Stephen Stills

Anyone who was ever turned off by the shallow sentiment in the lyrics of Stephen Stills' most notable hit, "Love The One You're With" (a song celebrating complacency), needs to listen to Just Roll Tape. Stills fans already know the importance of this collection of demos. In short, these recordings are stripped down versions of Sills in the studio playing his post Buffalo Springfield songs utilizing only an acoustic guitar and his slightly weathered yet soulful voice. "So Begins The Task," now uncluttered with Manassas' superfluous instrumentation, stands out here, beautifully naked.

While making 1969's Crosby Stills and Nash, David Crosby and Graham Nash christened
Stephen Stills "Captain Manyhands" for his prodigious gifts as a multi-instrumentalist and
arranger. Those talents are not heard here. Stills made twelve of these thirteen demos all in
one session, on acoustic guitar in mid-1968, after the collapse of his previous band, Buffalo
Springfield. But the melodic craft and poetic romance that Stills rushed to tape s... More >