He was a Friend of Mine

budrocket · Post by **budrocket** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:55 am

The production on the "Buffalo Springfield Again" has a really nice way of bringing out Stills' acoustic. Obviously there's processing involved, specifically compression, & probably a nice tube mic plus all the other tube-driven studio electronics in the mixing desk, mic pre's, etc...it's aggressive, maybe a little crunchy, but you can really hear the wood & steel on "Bluebird." I think Jimmy Messina was the engineer on those sessions...

bw

craviola990 · Post by **craviola990** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 7:16 am

Thanks for that great info Buddy! Always loved "Bluebird". Christian

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:22 am

Buddy, Steve,
Agree 1,000%. Stills is the least publicized great guitar player there is. He never shows up on “all-time” lists or discussions or festivals (like Eric’s Crossroads).
Without a doubt, Bluebird is one of the most beautiful songs (and acoustic guitar pieces) ever put on vinyl.
The only time I saw CSNY live was during their Y2K tour. Sorry, pretty awful in my opinion. The only highlight was Stephen’s righteous solo (filled with soul) during Suite.

janglebox · Post by **janglebox** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:54 am

We saw CSN this summer, and while the show was fine, Stills was a little weird. Much of the evening when they weren't performing one of his songs, he stood so far stage left that he was almost in the wing. Jeff Pevar handled much of the lead guitar work—quite well, I might add. When Stills did play with the others, especially the material from his new solo Man Alive, he was terrific.

And I also agree that Stills is a brilliant acoustic guitarist. That he's able to get all that pop and nuance without using any picks is just amazing to me.

chingnchime · Post by **chingnchime** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 4:47 pm

There are several Stills interviews online to peruse, but something I've never seen discussed that I picked up from him was the way he kinda 'bangs' the strings with the tops of his fingernails when he strums (on acoustic), almost like he's kind of whipping them. Perhaps I'm not describing the style too well, but the fingernails give the chord a nice bright tonality. He also has an almost lateral melodic style of playing up the neck on solos (acoustic and elec)that's pretty unique.
As for Steve's experience of Stills live, I think the man has had more than his share of demons. Some said it was he who should've had a major rehab along w/ Crosby, though i think Stills' was more alcohol related, but that's second hand info. It's no secret his voice has continued to suffer- from the wonderfully sober sounding balladeering quality in The Springfield and early CSN to the present beery, raspy drawl, Stills has always seemed to me a lot more complex and intimidating than his image. I remember his almost collegiate look in the early days, but with a reputation of not shying away from confrontation (as seen in CELEBRATRION AT BIG SUR) .
Personally, I think he's an innovator in more ways than many of us know, and wish he'd get a little more credit.