For those unaware, in 1971 Stephen Stills embarked on a U.S. tour, opening each show with an intimate acoustic first set, and closing each night with a riveting electric set featuring the Memphis Horns.

These historic, previously unreleased recordings took place over two nights at the Berkeley Community Theater, with David Crosby joining him on vocals and guitar for You Don’t Have To Cry and The Lee Shore.

These recordings find Stills at peak performance in both vocal delivery and musicianship, effortlessly incorporating alternate instrumentation on his instantly recognizable tracks, including a seamless medley of 49 Bye Byes and For What It’s Worth unexpectedly played on piano.

1. Love The One You’re With
2. Do For The Others
3. Jesus Gave Love Away For Free
4. You Don’t Have To Cry (feat. David Crosby)
5. The Lee Shore (feat. David Crosby)
6. Word Game
7. Sugar Babe
8. 49 Bye-Byes/For What It’s Worth
9. Black Queen
10. Know You’ve Got To Run
11. Bluebird Revisited
12. Lean On Me
13. Cherokee
14. Band Introduction
15. Ecology Song

This beautifully-sung, expertly-crafted collection of Stephen Stills songs opens on the effortlessly melodic Love The One You’re With and the true musical masterpiece Do For The Other and they are backed by the traveling out West ode within Jesus Gave Love Away For Free, the perfect pitched rhythms of You Don’t Have To Cry (with David Crosby), the beautifully vocalized The Lee Shore (again with Crosby), and then comes the profound Word Games and the dancingly spiritual Sugar Babe.

Along next is the perfect mix of tenderness, bittersweet melancholy, and simply joyous pop abandonment within the conjoined 49 Bye-Byes/For What It’s Worth and then comes a song about a card game, where Stills’ singing veritably dances around the chords he strums, Black Queen, and they are in turn followed by the the beautiful bluegrass of Know You’ve Got To Run, the wholly underrated Bluebird Revisited, the album rounding out on the melodic Lean On Me, his ode to the incredibly talented Rita Coolidge within Cherokee, coming to a close on a quick Band Introduction and then we get delivered a song chock full of dulcet harmony, perfect arrangement, and performed at the top of his game, Ecology Song.

Hand-picked by Stills from his personal archives, this album captures timeless and era defining performances. Fans who were lucky enough to catch his historic debut trek, dubbed The Memphis Horns Tour, were treated to the balladeer, the raving troubadour, the acoustic blues man, the soul driver, and by far the most passionate music maker.

Backed by a loyal cast of friends, including his usual steady rhythm section - drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Calvin Fuzzy Samuels - along with keyboardist Paul Harris, guitarist Steve Fromholz, and percussionist Joe Lala, these Northern California shows were one of the most unique and intimate stops on the tour.

This album, rather than being an artifact from a bygone era, sparkles and stimulates. It cajoles you into thinking, feeling and, most importantly, moving. Stephen Stills Live At Berkeley 1971 is a cornucopia of priceless sound and all of it bears the distinct and loving fingerprint of Stephen Stills.

Official Purchase Link