| Identifier | 5744719 |
| Created At | Tue May 23 2023 23:54:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) |
| Media Type | CDR |
| Media Count | 2 |
| Traded From | BT |
| Traded From Email | Sharing the Groove |
| Trades Allowed |
Performance
| Stephen Stills 2005-??-?? Blues Man, Play Your Hand, various, various | |
|---|---|
| Set 1 | Disc One (electric)
1 Black Queen - Stills-Young Band - Boston - 1976 2 White Nigger - Manassas outtake 3 Make Love To You - Tulane University - 1976 4 Crossroads - Survival Sunday 3 Benefit - LA - 1980 5 Palace Of The King - (vocal - Michael Finnigan) - Milan, Italy - 1980 6 Shuffle Just As Bad - Rock 'n Roll Tonite - 1983 7 Ole Man Trouble - Oklahoma City - 1983 8 Right By You - Davis, CA - 1985 9 Wounded World - CSN - Rapid City, SD - 2003 10 Go Back Home - Manassas - Amsterdam - 1972 |
| Set 2 | Disc Two (acoustic)
1 Black Queen - Fillmore East - 1970 2 Four Days Gone - Tulane University - 1976 3 Myth Of Sisyphus - Tulane University - 1976 4 Stateline Blues - KBFH - NYC - 1977 5 Crossroads/You Can't Catch Me - Ft. Worth - 1977 6 Uncle James - Washington, D.C. - 1979 7 Come On In My Kitchen - NYC - 1979 8 Midnight Rider - United Nations - NYC - 1989 9 Man Of Constant Sorrow - Switzerland County, IN - 2001 10 Blues Man - Amsterdam - 1972 |
| Set 3 | |
| Comment | Liner Notes:
STEPHEN STILLS Blues Man Play Your Hand Disc One (electric) 1. Black Queen - Stills-Young Band - Boston - 1976 "This is a song about a card game." June 26, 1976 - Boston Garden - A Stills original released in 1970 on the Atlantic LP "Stephen Stills", his first solo effort, as an acoustic song. The acoustic version that was released was actually a demo, Stills had envisioned the song in an electric arrangement, but it was decided that the demo was right for the LP. Performed here by the Stills-Young band, the song was a constant in the setlists of the eighteen shows played on that short-lived tour. ---- 2. White Nigger - Manassas outtake An unreleased Stills original, recorded in 1971, an outtake from the first Manassas LP. --- 3. Make Love To You - Tulane University - 1976 November 7, 1976 - New Orleans - A Stills original released on the Stills-Young band LP, "Long May You Run", in 1976. This is a solo performance of the song. --- 4. Crossroads - Survival Sunday 3 Benefit - LA - 1980 May 25, 1980 - Hollywood Bowl - A blues standard written by Robert Johnson. Performed here with a supporting cast of Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Vitale and Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) on keyboard. It cooks!!! This song has been recorded by artists such as Clapton, Trower and Lightfoot. --- 5. Palace Of The King - (vocal - Michael Finnigan) - Milan, Italy - 1980 July 15, 1980 - One of the "missing songs" from the rejected CBS solo LP of 1979/80 performed by Stills and the California Blues Band. The song was written by Rock and Rock Hall of Fame member "Duck" Dunn and has been recorded by artists such as Freddie King and Leslie West. Dave Zimmer's comments about the song from a 2001 Lee Shore post: "Finnigan lead vocal, Stills screaming blues guitar, would like to hear it live." Well, Dave, here it is....... --- 6. Shuffle Just As Bad - Rock 'n Roll Tonite - 1983 Summer, 1983 - NBC's Rock 'n Roll Tonite - The only performance of a Stills original song released on the CBS LP "Stills" in 1975. --- 7. Ole Man Trouble - Oklahoma City - 1983 September 30, 1983 - A Booker T. Jones original that Stills has performed for years in many arrangements. This one is Stills on guitar with the California Blues Band. --- 8. Right By You - Davis, CA - 1985 May 21, 1985 - Palms Playhouse - A solo performance of a Stills original song which was the title cut of his 1984 Atlantic release. --- 9. Wounded World - CSN - Rapid City, SD - 2003 April 3, 2003 - An unreleased (to this date) Graham Nash penned song that Stills adapted into a blues arrangement. --- 10. Go Back Home - Manassas - Amsterdam - 1972 March 22, 1972 - A Stills original released in 1970 on the "Stephen Stills" LP. This performance is from the first Manassas concert, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. =============================== Disc Two (acoustic) 1. Black Queen - Fillmore East - 1970 June 3, 1970 - As the audience yells for "Carry On", Stills continues playing acoustic songs in an attempt to impress Bob Dylan, who was in the audience. According to Zimmer's CSN biography, Stills went out to do one acoustic song and he did four. --- 2. Four Days Gone - Tulane University - 1976 November 7, 1976 - New Orleans - A Stills original from the Buffalo Springfield days, released on the LP "Last Time Around' in 1968. This is a band performance with Stills on piano, Joe Vitale on drums and "Chocolate" Perry on bass. --- 3. Myth Of Sisyphus - Tulane University - 1976 November 7, 1976 - New Orleans - A song co-written by Stills and Kenny Passarelli and released on the CBS LP "Stills" in 1975. An ancient Greek myth speaks of Sisyphus, King of Ephyra, who was eternally condemned in Hades by having to repeatedly roll a huge stone up a hill only to have it roll down again as soon as he had brought it to the summit. In contemporary literature, Albert Camus said that Sisyphus was happy. Stills uses the phrase "Myth of Sisyphus" in the last verse describing the burden of emotions in a relationship. --- 4. Stateline Blues - KBFH - NYC - 1977 October 25, 1976 - The Palladium - A performance aired on the King Biscuit Flour Hour on January 9, 1977. This song is a little ditty that I like, a Stills original released on "Illegal Stills" in 1976. --- 5. Crossroads/You Can't Catch Me - Ft. Worth - 1977 November 23, 1977 - A medley of a Robert Johnson classic and a Chuck Berry standard. Atlantic released a version of this arrangement on "Stephen Stills Live" in 1975. John Lennon used the guitar riff and some of the lyrics from YCCM for "Come Together". He was sued by Berry and eventually settled. --- 6. Uncle James - Washington, D.C. - 1979 March 26, 1979 - An unreleased Stills original performed at Constitution Hall. According to our Euro authors, Stills also performed this song on June 13, 1979 in Buffalo, NY. --- 7. Come On In My Kitchen - NYC - 1979 July 2, 1979 - Central Park - A great version of the old Robert Johnson blues standard, backed by Michael Finnigan and Ms. Brooks Hunnicutt. This song has been recorded by artists such as Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter. --- 8. Midnight Rider - United Nations - NYC - 1989 November 18, 1989 - Hungerthon Benefit - Stills performs a Gregg Allman classic, covered on the "Thoroughfare Gap" LP in an electric arrangement which was released in 1978. Stills alters the lyrics from the original in his recording and his performances. The song has been covered by artists including Willie Nelson and Joe Cocker. --- 9. Man Of Constant Sorrow - Switzerland County, IN - 2001 November 15, 2001 - A folk/blues standard popularized in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". This song has been recorded by artists such as Dylan, Baez and Ms. Judy Collins, who released the song under the title, "Maid Of Constant Sorrow". --- 10. Blues Man - Amsterdam - 1972 March 22, 1972 - The first known performance of a Stills original written about Jimi "The Fox" Hendrix, Al Wilson and Duane Allman. The song was released on the first Manassas LP. Review by Dave Zimmer Trying to find "the inner Stephen Stills" is a challenging task, given the broad specter of the man's music, career and life. This search has been dogging me as a fan, writer and friend of Stephen's for years. Thanks to Eddie Hill, with assists from veteran collector Al Babcock and mastering maestro Marco Zanzi, as well as beautiful poker-themed art by Bridget Samuels, a new two-CD set, STEPHEN STILLS: BLUES MAN, PLAY YOUR HAND, now debuting in circulation via The Lee Shore, cuts to the core of Stills' musical heart. Not a comprehensive career-spanning study nor a collection of tunes simply thrown together, this set has a course all its own that flows in different directions, but stays on track with a blues pulse that would make Stephen nod and smile if he ever heard this thing. Some of the selections are obvious and familiar, others very surprising and rare. The audio quality of the songs, drawn from different eras and different sources, is surprisingly strong. To someone who has been engrossed in all things Stills since 1972, this set breaks open new windows that I continue to enjoy going through. Listening sessions so far have been akin to sipping some fine Southern whiskey ? warms your innards, sometimes even burns, sometimes gives you a shiver, but always leaves you with a lingering glow. Divided into two CDs, first electric, then acoustic, "Black Queen" kicks off each one and powerfully sets the table for what follows. I've heard several electric versions of "Black Queen," but none top the 1976 Stills-Young Band version from Boston included here. As Stephen opens the song with an extended solo, I can visualize his fingers bending the strings of his Gibson Firebird, a cigarette dangling from the corner his mouth, his eyes closed, totally in the moment. When Neil Young comes crashing in with jagged rhythm strokes on Old Black and the band kicks in behind them, "Black Queen" lurches forward in powerful bursts. The next song, a Manassas outtake called "White Nigger," has never been a particular favorite of mine, but it works in this context, somehow, offering glimpses into other facets of Stills' vocal colorations and arrangement skills. "Make Love to You," a smoky vamp in the studio, sounds more real and desperate in a live setting, as a fall 1976 Tulane University solo version proves. While no version of "Crossroads" will ever top Cream's Eric Clapton-led live version from 1968, Stills, with help from Dr. John and some Eagles, churns and burns on a Survival Sunday performance of the song in 1980. Also from that year is a real gem here from Milan, Italy, "Palace of the King," featuring Michael Finnigan's finest vocal as a member of Stills' California Blues Band, fueled by some wicked blue Stills guitar. When Stephen pulled out "Shuffle Just As Bad" for a taping of the short-lived 1983 television show, Rock ?n Roll Tonite, I was side-stage watching and listening. I had not heard it again until this CD set arrived. Perhaps inspired by the presence that night of legendary blues men Willie Dixon and Big Joe Turner, Stephen digs down for a growling, nasty vocal and some churning blues-rock guitar. When Stills performed Booker T. Jones' "Ole Man Trouble"during the 2002 CSNY tour, I must admit it was one of my bathroom break songs. The alternate version included on this set warmed me to the song, though, probably because Stephen's voice was in better shape back in 1983 and he's on guitar, with Finnigan on organ. "Wounded World," a Graham Nash song that Stills put his own brand on, is delivered with great bluesy authority. Disc One ends with one of my favorite Stills songs of all-time, "Go Back Home," this live performance from the first Manassas concert ever. Stills takes his wah-wah guitar and blues-rock vocals into another realm here, raising chicken skin every time I listen to it. Some early listeners have suggested that the acoustic Disc Two of this set should be played first. I disagree. If you listen to the music straight through, late at night, glass in hand, the songs on this acoustic disc leave you in just the right state. Though Stills never topped his Tequila soaked version of "Black Queen" live in the studio on his first solo album, this 1970 Fillmore East acoustic version rings out with an energy and passion all its own. When the intro to "Four Days Gone" begins, some in the audience at the 1976 New Orleans show react with applause like they're about to hear "49 Bye-Byes," but the Buffalo Springfield chestnut surely moves every one in the room. Same with "Myth of Sisyphus," which Stills sings from the depths of his personal pain in the fall of 1976. A sprightly live take on "Stateline Blues,"also from the fall of ?76 ? when Stephen was still playing his Martin D-45 on stage ? rings out like a sigh of recreational relief ? just deal the cards! The furiously picked medley of "Crossroads" and "You Can't Catch Me" never fails to thrill an audience, as this version from a 1977 concert does on this set, but I've always preferred Stephen's more deliberate picking approaches, like in the next song, "Uncle James," an unreleased song, and Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen." You don't have to hurry the blues. That's also true of Gregg Allman's "Midnight Rider," which Stills really savors and milks during this outstanding 1989 live take. Listeners are then in for a treat with Stephen's rendition of "Man of Constant Sorrow," with the man making this often covered song his own in some surprising ways. "Blues Man," the song that closes the 1972 Manassas double album and the song that Eddie picked to close this set, is delivered with fierce emotion on stage during the Manassas debut concert. It's the ultimate cry of pain, meditation on loss, and statement of survival.. Until the new Stills solo CD (now more than a decade-plus in the making) and/or Stills box set arrives, BLUES MAN, PLAY YOUR HAND will intrigue and delight anyone who appreciates Captain Manyhands. Thank you, Eddie Hill, for sharing this great music. DEZ front: http://bridgetsamuels.com/csn/bluesmanfront.jpg tray: http://bridgetsamuels.com/csn/bluesmantray.jpg booklet .doc http://bridgetsamuels.com/csn/bluesmanbooklet.doc or booklet .pdf http://bridgetsamuels.com/csn/bluesmanbooklet.pdf |