Manassas

The band came together in fall 1971 after Stills' tour for Stephen Stills 2. A chance meeting in Cleveland with Chris Hillman of the Flying Burrito Brothers led Stills to invite Hillman, pedal steel player Al Perkins and fiddler Byron Berline to Criteria Studios in Miami. Stills also brought in members of his touring band: Dallas Taylor, Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel, Paul Harris and Joe Lala. Within several weeks they had enough material for a double album.

They recorded in Studio B with engineers Ron and Howard Albert in late 1971. The band stayed in a rented house in Coconut Grove, about thirty minutes from the studio, so Stills could record around the clock. Perkins and Taylor kept a rule of no more than seven takes for a track. Stills once worked an unbroken 106 hours, and Ron Albert recalled being called back to the studio after an 84-hour session. In January 1972 the band flew to Stills' house in London to finish recording and mixing and to rehearse for a tour. There Bill Wyman played bass on "The Love Gangster", which he helped Stills rewrite from an unrecorded 1968 song, "Bumblebee".

The album is divided into four sides. The Raven mixes rock and Latin sounds and was played live in full with the segues intact. The Wilderness centers on country and bluegrass, with Hillman on mandolin and Berline on fiddle. Consider mixes styles, including Stills on a Moog synthesizer on "Move Around". Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay holds rock and blues, including "The Treasure" and the acoustic solo piece "Blues Man", which the track listing credits as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Al Wilson and Duane Allman. The cover photograph was taken at Manassas station in Virginia, and the set came with fold-out posters carrying a message urging people to register and vote.

It entered the Billboard Top LPs in the week ending April 29, 1972 and peaked at No. 4 in June, during a 30-week run. "It Doesn't Matter" reached No. 61 and "Rock & Roll Crazies" No. 92. It was certified Gold on May 30, 1972. Rolling Stone said it was reassuring that Stills had good music left in him, Robert Christgau gave it a C+, and Cameron Crowe called it admirable if not exciting in The San Diego Door. The album is in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The Criteria engineer Howard Albert has called Manassas one of the greatest and most underrated bands of the seventies.