Manassas - Down The Road (1973)

"Down The Road" is the second and last album by Stephen Stills' band Manassas. It was released in 1973.

Unfortunately this was the last gasp for Manassas as Stephen Stills was again moving on. In retrospect he should have realized that this band was a keeper.

All the musicians from the classic first release were back. Drummer Dallas Taylor, guitarist Chris Hillman, percussionist Joe Lala, pianist Al Perkins, bassist Fuzzy Samuels, and steel guitarist Al Perkins formed a tight and talented unit. They were also a notable live band. Stills, Hillman, and Taylor shared production chores for the second album in a row.

Members of the group wrote or co-wrote five of the ten tracks with Stills. That means Stills took a solo writing credit for the other five, which was a much smaller percentage than the first album and may say something about his overall commitment. There is a lot of listenable material here. “Isn’t It About Time” is a hard edged rocker with Joe Walsh bringing his guitar virtuosity to the mix. “Down The Road” is another competent rock tune. Even Chris Hillman gets into the rock ‘n’ roll act on “Lies” with his lyrics about superficial love. “Rollin’ The Stone” is the final track and it sends Manassas rocking into the night. To truly appreciate this track you need to turn your stereo system up to near sonic levels, sit back, and hang on to something.

One of the favorite track may be “Pensamiento” which is a nice Latin influenced rock fusion piece with Stills providing some stellar piano work.

"Down The Road" remains very representative of early seventies rock. It was also a farewell to one of the better bands of its time.

Track listing

01.  Isn't It About Time (Stills)  - 3:02

02.  Lies (Hillman)  - 2:55

03.  Pensamiento (Escoto, Stills)  - 2:36

04.  So Many Times (Hillman, Stills)  - 3:30

05.  Business on the Street (Stills)  - 2:55

06.  Do You Remember the Americans (Stills)  - 2:05

07.  Down the Road (Stills)  - 3:16

08.  City Junkies (Stills)  - 2:50

09.  Guaguancó de Veró (Lala, Stills)  - 2:51

10.  Rollin' My Stone (Samuel, Stills)  - 4:50

Personnel

Stephen Stills - guitar, piano, bass, vocals

Dallas Taylor - drums

Chris Hillman - guitar, bass, mandolin, vocals

Joe Lala - percussion, vocals

Al Perkins - guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo

Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel - bass, vocals

Paul Harris - piano

Joe Walsh - slide guitar

Bobby Whitlock - keyboards

Sydney George - flute

Jerry Aiello - organ

Charlie Grimes - guitar

Guille Garcia - percussion

Lachy Espinol - percussion

Pat Arnold - vocals

Notes
Released:  April 23, 1973

Genre:   Country Rock

Length:  30:50

Label:  Atlantic

Producer:  Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor