Stephen Stills' October 2008 show at Shepherd's Bush was designed as a showcase for the breadth of the singer/songwriter's work, opening with acoustic numbers then working toward a full-blown electric set, touching on everything from Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash to Manassas and beyond. Stills doesn't avoid his crowd-pleasers...

Stephen Stills' October 2008 show at Shepherd's Bush was designed as a showcase for the breadth of the singer/songwriter's work, opening with acoustic numbers then working toward a full-blown electric set, touching on everything from Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash to Manassas and beyond. Stills doesn't avoid his crowd-pleasers -- "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," "For What It's Worth," and "Love the One You're With" all appear -- but chooses to spend most of his time digging deep, building his set around songs like "Change Partners," "Bluebird," "Rock & Roll Woman," and "Blind Fiddler," throwing in covers of Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" and Tom Petty's "Wrong Thing to Do," which is particularly inspired. Stills is sometimes in rough voice, some of the arrangements are just a bit too slick -- a fault most apparent on those crowd-pleasers he's played countless times -- but the whole thing has a warm, engaging vibe; it's a pleasing bit of nostalgia. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi