Just Roll Tape

Untitled

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Just Roll Tape: April 26, 1968 is a Stephen Stills demo album released in 2007. In the sleeve notes to the CD, Stephen Stills recalls that he was present at a Judy Collins session in New York in 1968, and when she finished with studio time remaining, Stills paid the engineer privately to let him record song demos. But Stills left the tapes in the studio and eventually considered them lost.

When the studio was about to close in 1978, musician Joe Colasurdo, who was rehearsing there, was told by the owner that he could take away any tapes he wanted to before they cleared the place out. After seeing Stills' names on several of the boxes, Colasurdo kept them safe until he could find a reel-to-reel machine to play them on. Colasurdo began attempting to get the masters safely back into Stills's hands, an undertaking that took 25 years. In 2003, he was connected to Graham Nash after happening to meet a close friend of his named Dan Curland, who owns the Mystic Disc Record Store. Nash received the tapes, passed them on to Stills, encouraging him to release them.

Stills is the only musician on the album. He sings all the songs and plays acoustic guitar and dobro. "Treetop Flyer" is not from the 1968 sessions.

Note that the April 26, 1968 date cited in the album's title is not correct, as Stills was performing at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, AZ on that date as a member of Buffalo Springfield.

Track listing

1. "All I Know is What You Tell Me" (Stephen Stills) – 1:41
2. "So Begins the Task" (Stills) – 2:26
   • Later recorded for Manassas
3. "Change Partners" (Stills) – 3:14
   • Later recorded for Stephen Stills 2
4. "Know You Got To Run" (Stills) – 3:12
   • Later recorded (and much rearranged) for Stephen Stills 2
   • Also forms the first part of "Everybody I Love You" on Déjà Vu
5. "The Doctor Will See You Now" (Stills) – 2:38
6. "Black Queen" (Stills) – 3:06
   • Later recorded for Stephen Stills
7. "Bumblebee (Do You Need A Place to Hide?)" (Stills) – 1:54
   • Later recorded as "The Love Gangster" on Manassas
8. "Judy" (Stills) – 2:02
9. "Dreaming of Snakes" (Stills) – 1:45
10. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (Stills) – 6:33
    • Later recorded for Crosby, Stills & Nash
11. "Helplessly Hoping" (Stills) – 2:11
    • Later recorded for Crosby, Stills & Nash
12. "Wooden Ships" (Stills, David Crosby, Paul Kantner) – 2:26
    • Later recorded for Crosby, Stills & Nash
13. "Treetop Flyer" (Stills) – 7:04
    • Later recorded for Stills Alone

Personnel

• Stephen Stills - vocals, guitar, dobro, producer
• John Haeny - recording engineer
• Joe Vitale, Jr. - digital engineer & mixing
• Joe Vitale - mixing on track 13
• John Hanlon - mixing and digital engineer track 13
• Steven Rhodes - assistant engineer
• John Nowland - digital transfers
• James Austin & Robin Hurley - A&R Supervision
• Marc Salata - production manager
• Graham Nash - photos
• Joe Halbardier & Steve Woolard - project assistance
• Elliot Roberts - direction