Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills

Hi Fi News Album Choice for July 2026!

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)

Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!

Stephen Stills' 1970 debut solo album

Includes hit singles "Love The One You're With" and "Sit Yourself Down"

Hybrid Stereo SACD

Mastered by Bernie Grundman direct to DSD from the original analog master tape

"Stills' eponymous, guest-laden debut from 1970 is, for my money, the finest of all the solo albums to come out of Buffalo Springfield or CSNY — yes, even above Neil Young's output. Though now politically incorrect, the opening track 'Love The One You're With' remains a true West Coast rock epic, while the then 25-year-old Stills was already a guitar virtuoso as evinced by 'Black Queen.' Crosby and Nash, John Sebastian, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix — the cast list is peerless. This sublime SACD, from the Atlantic 75 series, has been remastered by Bernie Grundman, and I can only imagine that if you want better sound, you'll need the 2LP release or — if you can find it — the pre-recorded reel-to-reel tape of 56 years' vintage!" Sound Quality: 95% — Ken Kessler, Hi Fi News Album Choice, July 2026

This self-titled solo debut from CSNY's most musically adventurous member is a tour de force of bluesy rock, Latin grooves, and pure, unfiltered Stephen Stills energy. His songs are certainly in a league with those of the other members, and it's chiefly on his solo albums that Stills's own personality comes through.

Still's Top 20 hit "Love the One You're With" was the lead single from the album, released in November 1970. The album's other smash, "Sit Yourself Down," the seccond single, reached the Top 40, peaking at No. 37. Stills doesn't just play guitar here — he wrestles it into submission, layering his virtuosity over an album that sounds both meticulously crafted and effortlessly cool.

Oh, and did we mention it features both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton? Because it does. That's like having both the Beatles and the Stones as your backup band.

Recorded in the wake of CSNY's success, Stephen Stills proves that while Crosby and Nash leaned into their harmonies and Young wandered off into his own world, Stills was busy crafting something bolder, grittier, and sonically rich.

Stills jumps from folk to blues to Latin to orchestral balladry, but it never feels disjointed. The production is warm and immersive, with Stills playing most of the instruments himself (because of course he does). If Déjà Vu was a collaborative masterpiece, Stephen Stills is proof that he could do just fine on his own.

 

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

6. Sit Yourself Down

7. To A Flame

8. Black Queen

9. Cherokee

10. We Are Not Helpless

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