| Stephen Stills | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Stephen Stills | ||||
| Released | November 16, 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 at Island Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Folk-rock, Rock | |||
| Length | 38:56 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Stephen Stills, Bill Halverson | |||
| Stephen Stills chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[2] |
Stephen Stills is an eponymous rock album by Stephen Stills, famous for his long-time membership in Crosby, Stills, & Nash. It consists of songs written by Stills and is one of four high-profile albums released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their 1970 chart-topping album Déjà Vu.
The album features an array of well-known guest musicians, including David Crosby and Graham Nash, who contributed vocals. Ringo Starr drums on two tracks under the pseudonym "Richie," which he also used for his contribution to the London Sessions album by American bluesman Howlin' Wolf, recorded in England the same year. Stills' album is also the only album in rock and roll history to which both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix supplied guitar work. Hendrix died before the album was released--Stills dedicated the album to "James Marshall Hendrix."
The song "We Are Not Helpless" was written in response to Neil Young's song "Helpless" from the Déjà Vu album and both "Black Queen" and "Love the One You're With" have remained in the performing repertoire of both Stills and CSN. "Love the One You're With," Stills' biggest solo hit single to date, peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 19, 1970, and another single pulled from the album, "Sit Yourself Down," went to #37 on March 27, 1971.[3]
The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart[4] in the week of December 5, 1970. It was reissued by WEA after being digitally remastered using the HDCD process on December 5, 1995. "We Are Not Helpless" and "Love the One You're With" were first performed in concert on May 12, 1970 during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Déjà Vu tour. In 2009 Crosby, Stills, & Nash released Demos featuring an early demo of "Love the One You're With".
Reviews of the album were decidedly mixed ranging from positive to lukewarm. Allmusic calls it "a jaw-dropping experience" just short of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Déjà Vu[1] while others such as Rolling Stone were less effusive qualifying the somewhat negative tone by writing "I'm not saying I don't like this album."[5]
Contents |
All songs written by Stephen Stills.
Horns arranged by Stephen Stills; strings arranged by Stephen Stills and Arif Mardin
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