Broadly speaking, by 1976 Stephen Stills, now 31, was into the tenth year of a career that stretched back to being the creative dynamo in seminal folk-rockers Buffalo Springfield, moving onward to be lauded for his contributions to the Crosby, Stills & Nash debut set and the ‘Deja Vu‘ follow-up for which former Springfield compadre Neil Young joined the troupe.
Generally to the fore on every album to bear his name – ‘Crosby, Stills & Nash‘ and ‘Deja Vu‘ defining rock albums of the era – his reputation as an innovative guitarist and accomplished songwriter was further enhanced with an exceptional self-titled solo collection (1970), then consolidated the following year with ‘Stephen Stills II.’
For his next move he joined forces with ex-Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother Chris Hillman, the pair prominent in a seven-piece outfit collectively known as Manassas, the name given to their 1972 album. This sprawling double LP embraced rock, blues, folk, Latin shuffles and bluegrass, the consistent high-standard of all four sides earning unanimous acclaim among the rock press with who Stills shared an uneasy relationship.
His detractors were quick to disparage the 1973 Manassas release ‘Down the Road‘, as later did Stills to be fair, although it was not entirely without merit. The allure, not to say financial incentive of realigning with Crosby, Nash and Young for a lucrative 1974 stadium tour brought a brief hiatus to his own recording plans, a proposed reunion album from this often combustible quartet failing to materialise.
He reappeared with ‘Stills‘ (1975), the first of a three album deal recently signed with CBS. This solid collection, that was far more imaginative than the title, received generally favourable reviews, returned encouraging sales figures (a high placing of 22 on the U.S. charts) and proved a creditable way of wrapping up the first half of the 1970s.
Even by his renowned levels of productivity, 1976 would prove a busy year. September brought ‘Long May You Run‘ an album made in conjunction with Young, collaboration not really applicable as there were Stills tracks, Young tracks but precious little simultaneous involvement. The record sold well but met with a lukewarm response, critics saving most of their flack for the below par offerings of Young (save for the excellent title track), Stills if nothing else receiving marks for effort.
But in terms of commercial headway and compliments it fared much better than ‘ILLEGAL STILLS‘ (May 1976) – a Stephen Stills affair that was roundly panned by the critics, Rolling Stone magazine dismissing it as ‘garbage.’
What stands as his sixth solo album (including the two ‘Manassas’ efforts), is virtually a joint effort with Donnie Dacus. Currently the guitarist in Stills’s touring group, he receives a co-write credit on half of the ten tracks, taking lead vocal duties on three.
While the assertion of Rolling Stone is clearly an overstatement, there are times when Stills does sound adrift – stemming perhaps from a lack of confidence in the material – to the point of being uninspired. Indeed, the deep well of fine songs he usually had to draw upon seems to have all but run dry, with only ‘Buyin’ Time‘ and the Latin-infused ‘No Me Niegas‘ (both his own compositions), bearing the originality often associated with him.
Two of the tracks written with Dacus pass muster and ‘Circlin‘ serves purpose as a breezy way to close things, but in truth there is little else to enthuse over, Stills producing this somewhat slipshod effort in partnership with Don Gehman.
At Criteria Studios, Miami, Stills assembled his current road band of Dacus, George Perry (bass), Tubby Ziegler (drums), Joe Lala (percussion) and Jerry Aiello (keyboards), the line-up augmented at various times by drummer/keyboardist Joe Vitale and guitarist George Terry, who throughout this period could be found playing alongside Eric Clapton – Stills reining back some of his lead guitar instincts for roles on keyboards and synthesiser.
He is found at the piano on the upbeat opener ‘Buyin’ Time‘, the writer expressing concern at the mid-decade slump in the U.S. economy:
‘People goin’ hungry/Ain’t no jobs left in the street/Nobody’s got no answers/They’re just staring at their feet/Ain’t no way around it/Things are lookin’ pretty bleak/An’ everybody’s scufflin’ hard/Tryin’ to make ends meet.’
Unfailingly catchy, the exuberant organ lines adding funk overtones, Stills while not adverse to writing a protest song had rarely done so with such vibrancy – the ‘Brother can you spare a dime‘, reference in the chorus alluding to another period of economic depression, which he evokes in the last verse:
‘It happened once before, you know in 1932/But now there’s so many more of us/There’s something we got to do/Something radical, something different/Hit on something new/America, the dream is lost/And it’s killin’ me and you.’
Unfortunately he rarely reaches such levels of accomplishment on this album again and while the Stills name is present on the writing dues for ‘Midnight in Paris‘ it belongs to his wife, songwriter Verionque Sansome. She contributes a verse in French (her nationality), to a soft-rock track by Dacus who reflects upon time spent in the city:
‘There’s a whole lot of magic/When you’re in Paris/And I swear I’ve never seen/So many pretty women go by.‘
With Dacus heard on lead vocals, (Stills sings in French the lines written by his wife), he comes across as a guest on his own record, the track while agreeable enough is of no great substance. Yet even then it is superior to ‘Closer to You‘ and ‘Ring of Love‘ both of which turn up on a largely forgettable second side.
Dacus sings each number, the former written in association with Stills, the latter purely his own efforts. In turn they are smooth, yet pedestrian efforts that vie for the unwanted title of being the most insipid songs yet to appear on a Stephen Stills record. Their inclusion compromises the album while denting the artistic credibility of the artist at the centre of things, who seemingly could not come up with anything better.
Having stated at the time, ‘I’m gonna put at least one Neil Young song on all of my solo albums,’ (the previous one including his take of ‘New Mama‘), Stills undertakes a version of ‘The Loner‘, which he injects with some fiery guitar and a spikey vocal. Hence this depiction of self-chosen detachment from others, (first aired by Young on his debut LP of eight years before), becomes a resounding hard rock number, the taut arrangement nicely offset by the harmonies of former-Turtles Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman.
In respect of his own work serving as effective pieces, ‘Different Tongues‘ and ‘Soldier‘ are much nearer the mark, both giving notice that when roused Stills was still capable of writing assured material.
‘Different Tongues‘ is a piano ballad that features a melodic synthesiser refrain, Stills ruminating on the complexities of a relationship (his marriage already in trouble, would end the following year when he and Sansome divorced), an affecting vocal conveying the emotional yearning within:
‘Do you trust me/Do you trust yourself/Do you know when it’s time to ask for help/It’s all right/That’s something you ought to know/’Cause it has to do with growing/That’s something you ought to know about me.’
Also credited to Stills/Dacus, ‘Soldier‘ depicts the trauma of a Vietnam war survivor, (‘Soldier, soldier, soldier/Stuck in a hospital ward/Living in a wheelchair/Do you remember the war?’), but who was returned physically diminished and mentally scarred.
Stills plays piano, synthesiser and lead guitar on an emotive, mid-tempo cut, that refers directly to a particular killing zone, ‘Do you remember who found you/The helicopter crew/Out of the Au Shan Valley/What could they do‘ – and the long term consequences in being a casualty of battle:
‘Was anybody with you/When you felt your body die/Knowing that you live on/The shell of a man to hide.’
When he later admitted to CSN biographer Dave Zimmer, ‘Some of the stuff on that record wasn’t as good as it could have been,’ these two songs are exempt from that appraisal, yet Stills was apparently aware it lacked stimulus in several places, offering in mitigation:
‘There were things going on with my marriage and nothing I tried seemed to turn out right. I was drinking too much and couldn’t pin anything down.’
The Latin infusions that had previously been evident in his writing, two fine examples included on the Manassas ‘Down the Road‘ album, are prominent again on ‘No Me Niegas‘ (which translates roughly to ‘Don’t Deny Me‘) – an expressive song of distinctly South American hue, built upon a heady mix of piano and congas.
Singing the verses alternately in Spanish and English, his heartfelt vocal reflects the intensity of the lyrics:
‘Don’t turn your back on me/I love you/It may not mean that much to you/That’s OK/But don’t you turn away/Let me hear you say/I love you.’
There is little to truly dislike either in the brief but engaging ‘Stateline Blues‘ – the protagonist a compulsive gambler who loves a game of chance only to regret the losses, ‘If you don’t know when to stop/Lady Luck she gonna see you’re taught/That there ain’t no pot of gold/And no silver lining.’
Performed by Stills on acoustic guitar and bass with Vitale playing brush drums, it is sprightly, if somewhat slight (the ‘That there ain’t no pot of gold/And no silver lining‘ couplet sung six times in a track lasting just less than two minutes). His middling efforts, however, still have an edge over the modest inclusions accepted from Dacus.
Composed jointly by Stills and former Joe Walsh/Barnstorm bassist Kenny Passarelli (by now an Elton John sideman), album closer ‘Circlin‘ is decent enough, Stills drifting into Eagles territory where they had once flown toward CS&N.
Vitale hits the drums with customary gusto, Stills fuelling the fire through some snappy guitar lines and resounding piano as he considers the doubts that can lurk within a love affair, ‘Can I tell a people story/It ain’t too long/There’s very few that can face each other or themselves alone‘, eventually coming to the conclusion that such emotions might only be temporary anyway:
‘Do you know that time is only water that we drink/Washing under bridges all eventually they gonna sink.’
Altogether it is a presentable slice of polished mid-70s L.A. rock and while it sounds positively distinguished when set against plenty of what has been heard, there is still a sense an artist of Stills stature should have demanded more from his undoubted talents – which pretty much goes for most of an ultimately bland and disappointing album.
If the New Musical Express (‘Pleasant, but decidedly average‘), were slightly less scathing than their Rolling Stone counterparts, it could not disguise the fact Stills had done himself no favours by putting out such a lacklustre affair, so for ‘Illegal Stills‘ to reach number 31 on the Billboard listings was no mean feat given the wave of negativity it set sail on.
Later in the year what seemed promising on reconvening with Young turned sour when the ‘Long May You Run‘ record fell below expectations and to cap it all the U.S. tour undertaken by the pair fell into disarray when Neil bailed out after 16 performances. Obligated to play the remaining shows Stills and his band continued on, this period of upheaval completed when he went home after fulfilling the dates to find there was a divorce in the post.
Having recently been at loggerheads with Crosby and Nash, before 1976 was out the differences were settled, little time then wasted in the trio recording a new album. When it appeared in June 1977, ‘CSN‘ became a worldwide bestseller, Stills weighing in with a clutch of strong songs through a record that was consistently good.
Such was the strength of his contributions, it begged the question of just what he was thinking in putting out such a humdrum solo effort the previous year.
As it was far from clear, perhaps ‘Ineligible‘ rather than ‘Illegal Stills‘ would have been a more appropriate title.
STEPHEN STILLS – ILLEGAL STILLS (Released May 19 1976):
Buyin’ Time/Midnight in Paris/Different Tongues/Soldier/The Loner/Stateline Blues/Closer to You/No Me Niegas/Ring of Love/Circlin‘;
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