Search - Stephen Stills :: Just Roll Tape: April 26th 1968

Teresa R. (galleywench) from WAKE FOREST, NC
Reviewed on 2/26/2011...

This is a nice, mellow cd, but is Stills doing all the CSNY songs solo.

Excellent Archival Release

J. Gemmill | Oreland, PA USA | 07/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, a little context: in April '68, the 23-year-old Stephen Stills is nearing the end of his Buffalo Springfield days - in less than two weeks (May 5th), that fabled group will play its final concert, w/the band's patched-together final LP, Last Time Around, being released that August. While Crosby, Stills & Nash is (obviously) on the horizon, at this juncture it's by no means definitive - Nash is still w/the Hollies, after all; and Crosby and Stills, while pals, have yet to commit to a partnership together. In other words, for Stills - everything's in flux.



So what's a young singer-songwriter-guitarist to do? Apparently, after a session guesting on Judy Collins' "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" album, it's slipping the engineer a couple hundred bucks so that he can lay down demos of a handful of new songs ... and what songs! "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "Helplessly Hoping" and the Crosby, Stills and Kantner-penned "Wooden Ships" turn up the following spring on Crosby, Stills & Nash's debut; "Black Queen" graces Stills' first solo LP; "Change Partners" and "Know You Got to Run" highlight his second solo album; and "So Begins the Task," which he played live with CSNY in '69 and '70, appears on the classic two-LP Manassass set. "Treetop Flyer" (which was recorded elsewhere) shows up on Stills' overlooked 1991 acoustic set, "Stills Alone."



I add the context just so I could say this: "Just Roll Tape" is a tremendous set that shows Stills at the peak of his song-writing prowess. While it may not be the perfect pick for casual fans or neophytes, for those of us who are the opposite, it's a godsend. It's unbelievable that some of these (like "Change Partners") were held back for years and others ("All I Know Is What You Tell Me," "The Doctor Will See You Now," "Judy" and "Dreaming of Snakes") were left behind.



Let's hope this is the first of many releases from Stills' vault."

Acoustic memories

Josef S. Olsavsky | 07/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you're looking for polished studio material, this cd is not for you. If, however, you are a fan of acoustic Stills and like to hear him in good voice,you should give this one a listen. This is just Stills with a guitar. As advertised, this cd contains material left behind from an impromptu recording session which followed the recording of a Judy Collins album. Not surprisingly, there is a previously unheard version of Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. With no harmonies to accompany it, it may sound a bit bare at first, but Stills is in fine voice throughout this product and he is hitting notes much higher than I remember ever before. He has added another rather simple love song simply entitled Judy. Altogether, there are five previously unheard tracks, two of which are great: The Doctor Will See You Now opens with a Neil Young sounding riff. It also features a high-pitched voice, one that is amazingly in tune; Bumblebee is a fun, upbeat number. Helplessly Hoping, Wooden Ships and Know You Got to Run all sound different without the csn harmonies, but all are good. Wooden Ships does not contain the entire song as csn recorded it, but is still quite listenable. Helplessly Hoping is great even without the harmonies; it would have been a hit either way. The cd also contains different versions of Change Partners and Manassas's So Begins the Task. A longer version of Treetop Flyer is included, probably to capitalize on the song's current popularity. It is not a part of the 1968 sessions as is evident in the voice. Any fan of early Stills will be pleased with this effort."