If, like me, there’s a gaping hole in your box set shelf between “C” (for David Crosby’s 2006 Voyage) and “N” (for Graham Nash’s 2009 Reflections), fear no more. That hole is ready to be filled with a March 26 release from the third member of the Crosby, Stills and Nash triumvirate. Carry On celebrates the career of guitarist-singer-songwriter Stephen Stills in a new 4-CD box drawing on his legendary associations with CSN, CSNY, Buffalo Springfield, Manassas and of course, his solo projects and pairings with friends and colleagues. Producers Graham Nash and Joel Bernstein have compiled a retrospective of Stills’ 50+-year career including 82 tracks, 25 of which are previously unissued.
The four compact discs, primarily arranged in chronological order, touch on Stills’ numerous hits, from Buffalo Springfield’s era-defining “For What It’s Worth” (1967) to Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cross” (1982) and Stills’ own “Love the One You’re With” (1970). But the plethora of previously unavailable tracks will be the real manna for collectors. The anthology’s very first track, “Travelin’,” was made by the 17-year old artist in Costa Rica, while one of its concluding tracks (2012’s “Girl from the North Country”) hails from Crosby, Stills and Nash’s sold-out five-night residency at New York City’s Beacon Theatre.
This hour’s worth of rare material also premieres a selection from the storied Stills/Hendrix tapes. “No-Name Jam” is a 1970 recording of Stills playing opposite his friend Jimi Hendrix in London. “Black Coral” was released in 1976 by the Stills-Young Band, but the version included here features all four members of CSNY. Another tantalizing alternate is the 1970 recording of “The Treasure.” Included on the debut album by Stills’ band Manassas, the Carry On version was recorded by Stills, bassist Calvin Samuels and drummer Conrad Isidore during sessions for Stephen Stills 2. Of the many demos here, there are early attempts at “Forty-Nine Reasons” (which became the familiar "49 Bye-Byes") and “The Lee Shore.” Other previously unheard songs span many years in Stills’ long career, including “Welfare Blues” (1984), “Little Miss Bright Eyes” (1973), and “Who Ran Away?” (1968).
We have more info on the rarities you’ll find here, plus pre-order links and the full track listing for your persual after the jump!
Graham Nash and Stanley Tajima Johnston have remixed a number of tracks for the first time such as “Everydays,” “To A Flame,” “See The Changes,” “4+20” and “Change Partners.” The latter recording features Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar. You’ll also find a newly-edited version of Stills performing “Cuba Al Fin” at the Havana Jam in 1979. Though not unreleased, many tracks are making their CD debut on the box set, like the single mix of “Love the One You’re With.” Stills’ song “War Games,” written for the 1983 film WarGames and included on the still out-of-print CSN album Allies, makes a welcome appearance.
Of the previously unreleased live tracks, CSN are heard on “No Tears Left” from 1997 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and CSNY tackles “Ole Man Trouble” in a 2002 New York performance from Madison Square Garden, during which the band was joined by Booker T. Jones and Donald “Duck” Dunn. In addition to Hendrix, other collaborators heard on various tracks here include jazz, Latin and rock luminaries like Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton, Maynard Ferguson, Ray Barretto, Willie Bobo, and Larry Harlow. You'll also find a (relatively) rare Stills-Nash pairing on Traffic's classic "Dear Mr. Fantasy."
Carry On boasts a lavish 113-page booklet with rare photos and new liner notes by Michael O’Hara Garcia, David Bender, and Daniel Levitin. The 4-CD boxed set (also available in digital form) will arrive in stores from Rhino Entertainment on March 26. You can pre-order below! And don't miss the chance to be among the first to hear "Forty-Nine Reasons" exclusively at Rolling Stone!
Stephen Stills, Carry On (Rhino, 2013) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
CD 1
- “Travelin’” – Stephen Stills*
- “High Flyin’ Bird” – The Au Go Go Singers
- “Sit Down I Think I Love You” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Go And Say Goodbye” – Buffalo Springfield
- “For What It’s Worth” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Everydays” – Buffalo Springfield*
- “Pretty Girl Why” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Bluebird” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Rock ’n’ Roll Woman” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Special Care” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Questions” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Uno Mundo” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Four Days Gone” – Buffalo Springfield
- “Who Ran Away?” – Stephen Stills*
- “Forty-Nine Reasons” – Stephen Stills*
- “Helplessly Hoping” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “You Don’t Have To Cry” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “4+20” – Stephen Stills*
- “So Begins The Task” – Stephen Stills*
- “The Lee Shore” – Stephen Stills*
- “Carry On/Questions” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- “Woodstock” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
CD 2
- “Love The One You’re With” – Stephen Stills
- “Old Times Good Times” – Stephen Stills
- “Black Queen” – Stephen Stills
- “No-Name Jam” – Stephen Stills & Jimi Hendrix*
- “Go Back Home” – Stephen Stills
- “Marianne” – Stephen Stills
- “My Love Is A Gentle Thing” – Stephen Stills
- “Fishes And Scorpions” – Stephen Stills
- “The Treasure” – Stephen Stills*
- “To A Flame” – Stephen Stills*
- “Cherokee” – Stephen Stills
- “Song Of Love” – Stephen Stills
- “Rock ’n’ Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass” – Stephen Stills
- “Jet Set (Sigh)” – Stephen Stills
- “It Doesn’t Matter” – Stephen Stills
- “Colorado” – Stephen Stills
- “Johnny’s Garden” – Stephen Stills
- “Change Partners” – Stephen Stills*
- “Do For Others” – Stephen Stills and Steve Fromholz*
- “Find The Cost Of Freedom” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
- “Little Miss Bright Eyes” – Stephen Stills*
- “Isn’t It About Time” – Stephen Stills
CD 3
- “Turn Back The Pages” – Stephen Stills
- “First Things First” – Stephen Stills*
- “My Angel” – Stephen Stills*
- “Love Story” – Stephen Stills
- “As I Come Of Age” – Stephen Stills
- “Know You Got To Run” – Stephen Stills*
- “Black Coral” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
- “I Give You Give Blind” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Crossroads/You Can’t Catch Me” – Stephen Stills*
- “See The Changes” – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
- “Thoroughfare Gap” – Stephen Stills
- “Lowdown” – Stephen Stills
- “Cuba Al Fin” (edit) – Stephen Stills
- “Dear Mr. Fantasy” – Stephen Stills & Graham Nash
- “Spanish Suite” – Stephen Stills
- “Feel Your Love” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Raise A Voice” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Daylight Again” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
CD 4
- “Southern Cross” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Dark Star” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Turn Your Back On Love” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “War Games” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “50/50” – Stephen Stills
- “Welfare Blues” – Stephen Stills*
- “Church (Part Of Someone)” – Stephen Stills*
- “I Don’t Get It” – Stephen Stills
- “Isn’t It So” – Stephen Stills
- “Haven’t We Lost Enough?” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “Ballad Of Hollis Brown” – Stephen Stills
- “Treetop Flyer” – Stephen Stills
- “Heart’s Gate” – Stephen Stills
- “Girl From The North Country” – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
- “Feed The People” – Stephen Stills
- “Panama” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
- “No Tears Left” – Crosby, Stills & Nash*
- “Ole Man Trouble” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young*
- “Ain’t It Always” – Stephen Stills
(*) denotes previously unreleased track
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Nice, but apparently excluding yet again the long un-available "long" version of Bluebird.
If that long version had been included, I'd likely have bought this. As it is, some really good stuff here but I don't know that I need it all.
Me, too. Doubt I would play the last half more than once or twice before filing it away.
Not enough solo material. So much of the CSN(Y) stuff is available on the CSNY boxset. I was hoping for more solo unreleased material. So much of his best stuff was on his two first solo albums. Well, I guess it's better than nothing.
Cool to see that Stills finally has a box set. If Crosby and Nash can do it, why not Stills? There's the inevitable quibbles, but it's definitely something that's long overdue. His last album, Man Alive, was excellent. He's still rockin'!
And already, Warner Music has given Stills' fans a punch in the nose, by pushing back the release date from late February to late March. Spare us the marketing B.S.!
Stills and Young totally revamped rock and roll with the BS Again lp. And these songs illustrate how much of that revolution was due to stills.Yes more solo stuff would be exciting but for archive's sake these are the quintessential milestones.
I would have liked more Manassas, especially live recordings, but maybe that will be a separate project, at least I hope so.