Manassas - 1973 - Down The Road (full album)
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Manassas was an American rock band formed by Stephen Stills in 1971.Predominantly a vehicle for Stills’ artistic vision, the band released two albums during its active tenure, 1972’s Manassas and 1973’s Down the Road. The band dissolved in October 1973.
Manassas was formed in the fall of 1971, following Stills' concert tour to support his album Stephen Stills 2 (1971). While Stephen Stills 2 was Stills’ second solo album, it was his first completed following the acrimonious 1970 break up of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), and was not critically well-received. After a chance meeting with Flying Burrito Brothers singer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Hillman in Cleveland, where Stills’ tour schedule crossed paths with that of the Burritos – a band that, by late 1971, had undergone multiple personnel changes and was in financial trouble – Stills saw an opportunity to change his artistic direction. He subsequently contacted Hillman, asking him, along with Burritos’ guitarist Al Perkins and fiddler Byron Berline, to join him in Miami at Criteria Studios to jam. Stills also invited several members of his touring band – drummer Dallas Taylor, bassist Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels, keyboardist Paul Harris and vocalist/percussionist Joe Lala – to play at the session.
The musicians quickly gelled in the studio, and within several weeks had recorded enough material at Criteria to fill a double-LP album release. The band was capable of a wide musical range, with a repertoire including blues, folk, country, latin, and rock songs. Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, a friend of both Hillman and Stills who visited Criteria during the sessions, was an early fan of the band, at one point expressing an interest in joining. The band christened itself Manassas after Stills, who had an interest in American Civil War history, orchestrated a photo shoot for them in Manassas, Virginia, the site of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run (1861 and 1862, respectively).
Down The Road is the second and last album by Stephen Stills' band Manassas.
It was released in 1973.
The album was not very well received. Rolling Stone was especially critical, saying "it would be sad to think the people involved put this record out not because of business pressures but because they were proud of it." It only made it to #26 on the Billboard album charts and its single, "Isn't It About Time", only made it to #56 on the Billboard singles charts.
Personnel
Stephen Stills - guitar, piano, bass, vocals
Dallas Taylor - drums
Chris Hillman - guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals
Joe Lala - percussion, vocals
Al Perkins - guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo
Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel - bass, vocals
Paul Harris - piano
Joe Walsh - slide guitar
Bobby Whitlock - keyboards
Sydney George - flute
Jerry Aiello - organ
Charlie Grimes - guitar
Guille Garcia - percussion
Lachy Espinol - percussion
Pat Arnold - vocals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manassas_(band)
Manassas was formed in the fall of 1971, following Stills' concert tour to support his album Stephen Stills 2 (1971). While Stephen Stills 2 was Stills’ second solo album, it was his first completed following the acrimonious 1970 break up of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY), and was not critically well-received. After a chance meeting with Flying Burrito Brothers singer/multi-instrumentalist Chris Hillman in Cleveland, where Stills’ tour schedule crossed paths with that of the Burritos – a band that, by late 1971, had undergone multiple personnel changes and was in financial trouble – Stills saw an opportunity to change his artistic direction. He subsequently contacted Hillman, asking him, along with Burritos’ guitarist Al Perkins and fiddler Byron Berline, to join him in Miami at Criteria Studios to jam. Stills also invited several members of his touring band – drummer Dallas Taylor, bassist Calvin “Fuzzy” Samuels, keyboardist Paul Harris and vocalist/percussionist Joe Lala – to play at the session.
The musicians quickly gelled in the studio, and within several weeks had recorded enough material at Criteria to fill a double-LP album release. The band was capable of a wide musical range, with a repertoire including blues, folk, country, latin, and rock songs. Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, a friend of both Hillman and Stills who visited Criteria during the sessions, was an early fan of the band, at one point expressing an interest in joining. The band christened itself Manassas after Stills, who had an interest in American Civil War history, orchestrated a photo shoot for them in Manassas, Virginia, the site of the First and Second Battles of Bull Run (1861 and 1862, respectively).
Down The Road is the second and last album by Stephen Stills' band Manassas.
It was released in 1973.
The album was not very well received. Rolling Stone was especially critical, saying "it would be sad to think the people involved put this record out not because of business pressures but because they were proud of it." It only made it to #26 on the Billboard album charts and its single, "Isn't It About Time", only made it to #56 on the Billboard singles charts.
Personnel
Stephen Stills - guitar, piano, bass, vocals
Dallas Taylor - drums
Chris Hillman - guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals
Joe Lala - percussion, vocals
Al Perkins - guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo
Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel - bass, vocals
Paul Harris - piano
Joe Walsh - slide guitar
Bobby Whitlock - keyboards
Sydney George - flute
Jerry Aiello - organ
Charlie Grimes - guitar
Guille Garcia - percussion
Lachy Espinol - percussion
Pat Arnold - vocals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manassas_(band)