The second coming of Stephen Stills continues with a brilliant collaboration
355545
There are no ifs, ands or buts about this disc, this continues the trajectory Stills has been on since 2005's Man Alive. That disc signaled Stills had recovered his voice, his creativity as a guitar player and his prowess as a songwriter. Live at Shepherd's Bush documented a man in full control of all of his amazing powers. Add to that this intrepid blues/rock work out and you have a man not just playing to his strengths but enhancing them.
Lord knows what all the backstage dramas are involved with getting a beast like CSN or worse, CSNY, out of its cave, and there were horrific rumours of them doing a covers album (no one needs Stills or Crosby wimping out a la Peter Gabriel, and Croz is about to cut loose again anyway), but at some point, Stills must have decided he owed it to himself first to see what was in the tank.
There's plenty. He sounds great, he plays even better than he has of late. Jerry Harrison has done a terrific job on the production. And in Kenny Wayne Shephard, Barry Goldberg on keys and the former SRV rhythm section of Chris Layton on drums and Tommy Shannon on bass, this is a band on fire, tapping the source and not letting it go. Because he isn't trying to be all things that Stills can be to all people, but has focused his energy in a direction in which he excels, Stills is simply a master at the top of his game. There isn't a weak track on the record. Shepherd is a brilliant partner to Stills, as is Goldberg and the rest of the band, but The Rides got them one driver and he has let this engine roar. There are a number of covers that are among the best renditions of the songs ever, notably Honey Bee, Rockin in the Free World (Young should only ever allow Emmylou Harris and Stills to cover him as they do a better job with his tunes than Young does), and a little number called That's a Pretty Good Love, based on a melody without words by that 19th Century European boogie-woogie master Fred Mendelsohn (used to know a Chinese pianist wot could squeeze the funk out of those tunes). The collaborative originals are brilliant and Stills and colleagues reconsider his Word Game to impressive effect. A timely tune that, with all this Republican obstructionism clogging the arteries of America.
Can't get Enough? Not by half. Keep it coming, Stephen. Man alive, this and Buddy Guy's Rhythm and Blues are about as good as real music is gonna get this year.
3791039
In 1969, David Crosby was still recovering from being fired by the Byrds; Stephen Stills was still recovering from the disintegration of Buffalo Springfield; and Graham Nash was, I gather, looking for a job after his stint with the Hollies.  They found each other and "magic" occured, each of them has related.  Well... in my opinion, most of the trends that followed the success of this first CSN album are dismal ones, and you can see the seeds of those trends right here on this disk.  But that doesn't mean it's a bad album; in fact, it's almost a great album.
To me, the key to this album is Crosby.  As he would be the first to tell you, he was one of the most skilled musicians ever to work in rock.  As a vocal harmonist, not only was he gifted vocally, but he understood harmony in ways few outside of Brian Wilson understood it.  His vocal contributions to the Byrds' great hits, beginning with "Mr. Tambourine Man" all the way til his uncredited work on "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" makes their mediocre songs interesting, and their great songs enduring classics.  What makes Crosby so interesting is that he draws his harmonic understandings from at least three different sources--above all folk music, but also classical and jazz; and blends them seamlessly.  Another intersting thing about Crosby is how he worked some of his greatest magic on songs other than his own.  That was true with the Byrds, and it's true here.  The best song by far on CSN is Crosby's "Guinnevere," a rich harmonic treat.  Crosby's other two songs, "Long Time Gone" and "Wooden Ships" aren't so focused on the harmonies as they are on Crosby's solo vocals.  But he adds a lot of texture to Stills' work, especially the Greenwich Village sound of "You Don't Have To Cry" and the lovely "Helplessly Hoping."
Stills does a good job on this album, too.  His songwriting is sharp throughout, especially on the aforementioned tunes, plus of course the group's signature song, "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes."  Nash contributes to the vocal mix--it's pretty clear that Crosby thought Nash's high voice combined with his own would create a big sound, and it works out just that way.  But, unfortunately, band democracy (one of those bad trends CSN started) required that Nash also be given a chance to contribute his own songs, and all of them are terrible.  "Marrakesh Express" is just silly, and "Pre-Road Downs" is unlistenable.  "Lady of the Island" has a nice vocal round, so it's the best of his contributions, but CSN would have been a better group if it had limited Graham to singing only.
This album is about as good as it gets for CSN/CSNY.  I like their live album, and about half of Deja Vu is solid, especially Crosby's title track.  After that...you gotta figure it was the drugs.  But Crosby's still alive, and so the dream of something great arising from his incredible musical gifts is far from ended.
579883
Wow! 30 years on and STILL sounds fresh and looks stunning.
Captured at an intimate setting, a long way from Texas, Stevie, Tommy & Chris let rip from the word go, and don't let up.
Personally, I'd love to have seen more camera shots of his hands playing, but that's personal preference.
There is a poignant interview with Tommy & Chris as a bonus feature recorded 9 years after Stevies untimely death, and they STILL look dazed and haunted from his passing.
My only slight criticism from this fantastic release are the omission of several songs that WERE played and recorded but don't appear on this updated DVD.
You'll Be Mine and Little Wing appear on the official release of the CD from the Complete Epic Recordings but don't appear visually which is a huge pity.
Still, embrace this polished up DVD, and just feel the intensity of the playing from a true master yet to scratch the surface of his potential
3783735
Deja Vu is CSN's best album. A big reason of this is Neil Young. CSN were great together, but when they joined with Young, the possibilities were endless. This album shows that. Crosby wrote two great songs on the album;  Almost Cut My Hair and Deja Vu. Graham Nash also wrote some great songs,  including one of the best songs they ever did, Teach Your Children, and  also Our House. Stills and Young really shine on this album, collaborating  on the great Everybody I Love You. Individually, Stills wrote such classics  as Carry On and 4 + 20. Young wrote Country Girl, which is a great song,  but Helpless may just top the album as the best song on it. With these four  incredible songwriters on one album, how did they ever find room for Joni  Mitchell's Woodstock? I don't know, but I'm glad they did, because it is a  great song. This album is very essential to any fan of any of the four  artists.
153433
Stills is one of "my guys".  The live sound is almost record perfect, but the band is not much animated- camera shy?  No audience for connection or applause , so songs end into a sort of awkward silence and transition to next song.  I watched it once.
1695596
This is a wonderful look at early work by the band.  I only gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because their work continues to get better and better.  Songs such a "Marilyn, My Bitterness" and "Monsters" have an amazing blend of rhythm, melody and lyrics that sound just as beautiful the millionth time as they did the first.  And do see them live if you can (unless you live on the moon, no trip to the concert is too far) - it's a religious experience.
4402794
I can't tell you how many times I've had this playing and someone has said "Who's this?" I tell them it's the Grateful Dead and they're amazed! What most people think is the Grateful Dead is not this album or it's counterpart "American Beauty". However these albums are to me not only their best work but they stand alone as two of the greatest albums of the rock era by any artists. I'm writing a review of "Workingman's Dead" because it's my favorite of the two. First of all the lyrics by Robert Hunter are just wonderful, "I don't know but I've been told if the horse don't pull you got to carry the load." I mean the words just flow so wonderfully. The harmonies are incredible. They must have been inspired by Crosby, Stills and Nash or the Beach Boys. The music just chugs along like your on a cross-country trip going along the highway. These are great road songs. Jerry Garcia's voice and slide guitar blend just perfectly. What else to say but this is just a perfect record. I recommend anyone who loves good music buy this album whether they think they're a fan of the Dead or not. This will surely make them a fan.
1068181
Marilyn Manson as THE PALE EMPEROR is outstanding on an album that again takes the avid fan, the new fan, the listener on a journey through space and time. Once again an album that differs from previous albums, yet the difference makes the odds of this album of being incredibly even; more incredible. Progressive, and harmonic, with the blues speaking in many shades, overtones complimenting the vocals of Marilyn Manson. The Deluxe Edition is amazing, it is as if each song improves it self after each listen. It is something one would have to listen to over and over to grasp. The disk was superb in quality, the photography on this edition was incredible.. An album that is laid back slows to speed up and when least expected will surprise many listeners. A new age for Marilyn Manson is seen again as in breaking the same old Ground but again! - By the way maybe bias a bit, but honest..
4693508
Stephen Stills is my favorite artist ever so it is hard for me to be critical. I consider him to be one of the most talented if not the most talented musician from the 60's era. He is a guitar virtuoso, gifted multi instrumentalist and has one of the most unique voices ever and he is one of America's most gifted song writers. He also is amazing and electrifying to see live in concert.

This recording captures him at a difficult time in his life. He is clearly in pain emotionally and the music reflects that.
It's just him and an acoustic guitar. He lets the music pour out of him. Isn't It So, Just Isn't Like You, Singin Call-which I believe is a demo from an earlier time, The Right Girl-those songs express exactly where he was at the time.

All these other reviews comparing his voice to earlier times- it's ridiculous. His voice had changed drastically by the time this was recorded and yet it is still Stephen Stills. Nobody else has ever moved me as much musically as he does,he wears his emotions on his sleeve and his guitar playing is nothing short of amazing!

The balance of the album is some covers of artists he clearly admires: Dylan, Fred Neil, The Beatles and 2 more of his own- Amazonia and Treetop Flyer and Blind Fiddler Medley- a very old tune interspersed with pieces of his own songs like Know You Got To Run.

It's all good and raw Stephen Stills! Maybe that is why I like this CD so much. If you are a fan of his, you should too.
3611641
This is my favorite of all the Fixx albums, even though it failed to live up to the commercial success of its predecessor, Reach the Beach. This album takes some getting used to, but repeated listening reveals this album to be even more cohesive than Reach the Beach (although RTB is a good starting point for for the uninitiated).
On Phantoms, the Fixx use a background of funky bass lines and erratic rock guitar to paint a textured portrait of latter 20th century isolation and self-alienation. Throughout the album, the tortured vocals of Cy Curnin embody the struggle for self-realization in a nightmarish, almost surreal landscape. Although they employ synthesizers, the Fixx have probably brought more humanity and "organic" feeling to that instrument than any other band.
Their sound is the sound of modern man fending off those forces that would dehumanize him, while searching for a little sanity and higher ground. I have listened to this album hundreds of times and it's one of my all time favorites. Stand out tracks include "Phantom Living", "Are We Ourselves?" and "Sunshine in the Shade".
4116133
Something remarkable is going on here and its great to watch and listen. Two observations to start with, if as suggested in the music press that Fleet Foxes main man Robin Pecknold has poured his heart and soul into their second album "Helplessness blues" it has paid off and this not only equals their great debut but surpasses it. The second reflection is that New Musical Express has given this album a paltry two stars in a hideously awful review from an increasingly irrelevant music magazine. This in itself should encourage you to buy it since "Helplessness blues" is a triumphant classic and while its stays firmly within the orbit of harmony heavy folk rock of "Ragged Wood" it marks a substantial and mature progression for this Seattle band. This is particularly pronounced in terms of Pecknold's songwriting skills which take off into the stratosphere and the band produce some of the greatest soaring harmony singing this side of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends" and the great debut by Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Start with the brilliant title track. This song is divided into two parts firstly a introspective set of lyrics by Pecknold leads to a vocal tour de force which at 2.58 then moves into a sublime Fleet Foxes harmony workout. It is easily one of the best songs released this year but is matched on the album but equally bold contributions. "Sim Sala Bim" is delightful haunting folk song which splits into two parts with the CSN influence especially pronounced in its forceful second part. The reflective opener "Montezuma" sees Pecknold in a pensive mood questioning, "So now I am older/Than my mother and father/, When they had their daughter/Now what does that say about me" over almost warm religious style harmonies. It contrasts with the joyous "Battery Kinzie" probably the song that could have sat most happily on their debut. The albums centerpieces are two episodic songs of which first up is "The Plains/Bitter Dancer" a six minute journey containing some of the albums best harmonies and the albums longest track "The Shrine/An argument" a sort of baroque "Paranoid Android' with a powerful vocal by Pecknold which takes us on a journey from folk to a wig out free jazz conclusion. It is stirring perfection and will take audiences by storm on the forthcoming UK tour.

Other highlights include "Lorelai" which owes a huge debt to one of Dylan's best but not always most heralded songs "4th Time Round" from "Blonde on Blonde". Then there is the intriguing instrumental "Cascades", the slightly jazzy "Bedouin Dress" and two of the most gorgeous songs Pecknold has penned. First the lush "Something to admire" and the truly sublime sparse acoustics of "Blue Spotted Tail" where we can forgive Pecknold's "hippy" affectations for the wonderful sweet yearning which underpins it. The whole thing is topped off with the cherry on the cake that is "Grown Ocean" which was the highlight of the set they performed on Jools Holland with Pecknold's voice cracking as the songs pace picked up and surged. It starts with him announcing "In that dream I'm as old as the mountains/Still is starlight reflected in fountains/Children grown on the edge of the ocean/Kept like jewellery kept with devotion". It builds to a massive acoustic crescendo with the band firing on all cylinders and concludes with a gentle verse.

It is a fitting ending to an album, which sees the band radically redefine as oppose to reinvent their sound, but by doing so build on the brilliance of their debut and actually "outpunch" it. This album is a flashbulb moment for music in 2011. It sets down an American benchmark for others to aspire towards, in the same way that PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake" has done in the UK. God knows how the Fleet Foxes follow this album (although we thought that after "Ragged Wood" and the "Sun Giant EP") for as it stands "Helplessness Blues" is the sound of rock music redemption.
3078167
"Folk Songs" can best be described as an alternate soundtrack to a movie that hasn't been put out yet. This album flows beautifully, and allows the listener to soak it all in. It never leaves you wandering, and always keeps you interested. Savath + Savalas, really is the fusion of Scott Herren's more glitch approiated Delarosa & Asora project, with the math rock edge of Tortoise. "Transportation Theme" is a beautiful, rolling work, with washes of instrumentation, and electronic distractions all working together to form a whole ethereal artwork. "Binoculars" takes Herren's love for recycling a step further, taking bits and pieces from "OSSABAW" (Originally on the "Crush the Sightseers" 12" put out on Pearineel in 1998) and fusing it with horns, and a sort of latin-influenced rhythym . To put it shortly, this is my kind of music. Music where you can close your eyes and think about the most poignant and distinct memories of your life. Music that you can listen to while finding yourself in some weird area of the world. Music that defies explanation, and makes new ones.
501525
Silverchair has come a very long way since their debut album, "Frogstomp". In fact, their newest CD, "Diorama" is possibly one of the most brilliant albums ever to be released in the history of rock. Not bad for a few guys who seemed to get stuck in the "post grunge" category, even though every album since their first has inched upward towards a higher musical notch, largely due to singer/songwriter Daniel John's glorious writing ability. But without a doubt, Johns has taken the band much further than before with this new record.
From the first track, "Across The Night", which opens like a miniature symphony into an epic full of poetic lyrics, your senses are relinquished from the everyday songs on the radio and pulled straight ahead for the musical ride that is "Diorama".
The ride doesn't stop, with amazing songs such as the emotional pseudo-opera "Tuna In the Brine", the brilliantly orchestrated "Luv Your Life" and the best music and lyrics Johns has ever done; "After All These Years".
There is no fear on this record. No fear of what people may think, even though we live in such a time where the typical is all that is given a chance to be heard. And perhaps this record may be too much for some to comprehend, at least at first listen, but give this record time... In years to come, it will be hailed as a ground breaking triumph.
2520241
ASHES AGAINST THE GRAIN (2006) is a stunning sequel to THE MANTLE (2002).  It pursues the same pantheist/neopagan vision, and the same structure of an album-long, organic totality that is not reducible to the separate songs/tracks.  The change is that while THE MANTLE was heavily acoustic, ASHES is overwhelmingly electric, with a post-metal sound that I find to be even more impressive.  As others have said, though, the two albums go together perfectly, and if you like one you should definitely hear the other.

One of the excellent differences is in the ending -- ASHES concludes with a psychedelic instrumental that builds and ascends upward, and vanishes.  Completely effective, and reminiscent of Amon Duul II or Pink Floyd.

I wish I had discovered Agalloch sooner, but it has been a great reward to find their music in late 2011.  Clearly one of the best bands of the first decade of the new millennium.  I recommend ASHES AGAINST THE GRAIN as their ultimate masterpiece.

Agalloch is not a political band. They are not calling for action. But their tragic message can serve as inspiration to do what we can to prevent the further destruction of the Earth and all the sentient beings with whom we share it.

(verified purchase from Decatur CD)
2679970
Tim Russ is such a talented musician. I did not know until attending the Star Trek Las Vegas 2013 convention.  He was great on Saturday night.  I have always loved this Stephen Stills song so I decided to buy it.
1955448
In 1968 "Super Session" helped take rock & roll to a whole new level. It pushed the envelope passed the 2 and 3 minute danceable pop songs, creating a longer more progressive rock pallet, paying more attention to technical and subtle aspects of the music. The three musicians that created the super group, Al Kooper (piano/organ/ondioline/vocals/guitars - Blood Sweat & Tears), Mike Bloomfield (guitar - Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited", Electric Flag), and Stephen Stills (guitar - Crosby, Stills Nash [& Young], Buffalo Springfield), were all "on hiatus" from their most recent engagements. The three of them never actually played "together", instead it was split into sets of Kooper/Bloomfield and the other by Kooper/Stills. The band was backed by a powerful rhythm section as well, Harvey Brooks (bass - Miles Davis, Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited") and Eddie Hoh (drums - The Monkees) as well as Barry Goldberg (electric piano - Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, Electric Flag).

The heavy Electric Chicago blues works beautifully on the Kooper/Bloomfield originals, "Albert's Shuffle", "Stop", and "Man's Temptation". The arrangements are precise, fluid and melodic. Kooper's organ solos provide a groovy melodic edge to the music. "Man's Temptation" is a very soulful number, reminiscent of Blood, Sweat & Tears. The 9 minute trippy waltz of "His Holy Modal Majesty" features the longest jam on the Kooper/Bloomfield side. The track also features Koopers electric keyboard-manipulated ondioline, sounding kind of like a tenor sax, although very unique.

Due to health issues, Bloomfield was unable to finish the recording of "Super Session". This is where Steven Stills came in. He's first heard on a rendition of Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry". Still's biggest highlight on the album and a personal favorite of mine is "Season of the Witch". This 11 minute epic song displays the boiling chemistry Kooper and Stills have working together, offering inspired interaction between the two. "You Don't Love Me" allows Stills to play some heavy amplified distorted lead guitar, sounding a bit like Jimi Hendrix.

This is one of those albums that age very well. Upon my first listen roughly a year ago, I was blown away at how fresh it sounded after all these years. It is unlike anything I've ever heard, offering influence in a big way to the Electric Chicago blues and rock and roll movement. I am very pleased to say that the remastered version of this album, done by Al Kooper himself, sounds awesome, loud and clear. That's something that fans of the original vinyl release will be anxious to snatch up.
4934777
This one has not dated, a great work from Mr Stills.