Show #178: Acoustic Stephen Stills

May 9th, 2009

A couple weeks ago, a listener named Graeme from Australia sent in a couple requests and I’m going to fulfill the first one today with a show of Stephen Stills.

(Photo lovingly horked from here.)

Graeme didn’t want just any Stills, he wanted acoustic. Luckily some enterprising fans assembled a 2-CD compilation called Blues Man Play Your Hand with the first disc being electric and the second acoustic. And so I present the disc two.

Setlist and Notes:

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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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.

Download show

Stephen Stills

This is a performance of a more recent vintage. Recorded on 19 April 2007 in Reading, PA, here’s Stephen Stills doing “4+20″.

Related posts:

1. Show #161: The Stills-Young Band
2. Show #25: Steve Hackett Acostic Trio
3. Show #93: Turn It On Again
4. Upcoming Yes Releases
5. Show #47: Genesis – It's Been A Long, Long Time (Mini)