ALBUM REVIEW: Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield

    The start of Buffalo Springfield seems almost mundane - a series of coincidental happenings that culminated in a short-lived group that would introduce the world to the talents of Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, and Neil Young; to make a long story short, Stills met Young while touring with a group in Ontario that had spun out of Stills' earlier group the Au Go Go Singers, which including Richie Furay. The group split up and Stills was out looking for music work, even auditioning for The Monkees - they turned him down, and he in return recommended his buddy Peter Tork for the Prefab Four - before winding up in Los Angeles. Neil himself was in The Squires, but was offered a lead guitar position by bassist Bruce Palmer in Rick James' group The Mynah Birds, and while the group was set to record for Motown, James himself was arrested for being AWOL from the U.S. Navy. Young and Palmer drive down to Los Angeles searching for Stills, but are unable to find him, so the two decide to drive up to San Francisco after a few weeks; while waiting for traffic, Young and Palmer spot Stills and Furay next to them going the other way down Sunset Boulevard, and the two eventually meet up down the road and reunite. Buffalo Springfield was formed just five days after this encounter, and the group was quickly landing gigs opening for The Dillards and The Byrds, became staples at the Whisky a Go Go at the recommendation of The Byrds' Chris Hillman, and got themselves a $12,000 advance on a four-record deal with Atlantic on their subsidiary label, Atco. Springfield's first album would follow by the end of 1966, a year that had in many ways been a musical watershed moment for the emerging counter-culture movement. Truth is, in spite of its talent pedigree and more than a few great moments to grab from on this release, Springfield's debut isn't quite the earth-shattering moment that you may expect from a group with Stills and Young - in fact, the album does falter quite a bit at points. Still, there's more than enough interesting blends of rock, folk, and country throughout (and plenty of solid moments) to help Springfield's debut cross the finish line successfully.

    Springfield certainly distinguish themselves in quite a few ways, but I would be lying if I said that the group didn't fit the mold of the rapidly emerging folk-rock style that had been spectacularly born the year prior thanks to Dylan and The Byrds; what sets apart the group is the tinges of country in their music, seen in a song like "Hot Dusty Roads" with its colorful lyrics and close harmonies that invoke early country rock that would be furthered by artists like Michael Nesmith, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and even The Byrds themselves in due time. There's also still some drawing on from the times with slight elements of psychedelia, best seen on some of the album's more adventurous moments such as the fantastic "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing", which doubled as the group's debut single - not a major hit outside of Los Angeles, but still one of the album's best moments regardless with its switches between 4/4 and 3/4 and half-poetic lyrics; more than anything, it's a song that showcases the potential of Neil Young as a songwriter, something that he will continue to do throughout much of this album. You also can't talk the album's psychedelia tinges without mentioning the group's biggest single (and album opener on most copies, banishing the underwhelming "Baby Don't Scold Me" from the tracklist) "For What It's Worth", a mysterious folk rock song with a distinct, eerie guitar riff and lyrics that bring to mind  imagery of the social protests and upheaval that underpins the late 1960s. Undoubtedly a defining moment from the group, and probably the strongest song that Stephen pens on the album, although admittedly it's not too much of a composition; Stephen would improve drastically as a songwriter by 1967, especially given that a song like the immediately galvanizing "Rock & Roll Woman" on their follow-up album blows something like the poultry rock of "Sit Down I Think I Love You" or the flat-falling "Pay the Price", which is fine at best and a surefire flat ending to the album at worst. This weakness in the material is moreso an issue with Stills than Young, who proves a much more consistent songsman on this release, but even Young churns out the immediate filler that is "Burned", a song where even Neil sounds like he's not exactly giving his all.

    Still, even with the album breaking down a bit in consistency in the back half (both of Stills' songs on Side B don't make the grade), there's still quite a bit to enjoy on the album. Richie Furay, who I've neglected to say much about up to this point, has a lovely voice on this record, and his performances help to elevate quite a few songs throughout, with the best example probably being "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It", a decent enough song that becomes much stronger thanks to Furay's sweet and earnest voice - it's not my favorite Young-penned moment on the album, but makes for a sweet enough love song, and frankly feels like a better version of "Sit Down I Think I Love You" from the album's first half with its more colorful instrumental and strong melody. "Go and Say Goodbye", the song that has the intimidating task of following "For What It's Worth" on the album, is a solid country-rock tune, one that wouldn't sound out of place on More of the Monkees as a Mike Nesmith-penned tune - believe me, that's a compliment in my book. Just as "For What It's Worth" starts the first half on a strong note, Neil Young's "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" starts the second side with a lovely and reflective folk pop tune, melancholic and longing, made even more lovely with Furay's vocal performance - it's my personal favorite moment on the album, and when coupled with "For What It's Worth" showcases exactly what makes Springfield a solid group. Young would again strike gold with the album's penultimate track "Out of My Mind", a dark and lonely ballad sung by Neil himself in what proves a strangely mournful way for the album to near its conclusion, but one that's beautiful in its nature; it's prime Neil Young in many ways, and proves yet another one of my favorites on the album.

    It probably wouldn't surprise you that this album was recorded hastily, with the band themselves not being happy with the final product - they asked Atco to re-record it, but the label didn't want to miss the Christmas season, so the album shipped as is, only being changed in March of '67 when "For What It's Worth" became the opening track in place of "Go and Say Goodbye". Even with what feels like a rushed first album, Springfield managed to churn out a decent enough first release, with enough outwardly great moments to justify itself enough to listen through at least once or twice. Springfield would, of course, go on to much greater following this first album, and not just playing Monterey Pop - really it's their second album that justifies much of the group's critical reverence, but that's a revisit for another time. As it stands, there's something happening on Springfield's debut that shows a group with plenty of talent and promise, but one that still has a bit of growing to do. A good enough album all things considered, but Springfield's great album was still a little ways away.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

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