Although Manassas only released two albums in their brief history as a band – the double album, Manassas, released on April 12th, 1972, and Down The Road on April 23rd, 1973 – the impact of these two albums is really quite undeniable. There are many who consider Manassas’ debut album somewhat of a masterpiece, and even though I wouldn’t go quite that far with that assumption, myself, Manassas were a very unique ensemble to say the least. As Stephen Stills comments in the above interview, he and his assembled musicians were able to accomplish a lot musically under the banner of Manassas.
Formed in 1971 from the sessions for what was going to be Stephen Stills’ third solo album – taking their name from the large Manassas sign the band stood underneath at the train station in Manassas, VA (not to mention their debut album cover) – the musicians he gathered together were as equally at home on stage as they were in the studio. Their live shows often stretched to three hours, “usually in the format of an opening rock set, a solo Stills acoustic set, Hillman and Perkins playing bluegrass, another rock and country set by the band, and a closing acoustic set.” (AllMusic)
This Sunday Big Note brings you Manassas‘ first European performance after the release of their self-titled debut album at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on March 22nd, 1972 (followed with bonus tracks from their live performance on the German TV program MusicLaden):
Rock & Roll Woman
[audio:SBN_20110417_101 Rock & Roll Woman.mp3]
Bound To Fall
[audio:SBN_20110417_102 Bound To Fall.mp3]
Hot Burrito #2
[audio:SBN_20110417_103 Hot Burrito 2.mp3]
It Doesn’t Matter
[audio:SBN_20110417_104 It Doesn’t Matter.mp3]
Go Back Home
[audio:SBN_20110417_105 Go Back Home.mp3]
Change Partners
[audio:SBN_20110417_106 Change Partners.mp3]
Know You Got To Run
[audio:SBN_20110417_107 Know You Got To Run.mp3]
4+20
[audio:SBN_20110417_108 4+20.mp3]
Intro
[audio:SBN_20110417_109 Intro.mp3]
Blues Man
[audio:SBN_20110417_110 Blues Man.mp3]
Word Game
[audio:SBN_20110417_111 Word Game.mp3]
Do For The Others
[audio:SBN_20110417_112 Do For The Others.mp3]
Move Around
[audio:SBN_20110417_113 Move Around.mp3]
Both Of Us (Bound To Lose)
[audio:SBN_20110417_114 Both Of Us (Bound To Lose).mp3]
Love The One You’re With
[audio:SBN_20110417_115 Love The One You’re With.mp3]
He Was A Friend Of Mine
[audio:SBN_20110417_116 He Was A Friend Of Mine.mp3]
Fallen Eagle
[audio:SBN_20110417_201 Fallen Eagle.mp3]
Hide It So Deep
[audio:SBN_20110417_202 Hide It So Deep.mp3]
Johnny’s Garden
[audio:SBN_20110417_203 Johnny’s Garden.mp3]
Don’t Look At My Shadow
[audio:SBN_20110417_204 Don’t Look At My Shadow.mp3]
Sugar Babe
[audio:SBN_20110417_205 Sugar Babe.mp3]
Four Days Gone
[audio:SBN_20110417_206 Four Days Gone.mp3]
For What It’s Worth
[audio:SBN_20110417_207 For What It’s Worth.mp3]
Song Of Love
[audio:SBN_20110417_208 Song Of Love.mp3]
Rock & Roll Crazies
[audio:SBN_20110417_209 Rock & Roll Crazies.mp3]
Cuban Bluegrass
[audio:SBN_20110417_210 Cuban Bluegrass.mp3]
Jet Set (Sigh)
[audio:SBN_20110417_211 Jet Set.mp3]
Anyway
[audio:SBN_20110417_212 Anyway.mp3]
The Treasure
[audio:SBN_20110417_213 The Treasure.mp3]
Find The Cost Of Freedom
[audio:SBN_20110417_214 Find The Cost Of Freedom.mp3]
Bonus tracks
Radio Bremen TV Studios, MusicLaden, Bremen, Germany, 15 June 1972
Bound to Fall
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_01 Bound To Fall.mp3]
It Doesn’t Matter
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_02 It Doesn’t Matter.mp3]
Hide It So Deep
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_03 Hide It So Deep.mp3]
Song of Love
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_04 Song Of Love.mp3]
Rock & Roll Crazies/Cuban Bluegrass/Jet Set (Sigh)/Jam
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_05 Rock n Roll Crazies_Cuban Blue Grass_Jet Set_Jam.mp3]
The Treasure
[audio:SBN_20110417_BONUS_06 The Treasure.mp3]
Line-up:
Stephen Stills – vocals, guitar
Chris Hillman – guitar, banjo, vocals
Joe Lala – percussion
Al Perkins – guitar, pedal steel guitar
Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels – bass
Dallas Taylor – drums
Note: above video interview with Stephen Stills and Manassas at Mascot Airport by Jeune Pritchard, Ep 467. Broadcast 12th April 1972
call me crazy… Syrian President Bashar Assad has always reminded me of Ruben Sano.
Where’s ‘Fair Game’?
[quote comment=”28338″]Where’s ‘Fair Game’?[/quote]
Sorry, jb2, ‘Fair Game’ would have to wait another five years before it’s release in 1977:
“In 1977, Stephen rejoined Crosby and Nash for CSN, which went multi-platinum, yielding three hit singles: “Just A Song Before I Go”, “Fair Game” and “Dark Star”.”
I didn’t know that that was nominally a CSN song. tnx ug.
Fifty years ago…things didn’t go so well when they were playing Cuban Bluegrass at the Bay of Pigs.
[quote comment=”28345″]I didn’t know that that was nominally a CSN song. tnx ug.[/quote]
Perfectly understandable. Given how Stephen Stills changed bands, it’s confusing even to me sometimes to keep track which songs belong to what bands during which years (especially given the output of CSN&Y) particularly when Stills would perform his work from earlier bands while fronting Manassas.