Carry On

In the world of music everyone is inspired by some other band or person that's played or playing but there are few that can say they have played along with some of the most influential people in music. One of those people, who is considered as being one of those influential people, is Stephen Stills, yes he's the Stills of Crosby, Still, and Nash, and he has played along such greats as Neil Young, Jimmi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, and many others. He's been playing music that spans a 50-year period; he can play a wide range of instruments, but most notably is the huge range of musical styles that he can play.
Carry On is the new box set that contains a whopping 79 songs and a 114-page booklet of 50 years of music by Stephen Stills. The songs on this 4 disc set are just simply amazing on how even after all the years they have been out they still hold the same emotional impact as they did when they first was released. There are many of the songs that I've never heard before and some I still sing when I hear them played on the radio today. These songs are fun, they are played very well, and they all have a way of connecting with the listener in one way or another. Are they the best-played songs? Well, no, I wouldn't be comparing them to songs that have the best-played and mixed sounds but they are songs that sound good.
What makes these songs work is the sheer talent of Stephen Stills. If this was a normal CD with around 12 songs on it I could classify it as being one genera or another but it's not. Stephen Stills plays country, rock, blues, jazz, and even a rap song and those are just a few samples of music you get to hear on these discs. What makes this box set so good is that there are so many different styles and sounds being played. Even if this was only 1 disc with 12 songs, the variety of songs being played is still enough to make it sound like it's being played by different bands. I've put down bands before because they make their songs have the same beat, tempo, and format but I don't think there are even 2 songs out of these 79 that could be considered the same. Though there are a few moments where I can hear his voice crack, some of the songs do have a dated sound to them only because of the content and lyrics make them so, as a whole it's still some of the better set of songs I've heard in awhile coming out on CD.