"There's something happening here"

Stephen Stills is one of my favourite songwriters. I say that, because well at his peak during the late 60s till the mid 70s, he delivered guitar work and love song writing that was second to none. He started off as arguably the leader of the short lived but much influential Buffalo Springfield, and looked set for the better solo career than his bandmate Neil Young and it's not hard to see why. Gorgeous melodies, soulful vocals and sublime guitar playing. He wrote and sang lead on their only hit "For What it's Worth". At his peak he was the white Ray Charles.

When he joined forces with David Crosby and Graham Nash in '68, he referred to them as his harmony singers and he's not wrong, playing all the non strumming guitar, bass and keyboards parts on their landmark 1969 debut. In theory, the band shouldn't have worked. Still has an odd, gruff singing voice, Crosby has a poor rock and roll but gorgeous harmony voice and Nash sounds, well to be blunt a kid. Yet it worked. Crosby was used to singing the high parts in the Byrds, yet here he blended well with Stills' vocals. Yet the lyrics. Oh the lyrics. The opening on their debut "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" must go down as one of the best songs of the time. Stills has an unorthodox setting for the guitar. Most songs in popular music are set to EADGBE while for this, and many other Stills song it's set to EEEEBE. Check out the Woodstock performance for the proof.

Many critics, like Robert Christgau, dismiss Stills as a chauvinist but I think he has got it wrong. Still if anything puts women on a pedastal, constantly insecure in his songs and who thinks he is inferior. The songs where he seems to be full of it are just bluster. In "Change Partners", he seems to be wounded by the ladies dancing with others. Neil Young has actually said Stills is full of doubt and has low self confidence. Someone I can relate too. It's unfortanate he blew all his talent in coke binges. I saw him live in 2010, and while his voice is gone, his guitar playing was very good.


Oh yeah. and he also had kick ass side burns.