1972
Style: Singer/Rock/Folk Rock
Codec: Ape - Mac 3.97 - High Lossless Compression
Encoder: eac095pb4
Covers , Log, Cue


A sprawling masterpiece, akin to the Beatles' White Album, the Stones' Exile on Main St., or Wilco's Being There in its makeup, if not its sound. Rock, folk, blues, country, Latin, and bluegrass have all been styles touched on in Stephen Stills' career, and the skilled, energetic musicians he had gathered in Manassas played them all on this album. What could have been a disorganized mess in other hands, though, here all gelled together and formed a cohesive musical statement. The songs are thematically grouped: part one (side one on the original vinyl release) is titled "The Raven," and is a composite of rock and Latin sounds that the group would often perform in full live. "The Wilderness" mainly centers on country and bluegrass (Chris Hillman's and Al Perkins' talents coming to the forefront), with the track "So Begins the Task" later covered by Stills' old flame Judy Collins. Part three, "Consider" is largely folk and folk-rock. "Johnny's Garden," reportedly for the caretaker at Stills' English manor house and not for John Lennon as is often thought, is a particular highlight. Two other notables from the "Consider" section are "It Doesn't Matter" (later redone with different lyrics by the song's uncredited co-writer Rick Roberts on the first Firefall album) and "Move Around," which features some of the first synthesizer used in a rock context. The closing section, titled "Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay," is a rock and blues set with one of the landmarks of Manassas' short life, the epic "The Treasure." A sort of Zen-like meditation on love and "oneness," enlivened by the band's most inspired recorded playing it evolves into a bluesy groove washed in Stills' fierce electric slide playing. The delineation lines of the four themed song groupings aren't cut in stone, though, and one of the strengths of the album is that there is a lot of overlap in styles throughout. The CD reissue's remastered sound is excellent, though missed is the foldout poster and handwritten lyrics from the original vinyl release. Unfortunately, the album has been somewhat overlooked over the years, even though Stills considers it some of the best work he has done. Bill Wyman (who guested on "The Love Gangster") has said he would have quit the Rolling Stones to join Manassas.

Tracks:
01. Song Of Love [0:03:27.40]
02. Rock And Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass [0:03:32.30]
03. Jet Set (Sigh) [0:04:24.15]
04. Anyway [0:03:21.20]
05. Both Of Us (Bound To Lose) [0:03:02.08]
06. Fallen Eagle [0:02:05.25]
07. Jesus Gave Love Away For Free [0:03:01.22]
08. Colorado [0:02:53.43]
09. So Begins The Task [0:04:01.37]
10. Hide It So Deep [0:02:48.40]
11. Don't Look At My Shadow [0:02:30.65]
12. It Doesn't Matter [0:02:30.35]
13. Johnny's Garden [0:02:46.08]
14. Bound To Fall [0:01:53.60]
15. How Far [0:02:53.05]
16. Move Around [0:04:17.67]
17. The Love Gangster [0:02:52.30]
18. What To Do [0:04:44.68]
19. Right Now [0:02:59.32]
20. The Treasure (Take One) [0:08:08.73]
21. Blues Man [0:04:07.47]

The Raven (1-5) and The Wilderness (6-11):
Voices: Stephen Stills, ChrisHillman, Joe Lala, Al Perkins
Guitars: Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, AlPerkins
Steel Guitar: Al Perkins
Congas, Timbales/Percussion: Joe Lala
Harmonica: Sydney George
Piano, Organ, Electric Piano, Clavenette: Paul Harris, Jerry Aiello &
Stephen Stills
Bass: Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels & Bill Wyman
Acoustic Bass: Roger Bush
Fiddle: Byron Berline
Mandolin: Chris Hillman
Drums: Dallas Taylor

Consider (12-17) and Rock & Roll IsHere To Stay (18-21):
Voices: Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Joe Lala, AlPerkins
Guitars: Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Al Perkins
Bottleneck Guitar: Stephen Stills
Steel Guitas: Al Perkins
Organ, Tack Piano & Piano: Paul Harris
Congas, Timbales/Percussion: Joe Lala
Acoustic Guitars:Stephen Stills
Fiddle: Byron Berline
Drums: Dallas Taylor
Expanded Series III Moog Synthesizer programmed by Malcolm Cecil and
performed by Stephen Stills

EAC extraction logfile from 11. March 2006, 13:45 for CD
Stephen Stills / Manassas

Used drive  : HL-DT-STDVDRAM GSA-4163B   Adapter: 1  ID: 0
Read mode   : Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable cache
Combined read/write offset correction : 667
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No

Used output format : C:\eac095pb4\Ape\MAC.exe   (Monkey's Audio Lossless Encoder)
                     High Lossless Compression

Other options      : 
    Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
    Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
    Installed external ASPI interface


Range status and errors
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     Peak level 100.0 %
     Range quality 100.0 %
     CRC 9373BE46
     Copy OK

No errors occured

End of status report