Manassas (album)

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Manassas
Stephen Stills studio album , Manassas

Publication
(s)

April 12, 1972

Label (s) Atlantic Records

Format (s)

LP, CD

Genre (s)

Rock , country , bluegrass , Latin

Title (number)

21st

running time

70:07 min

production

Stephen Stills , Chris Hillman , Dallas Taylor

Studio (s)

Criteria Sound Studios, Miami (Florida)

chronology
Stephen Stills 2
(1971) 		Manassas Down The Road
(1973)

Manassas is the third studio album by American rock musician Stephen Stills and the first album with his newly formed band Manassas . The double album is considered by many fans and critics as the highlight of Stephen Stills' work.

To the album

Inspired by the success of his two solo albums Stephen Stills (1970) and Stephen Stills 2 (1971) and increasingly frustrated by his fellow musicians at Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young , Stills began working on his third solo work after a tour. As with the two previous albums, he was able to persuade numerous excellent musicians to collaborate, including a. Chris Hillman , Al Perkins and Dallas Taylor ( see also: Manassas ). In addition, Stills also proved to be a pronounced multi-instrumentalist in the band context .

The intensive recording sessions, which often lasted into the middle of the night, welded the individual musicians together into a real band. Within a very short time, the 21 titles of the album, mostly written by Stills, were created, which are arranged in four thematic groups (corresponding to the four pages of the original 2-LP release).

The album begins with the chapter The Raven , which consists primarily of a combination of rock and Latin pieces and therefore fully emphasizes Stephen Stills' preference for Latin American music . From this chapter comes the title Rock & Roll Crazies / Cuban Bluegrass , which was released as a single , but could not place in the top 100 of the US charts.

The second chapter, The Wilderness , puts the emphasis on country and bluegrass sounds, in which the musical skills of Hillman and Perkins come to the fore. The climax of the chapter is the title So Begins The Task , written by Stephen Stills, who developed into a Stills classic and later u. a. was covered by Judy Collins .

The third part, called Consider , is mainly about folk and folk-rock . This chapter also includes two of the album's best-known songs: It Doesn't Matter , which reached number 61 on the US charts as a single, and Johnny's Garden , a tribute by Stephen Stills to the quirky gardener of his English country house, the Stills still plays at concerts today (heard on his album Live at Shepherd's Bush , 2009). The chapter also contains the song The Love Gangster , the stills together with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones had written. Wyman can also be heard here on bass. The song was based on the title Bumblebee (Do You Need A Place to Hide?) , Which Stills first released on his album Just Roll Tape - April 26th, 1968 in 2007.

Rock & Roll is Here to Stay is the fourth and final chapter of the album. It consists of rock and blues pieces, of which the eight-minute work The Treasure stands out. Logically, the album is dedicated to Jimi Hendrix , Al Wilson and Duane Allman .

The album became a great success shortly after its release: It reached number 4 on the Billboard charts and contributed to the further fame of all fellow musicians, who finally went on an extensive tour. But not only critics and fans saw Manassas as a highlight in Stephen Stills' career. Manassas also describes Stills himself as one of his best works. Bill Wyman allegedly once said he left the Rolling Stones to play for Manassas.

Track list

All songs composed and written by Stephen Stills; Exceptions marked

The Raven

  1. Song of Love - 3:28
  2. Medley - 3:34
    a. Rock & Roll Crazies (Stephen Stills / Dallas Taylor)
    b. Cuban Bluegrass (Stephen Stills / Joe Lala)
  3. Jet Set (Sigh) - 4:25
  4. Anyway - 3:21
  5. Both of Us (Bound to Lose) (Stephen Stills / Chris Hillman) - 3:00

The Wilderness

  1. Fallen Eagle - 2:03
  2. Jesus Gave Love Away for Free - 2:59
  3. Colorado - 2:50
  4. So Begins the Task - 3:57
  5. Hide It So Deep - 2:44
  6. Don't Look at My Shadow - 2:30

Consider

  1. It Doesn't Matter (Chris Hillman / Rick Roberts / Stephen Stills) - 2:30
  2. Johnny's Garden - 2:45
  3. Bound to Fall (Mike Brewer / Tom Mastin) - 1:53
  4. How Far - 2:49
  5. Move Around - 4:15
  6. The Love Gangster (Stephen Stills / Bill Wyman) - 2:51

Rock & Roll is Here to Stay

  1. What to Do - 4:44
  2. Right Now - 2:58
  3. The Treasure (Take One) - 8:03
  4. Blues Man - 4:04

Instrumentation and instruments

  • Stephen Stills - vocals, guitar, bottleneck guitar, piano, organ, electric piano, clarinet
  • Chris Hillman - vocals, guitar, mandolin
  • Al Perkins - steel guitar, guitar, vocals
  • Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels - bass
  • Paul Harris - organ, piano, electric piano, clarinet
  • Dallas Taylor - drums
  • Joe Lala - percussion, vocals

Guest musician

  • Sydney George - Harmonica
  • Jerry Aiello - piano, organ, electric piano, clarinet
  • Bill Wyman - bass
  • Roger Bush - acoustic bass
  • Byron Berline - Fiddle

supporting documents

  1. ↑ See the review at allmusic.com [1]
  2. ↑ See the liner notes by Stephen Stills in the booklet for the album Pieces , 2009.
  3. ↑ So u. a. on www.allmusic.com [2] and in the liner notes for the album Pieces , 2009.
  4. ↑ Ibid. [3]

Web links