Rock icon Stephen Stills playing the Michigan Theater
Stephen Stills plays in 2005.
AP file photo
Last year was something of a milestone for Stephen Stills — and for his bandmates David Crosby and Graham Nash. 2009 was not only the 40th anniversary of their 1969 debut album, “Crosby, Stills & Nash,” but also the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival — their first-ever live gig together.
CSN also performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concerts last fall, which later aired on HBO, ensuring that a huge national audience would be on hand when Stills demonstrated that his guitar chops have not faded with time.
His bluesy, nimble solo on “Woodstock” that night was tough, lean and bristling — just in case anyone needed reminding that, while CSN has mostly been known over the years for its layered, painstakingly crafted vocal harmonies, they still have a gritty rock n’ roll heart in Stills. Indeed, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Stephen Stills No. 28 on its list of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time.
Crosby, Stills & Nash performing “Woodstock” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert:
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That aspect of Stills’ talents — his scrappier, more guitar-intensive rock n’ roll side — is generally the focal point of his solo tours. It’s on those tours where he stretches out, rocks harder and fires off more of his signature, blistering solos. He’s on one of those solo tours now, and it comes to the Michigan Theater on Saturday.
He’ll likely be in a retrospective state of mind, since, last year, he also ramrodded the release of “Manassas — Pieces.” That disc pulled together previously unreleased outtakes and alternate takes that he recorded during the sessions for the two albums he made with Manassas in the early ‘70s. (Manassas also included Chris Hillman from the Byrds / Flying Burrito Brothers; drummer Dallas Taylor of CSN; fiddler Byron Berline; and pedal-steel player Al Perkins, also of the Burritos; among others.)
In addition, “Pieces” includes some great covers that remind us how eclectic Stills’ tastes were / are — and how stellar the musicianship was in Manassas. The band executes, with assurance and verve, some classics from the Western swing, country music and bluegrass songbooks — like Bill Monroe’s “Uncle Pen,” Joe Maphis’s “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)” and Leon McAuliffe’s “Panhandle Rag.” In addition, they effortlessly master the Latin rhumba grooves of “Tan Sola y Triste” (a song authored by Stills and Nelson Escola).
Plus, there’s “Like a Fox,” showcasing the sultry vocals of a young Bonnie Raitt, a sinuous “Love and Satisfy” (written by Hillman) and a live take of “High and Dry” that eloquently rocks the blues.
“What started out as a really good country-rock band….eventually emerged as a band that could reflect the hard edge of our blues, the crackling pulse of our salsa, and the mourning laments of Appalachia that we loved so well,” Stills writes in the “Pieces” liner notes. “The fact that Al Perkins could play a pedal steel and sound as good as every great guitar player alive didn’t hurt, either.”
“Pieces” is reportedly the first of what will be a string of retrospective-type projects that Stills will be releasing in the next few years, including a box set and an album of studio demos he recorded with Jimi Hendrix (who played on Stills’ first solo album, as did Eric Clapton).
Late last year, Stills also released a live CD / DVD, “Live at Shepherd’s Bush,” recorded in the fall at the famed London music venue. It starts with an acoustic set, which includes favorites like “4 + 20,” “Treetop Flyer” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country.” Then, the more rousing plugged-set showcases such ‘60s and ‘70s-era Stills nuggets as “Isn’t It About Time,” “Rock & Roll Woman,” “Bluebird,” “Love the One You’re With” and “For What It’s Worth.”
Listen to the Stephen Stills album “Live at Shepherd’s Bush”:
One serious local Stills fan is Tom McLinden of Ann Arbor. ““Stills is an absolute legend, and that first Manassas album is definitely on my list of Top 10 desert island discs,” says McLinden.
“I’ve always like him better when he was by himself, or on the Manassas records, as opposed to being with Crosby and Nash,” says McLinden. “When he’s on his own, or when he was with Manassas, his music has so much more variety — he’ll go from rock n’ roll to blues to Caribbean to bluegrass and country — and he brings a great voice to all of those.”
McLinden was at the Michigan Theater when Stills last played there, in 2006.
“It was a great show,” McLinden recalls. “I liked being able to see him in a smaller venue, as opposed to a big arena and having to look at a big Jumbotron screen or whatever. I liked that he was so informal and didn’t take himself too seriously. He forgot the words a couple of times, and once, he just stopped, and just laughed at himself. I like that aspect of his personality.
“And, of course, his guitar playing is wicked.”
Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.