This was one of the singles from the album and charted quite well.

Another ballad To A Flame follows, replacing rich backing vocals with a string section. Black Queen is a live performance, featuring Stills' folk-blues driven acoustic guitar and soulful vocals. This is probably the track that confirms that, despite the all-star cast, it is Stills' talents that carry this album.

Cherokee is quite a funky number, filled with musical interludes featuring brass and flute, and also organ by Booker T. Jones. Nice! The closing track We Are Not Helpless returns to the formula of Stills' playing most instruments, backed by a huge-sounding chorus. Apart from Stills and backing vocalists, the other musician on the track is Ringo Starr playing drums under the pseudonym "Richie". This song closes the album quite aptly with a huge splash of Stills' organ.

This is a very, very good album. It has dated a little since its 1970 release... but that doesn't worry me. The songwriting and performances are first class - there's a lot to like about this album. Thanks to Dan for sending it to me!