In 1972, Stephen Stills formed a new band called ‘Manassas’ and on April 12th they released their debut double LP of the same name. 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 Stephen Stills considers it some of the best work he has done.
“It Doesn’t Matter” was released as a single and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones plays bass on and co-authored “The Love Gangster” and is reported to have said that he would have left the Stones to join Manassas.
Manassas marked a critical comeback for Stills, reviewers calling it a “sprawling masterpiece.
The album debuted on the Billboard Top LP’s chart for the week ending April 29th, 1972 . Stephen Stills’ album shared the Top 10 with an album by David Crosby and Graham Nash (Graham Nash David Crosby) and an album by Neil Young (Harvest), and.with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Chris Hillman and Dallas Taylor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuphMxyPWeA
This was recorded for Beat-Club (not for the often misquoted MusikLaden, which replaced Beat-Club on December 13, 1972). The show was broadcast on March 25, 1972 (referred to as Episode #1.77). Any corrections are most welcome.The broadcast seems to showcase Side A of the forthcoming double album release (April 12, 1972) almost in its entirety and track-by-track.
Manassas was a fairly short-lived project, but a highly creative one. The double album was in a sense a concept album of different genres from which the band could quite easily and most skilfully draw upon.
The core members of Manassas were:
Stephen Stills: vocals, keyboards & guitar (CSNY, ex-Buffalo Springfield)
Chris Hillman: vocals, mandolin & guitar (ex-Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers)
Al Perkins: steel guitar & guitar (ex-Gram Parsons and Flying Burrito Brothers)
Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels: bass, backing vocals (ex-CSNY and John Sebastian)
Paul Harris: keyboards (played with John Sebastian during 1968-71)
Dallas Taylor: drums (ex-Clear Light, CSNY and John Sebastian)
Joe Lala: percussion, backing vocals (ex-Blues Image and Pacific Gas & Electric)
The Fat Angel Sings 