Stills Alone [Import]

Looking over the setlist, one also wonders whether Stephen is losing his memory. Didn't he remember that he had already recorded 'Everybody's Talkin', 'Singin' Call', 'Do For the Others' and 'Know You Got To Run' (the latter two included in the 'Blind Fiddler Medley', and 'Know You Got To Run' being released for the third time, not even counting its cameo in 'Everybody I Love You' from 'Deja vu')? And isn't there another version of 'Treetop Flyer' floating around (somebody help me here...)?

Well anyway, enough complaining. If you're into Stephen's music you'll want to get this CD, if you're not, I'd be surprised if you would like it. It's virtually all acoustic (and even Stephen can't hook up a wah-pedal to this...), with most songs in the country or folk mode, with the exception of the Latin mannered 'Amazonia', which also features some of Stephen's best picking on this disc... but don't expect anything approaching his unplugged-yet-electric discourse on his 1974 'Live' release. I'm not sure if the songs don't challenge Stephen or if Stephen can't challenge the songs, but the strumming and picking are mostly workman-like, not maestro-like,

There are five new Stills compositions offered, the best of which are the thoughtful and moving opener, 'Isn't It So', and the widely played 'Treetop Flyer', which touches on familiar Stills themes, such as thumbing one's nose at institutional authority, rugged self determination, and taking yet another hit at Vietnam in one fell swoop. 'Just Isn't Like You' rivals the opener as a glimpse into interpersonal intimacy, as does 'The Right Girl', which you can still be looking for as you play solo into your forties. 'Amazonia' rounds out the new quintet.

Other covers include, remarkably, The Beatles 'In My Life' (which Stephen later saw fit to re-record with Crosby and Nash... must be a shortage of OP's to record out there...) and Bob Dylan's 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown'. Stephen has to really set himself up to crack some of the high notes in many of these songs... nothing is coming easy here, but he manages and it's inspiring that he hasn't given into these very real limitations. In an odd sort of way it is like a finely aged wine... not that it's better as wine becomes, just more mature and appreciable in its own way. Finding the lyrics inside the liner will put a smile on your face, too. Three stars for the
curious, four for the completist.

Why? Because it _should_ have been the album that fans of Stephen Stills's acoustic music had been waiting for. And it isn't.

It falls flat -- not because Stills himself does anything less than a terrific job, but because somebody got the bright idea of recording him on an 'electrified' acoustic guitar (a piezoelectric pickup). In short, the production here is terrible.

The result is a twangy, clickety-clacky guitar sound that doesn't even remotely resemble the angry growl Stills used to coax out of his Martin dreadnoughts on the best of his old acoustic tunes. 'Treetop Flyer' is one of the coolest songs Stills has ever written. But the guitar part, instead of revisiting the territory of 'Black Queen', sounds like something recorded in some teenager's garage.

Ah, well. Most of the music is good. Stills covers 'Everybody's Talkin'' (by his old pal Fred Neil), the Beatles' 'In My Life', and Dylan's 'Ballad of Hollis Brown', and revisits a handful of tunes from his first two solo albums. There are some new (as of 1991, that is) tunes, including the aforementioned 'Treetop Flyer' and 'Isn't It So' (which wound up as the theme song for the short-lived television series _Second Noah_). All of it works pretty well. (The exception is 'Amazonia', which tacks a mediocre lyric over the chord progression from Stills's 'Fair Game' and some sort of electronic percussion track.)

But you have to be able to stand the sound. I think Stills is a decent guitar player and I like to listen to him when he cuts loose. But I sure do wish somebody had done a better job recording him here. This could have been a great album, and instead it's only pretty good.

This CD isn't _just_ for Stills fans, but if you haven't heard Stills's solo work before, don't start here.