Customer Reviews

Down the Road

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...for Most Unfairly Maligned Recording of 1973... Stephen Stills and Manassas, 'Down The Road'!!! This is a solid album by SS and the boys... no need to call it anything less than fine. In fact, many of the songs on 'Down The Road' have counterparts on the predecessor to this album, the highly regarded 'Manassas' double-LP. 'So Many Times' readily brings to mind 'Hide It So Deep'; 'Remember the Americans' is reminiscient of 'Fallen Eagle', both being fiddle-fied side two openers; 'Business On the Street' resembles 'Don't Look At My Shadow', both being country-fied side closers; and 'Pensamiento' is a bouncy Latin number ala 'Cuban Bluegrass'. Both albums open with hard-rocking protest numbers. Perhaps people perceive the 'mimicking' as a conscious attempt to (less than successfully) clone the formula for the original Manassas LP's, but I think Stills was too far along as a musician at this point to need that. Besides, Stills' clones are more obvious, such as transplanting 'Questions' to 'Carry On' on the 'Deja Vu' LP, or revisiting 'Bluebird' via 'Bluebird Revisited'. Maybe this is just their style...?

If you want to measure 'Down The Road' against 'Manassas', and many people do, there is an upside for each. The upside for 'Down The Road' is that it rocks harder than the first Manassas double-LP. 'Isn't It About Time' lashes out first, really cracking the whip. 'Down The Road', 'City Junkies' (aka "When I Was a Young Man" Part One and Part Two), 'Rolling My Stone' and 'Lies' continue the scourge. The upside for 'Manassas' are the three classic love ballads that 'Down The Road' has no answer for: 'Both Of Us', 'So Begins the Task', and 'It Doesn't Matter'. Stills offers two Latin-influenced numbers in their stead, 'Pensamiento' and 'Guaguanco de Vero'. 'Pensamiento' is the better of the two songs, and though lyrics are included, you'll be needing an interpreter.

True to the era, there is plenty 'anti-ism' to be had on 'Down The Road'. 'Isn't It About Time' puts war-mongers in their place every bit as well as 'Song of Love' put down war itself on the first Manassas album. 'Down The Road', 'City Junkies', and 'Rollin' My Stone' indict drug and alcohol abuse, while at the same time implicitly acknowledging their allure (kind of like a more sincere Bill Clinton saying, "I inhaled, a lot, but wish I hadn't..."). Be sure to check out the comical partied-out background singers on 'Down the Road', and the driving slide guitar. Stills is given credit for a slide in the liner notes, and I'm betting this is it (although Joe Walsh is also credited with playing slide somewhere on the CD). And Chris Hillman's 'Lies' is a robust swipe at superficial love.

It's really a thoroughly enjoyable album. Had Stills added these 10 to the first 21 Manassas songs, we would just be all the more astounded. But again, no masterpieces here, and perhaps that is what people react to.

Sometimes it is difficult to identify what makes great art a cut above good art, and it is true that the first Manassas albums are one cut above this one. I suspect part of the problem is that there is just less here... 10 songs as opposed to 21. The band was on the brink of dissolving, and perhaps that effected the artistic expression as well. Some say the production is sloppy or the arrangements lack imagination, but I don't see it. Stills sounds like he is in his prime to me, and I'm more than thankful that he put one more Manassas album under his belt before Carrying On. Buy and enjoy.

I read alot of bad reviews about this one when compared to the first. I agree that when you compare a good album to it's precursor (first one being a masterpiece) that the good album comes across as poor. While there are no radio hits or familiar songs, this album hits the spot if you like that "roadie"-music sound from the early 70's. As usual, you get the above-average vocals of Stills with some good country-rock backcountry licks (ie, inc the Steel guitar of Joe Walsh) and nice harmonizing vocals and some catchy latin-influenced tunes. "If" this "is" a weak album, it's a compliment to Stills because it's still a thousand times way, way better to my ears than any of the so-called new classics by highly overrated modern bands like Creed, Disturbed, 9-inch nails, Tool, etc which everyone seems to rave about for whatever reason.. Yes Manassas sound tired, weary and worn but it adds to the "roadie" feel of traveling by bus and staying up late getting kicks on route 66. Seems like the kind of album that was done late at nights in the bus while traveling on tour for their first album. Plenty of coffee/cigarrettes and JD must have been consumed doing this album. A vintage 70's sounding album. If you like Grateful Dead, vintage Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, etc.., you should like this album too despite it's negative reviews. No southern rock fan should be without the 2 Manassas albums in their collection. If you're traveling across country in a beat-up vehicle living at rest areas and truck stops, you'll identify with this album :-) I wish I was in my early/mid 20's back in 1972 instead of 1993-1994 because it sure seemed like everyone was having a great time. By the way, "So many times" is a great accoustical ballad that makes the whole album worth while for me. Many of the other songs are good too. Give it a chance, let it grow on you and you may be surprised that this is better than you thought. As with most other Stills albums, nothing strikes you as amazing on first listen but it gets better with each repeated listen.

My only complaint is this is short clocking in at around 31 minutes. Still better to my ears than most 70 minute albums by modern bands from the 80's and 90's.

DOWN THE ROAD often receives the disdain usually dealt those who must follow a great performance (in this case, the first MANASSAS album), and that's a shame -- it's a solid set of good songs, and only suffers because it is directly compared to its predecessor. This is roughly analogous to comparing ABBEY ROAD to the White Album [properly titled THE BEATLES, but who calls it that?], and about as useful.

Mix this in with the first album and hit the shuffle button, and you'd be hard-pressed to say which songs come from which album. DOWN THE ROAD is not so much a sequel or broadening of MANASSAS as a further delving into the same territory.

Mr. Schmittdiel has done an excellent job of describing DTR's qualities, and Mr. Silberman is quite right in suggesting that MANASSAS is the better album; if you can only afford one, it should be the first. But DOWN THE ROAD is certainly among Stephen's artistically successful albums, and definitely rewards repeat listening (sadly not the case for almost every album he made after this).

In fact, I came upon this Web page in search of a CD to replace my vinyl, worn from 20 years of playing (as is the first album). In my opinion, any Stills fan should get both -- along with his first [STEPHEN STILLS] -- all three are solid albums :-)

Like Jaws II, this follow-up Manassas album had the unenviable task of being preceded by an absolute classic. By comparison, I agree the first one is the superior product.

But really give this a listen and you will be rewarded -- "Pensamiento" is a joyous Cuban-inflected fusion track, "So Many Times" is classic harmonic Hillman, and "Down the Road" is an anthem, with Joe Walsh adding searing slide guitar. Indeed, Down the Road is one of my favorite Stills tracks.

"Do You Remember the Americans" is topical and well-meaning, and "Rollin' My Stone" brings the album to a close in hard-rocking fashion.

In sum, a great band working on Manassas leftovers is still a great band making great music. I'd give this one another chance.

Conventional wisdom and reviews here seem to suggest that "Down the Road" is very much the poor relation of the eponymous first album. Having listened to both many times over the years, I still prefer the second one. But then I don't like The Beatles White Album much either. Maybe it's my attention span. Anyway, I thoroughly recommend "Down the Road" to any lover of West-Coast stuff (as we like to call it over here). The tunes are great and the musicianship is tight, as were the musicians (allegedly) when they recorded it. Excellento.

If you're thinking of buying your first Manassas album, by all means skip this one and pick up the self-titled album that came before it. If you were blown away by the first one -- rightly! -- and are hoping this is more of the same, take your expectations down a couple of notches and enjoy the same basic sound deployed in the service of a much inferior set of songs. If you could pinpoint where Stills lost his genius, it's somewhere between Manassas and Down the Road. There are a couple of lovely songs in Spanish here, and this band had Latin-inflected chops to spare, but there's a wasted weariness to the whole affair, as if the band had spent too many nights in the hotel bar snorting the lint out of Joe Walsh's pockets. For completists only.

Steve Silberman (below) got it exactly right. Stills "lost" his genius between the first Manassas record (still fresh and exciting after all these years) and this one. Admittedly, upon listening to it in '99 for the first time in over 20 years, it was a little better than I remembered it. "Pensamiento" is good, as are the acoustic "So Many Times" and "Do You Remember the Americans?" But the rockers are way sub-par, and the overall feel is of the air having gone out of a beautiful balloon.

I bought this album when it came out in vinyl. I still listen to it often and love every cut on it. The lyrics, the rhythms, the soul of this album are what I love about it. Anyone who listens to all of the artistic analysis by people who think they are writing for Rolling Stone Magazine here and does not buy this album is making a big mistake. Want to visit, or re-visit, some of the essence of the early 70's? Buy "Down the Road" and get on down! You won't be sorry.

This is an excellent album! It was a modest hit in the US when it was released in 1973 (reaching number 26 on the Billboard album chart) and produced a minor hit single "Isn't It About Time" (which peaked at 56 on the Billboard singles chart). Both the album and song should have been bigger hits!

Some people just like to pick at Stephen Stills because he has shown himself to be sensitive to criticism. His music should speak for itself, and this album is outstanding. It is better than the first Manassas album because there is no filler on it. Especially awesome is Pensaimento and Business In The Street. The only real shame is that the best band in the world, Manassas, only put out two albums.