Sunday, May 6, 2007
Stephen Stills brings some new tunes to Peekskill
By ALAN SCULLEY
LAST WORD FEATURES
Perhaps if Stephen Stills didn't have such a generous nature when it comes
to songs, his fans wouldn't have had to wait so long for him to release a
solo record.
That CD, "Man Alive," came out in fall 2005, a measly 15 years after his
previous solo effort, "Stills Alone." That 1991 album came seven years after
Stills only solo CD of the 1980s, "Right By You."
During the intervening years between those three solo records, Stills was
occupied with tours - and the occasional studio album - as part of either
Crosby, Stills & Nash or Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
Along the way a number of songs once destined for what became "Man Alive"
became CS&N tunes.
"Had we not reconciled (in the early 1980s), 'Southern Cross' would have
been on it ("Man Alive") and a couple of other ones that have been (familiar
to fans)," Stills said in a recent phone interview. "Some of the other
things that are part of our show standards would have been on it, and it
would have been finished a long time ago. But it wouldn't be the same. It
was what it was. It is what it is."
Stills will play from his solo material on May 16 with The Stephen Stills
Band at The Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill.
What "Man Alive" is, is one of the strongest albums any member of CS&N has
released in the 38 years since the trio released its landmark debut CD,
"Crosby, Stills & Nash" in 1969.
Stills, in fact, considers "Man Alive" to be his favorite record since that
first CSN record.
"That ("Crosby, Stills & Nash") is one of the ones, besides the new one, one
of the few that I can listen to all the way through and not wince at
something," Stills said. "That's why I'm not giving up on this album."
"Man Alive" was initially slowed by distribution problems that helped keep
it from reaching many potential buyers. So Stills is renewing his push for
the CD, with a run of concerts this spring.
These shows follow last summer's politically charged Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young tour.
That outing, which featured material from Neil Young's recent solo CD,
"Living With War" as well as classic material from the group, was the first
tour by all four group members since 2002. The foursome also toured in 2000,
after releasing "Looking Forward," the first Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
studio CD since the 1988 album "American Dream."
With the exception of those two recent tours, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young -
who first recorded together on the follow-up to "Crosby, Stills & Nash," the
1969 album "Déjà Vu" - had not toured since the mid-1970s.
The "Looking Forward" CD is the most recent studio release by either CSN&Y
or CS&N. But all four members have been busy with other projects since that
album.
Young, has maintained his usual prolific recording pace, releasing the CDs
"Are You Passionate," in 2002, "Greendale" in 2003 and "Prairie Wind" in
2005. He recently was the subject of a concert film directed by Jonathan
Demme, "Heart Of Gold," and last spring released "Living With War."
David Crosby, whose drug problems of the 1970s and early '80s, had been a
considerable source of frustration and turmoil in CS&N, in 2001 released a
CD, "Just Like Gravity," with his side band, CPR.
Graham Nash in 2002 released his first solo CD in more than 15 years called
"Songs For Survivors." Then in 2004 he teamed with Crosby on the two-CD set,
"Crosby-Nash." It marked the first album from the duo since 1976's
"Whistling Down The Wire."
As for Stills, "Man Alive" suggests he has gone through an artistic rebirth
in recent years.
The CD features Young adding guitar work to two tracks - "Round The Bend"
and "Different Man."
This is a sign of the improved relations between Stills and Young, who ever
since their late 1960s stint together in Buffalo Springfield have had a
relationship as famous for its tensions (beginning with Stills feeling he
didn't get as much recognition as Young for his contributions to Buffalo
Springfield) as for the genuine friendship and respect that has also
existed.
Stills initially had planned to have Young play guitar and do harmony vocals
on "Different Man," a bluesy acoustic tune that is a highlight of "Man
Alive."
Young, though, knew of "Round The Bend," which deals with the intertwined
lives of Stills and Young. After working on "Different Man," Young asked
Stills about "Round The Bend."
"He said 'OK, let me hear this song that's about us.' So I played it for
him," Stills said. "And he brought his electric guitar, so obviously he had
it in mind that he had to have a piece of it."
The song, though, was designed for only one guitar - the one Stills would
play. Young realized that to add rhythm guitar to the song would only cover
up Stills' vocal, so the two decided to solo at the end of the song.
"Joe Vitale was running the machines," Stills said. "He says (to Young) 'Try
playing it from the top. You're on and you can add little flourishes.' Neil
would not turn the volume up on his guitar until I was done singing,
absolutely refused … That was so respectful and kind and thoughtful of him."
Of course, when the solos break out, Stills and Young produce the kind of
fireworks that will be familiar to fans who have seen them perform with
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The two guitarists can often seem like they're
sparring against each other. Stills, well aware of that image, said it is
actually nearly the opposite of what really happens when he and Young solo.
"If we start playing leads it gets really ferocious and it looks like we're
trying to outplay each other," Stills said. "But actually what we're doing
is we're tapping into our own inner anger, the repressed (stuff). This is
cheaper than therapy and we just get going. And we try to lift each other.
There's nothing competitive about it."
Stills promised that fans won't have nearly as long a wait for his next solo
CD.
He said that despite last summer's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tour, fans
shouldn't expect a new studio CD from either CS&N or CSN&Y in the near
future.
"I want to make another solo album and give CSN (a breather)," Stills said.
"We worked for two and a half solid years, and I think it's time for a rest.
They (Crosby and Nash) should evolve some more on their own and just go and
do some other kind of playing. That will just make it more exciting to get
back together after that. And it gives me the chance to really take this
(solo work) and run with it for awhile. It's something I've needed to do for
awhile." |
