Feature Photo: Sterling Munksgard / Shutterstock.com
Singer/songwriter and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of fame inductee Stephen Stills has announced plans to release an album of previously unheard concert material later this month in the form of Live At Berkeley 1971. The album, set to be released on April 28, 2023, comprises fourteen never-before-heard performances from Stephen Stills at the Berkeley Community Theater in August 1971.
The material found on Live At Berkeley 1971 has purportedly been hand-selected for inclusion by Stephen Stills himself, and the resulting collection of songs will be available in various formats including CD, vinyl, and digital streaming.
“The intimacy of the Berkeley Community Theater seemed to serve as a focal point between the audience and the energy surrounding the social climate of the day,” said Stills of the album in an announcement released through the musician’s official website. “It was my first tour as a solo artist and these shows were raucous and unrestrained, captured here in these recordings.”
Live At Berkeley 1971 will arrive just weeks after the release anniversary of Manassas, the debut album of the Stills-led collective of the same name released in April 1972. Fittingly, the newly announced project from the legendary musician will feature backing from several Manassas members including bassist Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels, keyboardist Paul Harris, percussionist Joe Lala, and drummer Dallas Taylor, who also played on the debut studio albums from Crosby, Stills & Nash and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, as well as three of Stills’ solo albums from the 1970s.
Following the 1970 release of the chart-topping Déjà Vu, the members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young each decided to release solo albums throughout the following months. Stephen Stills was released in November 1970 as Stills’ solo debut and was quickly followed by Stephen Stills 2 in June 1971.
The prolific songwriter then set about to tour behind the material, and in the Summer of 1971 embarked upon his first tour as a solo act. Stills would dub the tour “The Memphis Horns Tour,” for its utilization of the famed horn section which also performed on Stephen Stills 2. The dates throughout the tour featured acoustic performances to open the shows followed by full-band electric sets complete with horn section to bring proceedings to an exhilarating conclusion.
Having initially achieved the greatest commercial reception of any of Crosby, Stills Nash, and Young distinguished members in their respective capacities as solo performers, Stills was found at what could be considered his commercial peak as a solo artist in 1971. He would sell out Madison Square Garden just three weeks prior to the performances documented in the upcoming live release.
Despite having recorded material from multiple successful live shows during the early 1970s, Stills first proper live album as a solo artist would not transpire until the 1975 release of Stephen Stills Live which was recorded during the singer’s 1974 solo tour – his first since “The Memphis Horns Tour” in 1971.
At fourteen tracks, Live At Berkely 1971 features material from each of Stills’ solo projects released up until that point, as well as work from the eras of Crosby, Stills & Nash (“49 Bye-Byes”) and Buffalo Springfield (“For What It’s Worth.”) Stills’ old sparring partner and CSNY bandmate David Crosby makes an appearance on a pair of the album’s numbers: “You Don’t Have to Cry” and Crosby’s own “The Lee Shore,” respectively.
The original recordings were produced by Stills himself along with Bill Halverson, and the upcoming releases of the recordings saw production from Stills as well as Kevin McCormick. Live At Berkeley 1971 is currently available for pre-order through Stills’ website as well as that of Omnivore Recordings and is available to be pre-saved on streaming services.
Also available on streaming services is the performance of “The Lee Shore” with David Crosby which fans can expect to find on the record – an undoubtedly exciting preview of what’s to come with the release of the album itself for fans of Stills and the CSNY collective.
The full track list for the upcoming Live At Berkeley 1971 album as announced by Stephen Stills can be seen below.
Side One
- Love The One You’re With
- Do For The Others
- Jesus Gave Love Away For Free
- You Don’t Have To Cry (with David Crosby)
- The Lee Shore (with David Crosby)
Side Two
- Word Game
- Sugar Babe
- 49 Bye-Byes/For What It’s Worth
Side Three
- Black Queen
- Know You’ve Got To Run
- Bluebird Revisited
- Lean On Me
Side Four
- Cherokee
- Band Introductions
- Ecology Song
Stephen Stills New Album Of Unreleased Live Music To Be Released article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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