STEPHEN STILLS Stephen Stills UK 1st Press LOVELY COPY

	£		34
	$		45

A BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTIST/S :-

Born 3 January 1945, Dallas, Texas, USA. This often dubbed "musical genius" is better known for his work with the pivotal Buffalo Springfield, and for many years his association with David Crosby, Graham Nash and Neil Young. After the Buffalo Springfield's break-up, Stills, at a loose end, joined with Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield for the million-selling Super Session. His session contributions included Donovan's "Season Of The Witch", on which he played one of the decade's most famous wah-wah guitar solos.

Stills' solo career began during one of Crosby, Stills And Nash's many hiatuses. Then living in England at Ringo Starr's former home, Stills enlisted a team of musical heavyweights to play on his self-titled debut which reached the US Top 3 in 1970. This outstanding album remains his best work, and is now viewed by many as a modern classic. In addition to the irresistible hit single "Love The One You're With" the album contains a healthy mixture of styles, all demonstrating his considerable dexterity as a songwriter, guitarist and singer. The solo acoustic "Black Queen" for example, was reputedly recorded while Stills was completely drunk on tequila slammers, and yet his mastery of the (C.F.) Martin acoustic guitar still prevails. All tracks reach the listener, from the infectious "Old Times Good Times", featuring Jimi Hendrix to "Go Back Home", featuring Eric Clapton; it is unfair to single out any track for they are all exemplary. On this one album, Stills demonstrated the extent of his powers.

The following year's 2 was a similar success, containing the innocently profound "Change Partners", a brass re-working of Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird", and the brilliant yet oddly-timed blues number "Nothing To Do But Today'. For a while it appeared that Stills' solo career would eclipse that of his CSNY involvement. His superbly eclectic double album with Manassas and its consolidating follow-up made Stills an immensely important figure during these years. Ultimately, though, he was unable to match his opening pair of albums. While 1975"s Stills was an admirable effort, the subsequent live album and Illegal Stills were patchy. His nadir came in 1978 when, following the break up of his marriage to French chanteuse Veronique Sanson, he produced Thoroughfare Gap, a collection riddled with uninspired songs of self-pity. Only the title track was worthy of his name.

No new official solo release came until 1984, when Ahmet Ertegun reluctantly allowed Stills to put out Right By You. While the slick production did not appeal to all Stills aficionados, it proved to be his most cohesive work since his second album, although appealing more to the AOR market. The moderate hit "Can't Let Go" featured both Stills and Michael Finnigan, exercising their fine voices to great effect. Since then the brilliant but erratic Stills has continued his stop-go career with Crosby, Nash, and occasionally Young. Stills released a solo acoustic self-financed work in 1991. Stills Alone was a return to his folk and blues roots and featured hoarse-voiced cover versions of the Beatles "In My Life" and Bob Dylan's "The Ballad Of Hollis Brown".

In 1998, the Stills' Buffalo Springfield classic "For What It's Worth" was recorded by rap artists Public Enemy for the Spike Lee movie He Got Game. Stills sessioned on the track, which became a substantial hit. As a guitarist, his work in the 90s with a rejuvenated Crosby, Stills And Nash was quite breathtaking, demonstrating that those early accolades were not misjudged. It is a great pity that his songwriting, which was so prolific and so brilliant in the early 70s, has seemingly deserted him.

Discography:
with Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper Super Session (Columbia 1968)****, Stephen Stills (Atlantic 1970)*****, 2 (Atlantic 1971)****, Stills (Columbia 1975)****, Live (Atlantic 1975)***, Illegal Stills (Columbia 1976)**, Thoroughfare Gap (Columbia 1978)*, Right By You (Atlantic 1984)***, Stills Alone (Gold Hill 1991)***.

THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD :- Stephen Stills is an eponymous rock album by Stephen Stills, famous for his long-time membership in Crosby, Stills, & Nash. It consists of songs written by Stills and is one of four high-profile albums released by each member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the wake of their 1970 chart-topping album Déjà Vu.

The album features an array of well-known guest musicians, including David Crosby and Graham Nash, who contributed vocals. Ringo Starr drums on two tracks under the pseudonym "Richie," which he also used for his contribution to the London Sessions album by American bluesman Howlin' Wolf, recorded in England the same year. Stills' album is also the only album in rock and roll history to which both Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix supplied guitar work. Hendrix died before the album was released—Stills dedicated the album to "James Marshall Hendrix."

The song "We Are Not Helpless" was written in response to Neil Young's song "Helpless" from the Déjà Vu album and both "Black Queen" and "Love the One You're With" have remained in the performing repertoire of both Stills and CSN. "Love the One You're With," Stills' biggest solo hit single to date, peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 19, 1970, and another single pulled from the album, "Sit Yourself Down," went to #37 on March 27, 1971.

The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in the week of December 5, 1970. It was reissued by WEA after being digitally remastered using the HDCD process on December 5, 1995. "We Are Not Helpless" and "Love the One You're With" were first performed in concert on May 12, 1970 during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Déjà Vu tour. In 2009 Crosby, Stills, & Nash released Demos featuring an early demo of "Love the One You're With".

Reviews of the album were decidedly mixed ranging from positive to lukewarm. Allmusic calls it "a jaw-dropping experience" just short of Crosby, Stills & Nash and Déjà Vu while others such as Rolling Stone were less effusive qualifying the somewhat negative tone by writing "I'm not saying I don't like this album.".

THE COVER :- Single textured sleeve

THE LABEL :- Atlantic Plum & Orange labels

THE VINYL VISUALLY :- On initial inspection of this piece of vinyl I cannot see any areas of immediate concern. The vinyl sits perfectly flat on the turntable so there are no nasty warps to worry about. The vinyl still retains its just pressed quality, full of deep shine and lustre. I have only noted a couple of light sleeve removal markings which shouldn't affect play. A lovely piece of vinyl. Excellent condition visually.

THE VINYL PLAY GRADED :- The playgrading of the vinyl reveals barely any lessening in the sound quality. It lives up to its visual grading. There is only very minimal surface noise in the usual areas. Mainly this can be only heard on the run in and run out of tracks and extra quiet areas of the album. The sound quality is still very high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. There are no skips or jumps. I feel certain this album has been played carefully and stored well over the years. I would grade the audio playback as a strong Excellent condition and much better in most parts.

THE SLEEVE FRONT CONDITION :- This is the very earliest 1st press textured E.J. Day sleeve. The front of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. The sleeve reveals just a little imprinted ringwear and a few half moon handling creases around the opening edge. This sleeve is renounded for its fragility and although not perfect this is a fine example. The colours are bright and crisp still with only a minimal amount of grubbiness to the white areas. I would grade the front of the cover as Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE REAR CONDITION :- The rear of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. It carries on the theme from the front with just a little ringwear and one light handling crease. Again the rear still retains its original crisp colours with minimal grubbiness in the white areas. I would grade the rear as Excellent condition also.

THE TOP, BOTTOM & OPENING EDGE CONDITION :- All three edges show some feathering to the sufrace. No splits however. Very Good condition

THE LABEL SIDE ONE CONDITION :- Original Atlantic Orange & Plum 1st Press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all. No signs of play around the spindle hole. Near Mint condition.

THE LABEL SIDE TWO CONDITION :- Original Atlantic Orange & Plum 1st Press label in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all. No signs of play around the spindle hole. Near Mint condition.

THE SPINE CONDITION :- The writing on the spine is mostly readable. A few letters are hard to make out as there is some mediumish feathering and rounding over of the edges. Very Good condition

THE INNER SLEEVE CONDITION :- The original polylined white inner is in Excellent condition

THE EXTRAS :- No extras were given with this album

THE CATALOGUE NUMBER :- 2401004

THE YEAR OF RELEASE :-  1970

THE LABEL :- ATLANTIC

THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :-  UK

PLAYING FORMAT :- STEREO

THE MATRIX NUMBERS :-  2401004 A//2//1  &  2401004 B//2//2

TRACK LISTING :-

SIDE ONE :-

1. LOVE THE ONE YOU'RE WITH
2. DO FOR THE OTHERS
3. CHURCH (PART OF SOMEONE)
4. OLD TIMES GOOD TIMES
5. GO BACK HOME

SIDE TWO :-

1. SIT YOURSELF DOWN
2. TO A FLAME
3. BLACK QUEEN
4. CHEROKEE
5. WE ARE NOT HELPLESS

WHAT WE PLAY THE RECORD ON :- 

We use a Project 6 Perspex Turntable to play grade our records which delivers a rich authoritative sound and achieves a rich and weighty vibrancy unrivalled by the majority of decks within its price range

HOW WE CLEAN YOUR RECORD :- 

We use a V.P.I. HW-16.5 record cleaning machine to clean your vinyl. "A highly recommended machine" as quoted by Stereophile magazine. This removes any excess dirt before playing

HOW WE PACKAGE YOUR RECORD :- 

Your record will be package very securely to minimise any risk of damage during transit. We remove the record from the outer sleeve unless asked not to do so. This helps to minimise the risk of seam spliting. We use a high quality record mailer which is designed to give superior protection for your vinyl record. We place stiffeners either side of the record for added protection. The album will also be placed in a 450 gram Poly outer sleeve for even extra added protection

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING CHARGES FOR UK CUSTOMERS :-

We advise that items reaching over £50 in price to be insured and sent by Special Delivery. This protects both of us and ensures better handling of the parcel during transit.We are in no way out to make money from postage. The postage price includes the record mailer, stiffeners and plastic sleeve. We just want your item to reach you in the best possible condition. A breakdown of insured postal services are listed below. Please choose to use the relevant postal service for your own protection as once these rare records are lost they can quite often seldom be replaced

SECOND CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- FREE

FIRST CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- £0.45

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY UPTO 500g :- £3.80

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY FROM 500g - 1000g :- £5.00

(SPECIAL DELIVERY INSURES YOUR ITEM UPTO £500)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION :-    

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the European Union by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £6.22 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £11.37 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £13.97 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE USA AND CANADA :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the USA & Canada by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £8.78 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £13.93 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.53 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AND ROW :- 

All records reaching under £15 are sent to the Australia & Japan by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £15

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS :- £9.06 (For items under £15)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £14.21 (For items £15 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.81 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE, THE PRICES WE QUOTE ARE QUITE ACCURATE AND INCLUDE THE PACKAGING MATERIALS AT COST PRICE

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

PLEASE AWAIT AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE/SHIPPING CHARGES

BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS :- 

Postage prices and courier methods for multiple purchases will be calculated after the auction end. It is impossible for us at the pre auction stage to determine these prices as the final weight is unknown.If you are the winner of multiple items the please await contact from us or alternately contact us yourself for a breakdown of the shipping costs.You will only pay the stamp price + relevant packaging charges so there are big savings to be made with multiple purchases

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR RECORD :-

We can accept the following payment methods

UK BUYERS :- 

• PayPal
• Personal cheque (Please allow to clear)
• Bankers Draft
• Postal Order

OVERSEAS BUYERS :-

• Paypal only

TERMS AND CONDITIONS :-

We always try to appraise the record for sale as openly and honestly as possible and provide plenty of pictures for you to look at but please be aware that errors however rare do occur and not everyone has the same audio  equipment. There is no problem that cannot be worked out in a civilised manner. We urge you to contact us so that we can discuss any small problems that may occur. We offer a refund of the purchase price for returned items within 7 days of purchase and are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have during the auction

SAVE US TO YOUR FAVOURITES LIST AS WE INTEND TO LIST MANY MORE RARE VINYL TREATS OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS