Stephen Stills – Just Roll Tape – April 26th, 1968

Between tenures in Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash, Stills found his well-stocked songbook without a public vehicle. Holding songs that would sustain him through CS&N’s debut, two solo albums, and 1972’s Manassas, he plunked down cash to get them on tape — which then went missing for nearly 40 years. Rather than simply cataloguing his wares, Stills threw himself into solo performance, accompanying himself deftly on acoustic guitar. The tapes bear bits of distortion on the more enthusiastic rhythm playing, and though Stills strains for some high notes, the rawness is overpowered by the mesmerizing freshness. “So Begins The Task” and “Know You’ve Got To Run” are urgent, “Black Queen” is focused on its lyrics, and the unadorned “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, recorded in the face of his imminent breakup with Judy Collins, is more immediately pained than its later commercial release. Four previously unreleased titles and a seven-minute studio version of “Treetop Flyer” round out a must-have for Stills fans.