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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buffalo Springfield: A Beginning, April 1, 2008
Buffalo Springfield was neither the first vehicle for nor the first group to record and release works by founding members Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young. Rather, it was a sounding board and a starting point for a new direction in rock and the beginning of stardom for its aforementioned members (and even later, Jim Messina of Loggins and Messina fame). Stephen Stills would emerge as the group's main songwriter but, as with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, he would soon be surpassed for quality of work by peer and colleague Neil Young. The dynamics between the two are simultaneously famous and infamous, yet the mutual admiration and inspiration is evident on this and all future Stills-Young projects.
Emerging at a time when The Beatles had led the British rock brigade into America, and the US had replied with the Dylan-inspired folk rock of The Byrds and The Mamas and The Papas, The Buffalo Springfield would introduce more of a country flavor to the spectrum (a la The Band, latter-day Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Flying Burrito Brothers). Like The Band, Springfield would include both Americans and Canadians, just as CSNY would add an Englishman and former Hollie to the mix. Not necessarily making this a melting pot, it does bring to the fore different cultural elements and an innovative blend of ideas.
This release serves as an appropriate crash course to the form, both in its advantages and disadvantages, and as an excellent introduction to the musical careers of Stephen Stills and Neil Young (Furay's light not shining quite as brightly even though he would achieve some standard of success with Poco). As the saying goes, "the best is yet to come!"
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Tentative Debut, February 23, 2006
Tinny production and the band's own tentativeness mar this set. That said, there are several very fine moments--Neil's "Out of My Mind," "Burned" and especially "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" are light years beyond his band mates' contributions on the original (mono) portion of the set. That's not to negate the other songs, mind you, but ... there's good and then there's **good**. As if taking the bait, Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth"--added after it became a hit, and included in the "stereo" portion here--is as perfect a "protest" song ever recorded, transcending its origins (the Sunset Strip riots) by never saying what, exactly, is going down. Of note, the mono set restores the much-bootlegged "Baby Don't Scold Me" to its proper place (it was dropped in favor of "For What It's Worth" after that single became a hit).
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Steve is the leader, but we all are", July 31, 2006
Those who have an original vinyl copy of this album will remember the "liner notes," i.e. a collection of the various band members' favourite colours, favourite places, their zodiac signs and random thoughts (the comment about Stephen Stills showing up in his "profile"). When I began to delve into classic rock of the '60s in my teens (20 years too late, I have often lamented), this was one of the albums I picked up...yes, an actual LP. I used to have quite a collection of those, although it might not rival some...
In 1997, when the new remaster was released with the mono and stereo versions of the album put together on one CD, I rediscovered this album in all its glory. It's not perfect--what debut album is?--but it was pretty damned good for a first record (can't say that for all of them). The remaster featured the mono version Atco originally released in December of '66, which featured a different running order--"Leave" was track 3, side 1, and "Baby Don't Scold Me" appeared as track 5, side 2. The latter was a nice little song with Steve and Richie Furay sharing lead vocals, including an instrumental quote from the Beatles' "Day Tripper" (the familiar riff). And as the notes on the remaster indicate, mono was how the band intended this album: "We never had a chance at the stereo," they say, indicating that their producers (Charles Stone & Brian Green, IIRC) snapped up that chance for themselves; they proceeded to remix the album, removing "Baby Don't Scold Me" and replacing it with the band's big hit, "For What It's Worth," which became track 1, side 1, and "Leave" relegated to the position of track 5, side 2. That version, released as Atco SD33-200A in April of '67, is the one I bought some 20 years later on vinyl, and makes up the second half of the remastered CD.
The sound on both versions is much improved; the remaster is an HDCD (High Definition CD), with warmer sound than had been possible before in digital. Unfortunately, this CD is now out of print; the Buffalo Springfield Box Set, which Rhino released in 2001, rectified that by putting remastered versions of this album and Again, the band's more famous sophomore effort (and the one the critics like the best), together on the 4th disc in that set. That version of the first album includes the original mono running order, with "For What It's Worth" sandwiched in between the 2 albums as a bonus track.
What Rhino ought, IMO, to do this year, this being the 40th anniversary of Buffalo Springfield's forming, signing to Atlantic and recording/releasing their debut album, is remaster all 3 of the band's original studio albums, complete with bonus tracks from each LP's original studio sessions, especially since this is how classic albums are now being presented (Yes' Atlantic catalogue, Donovan's studio albums, still others too numerous to mention here). And maybe we can consider SACD remasters?
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~ Buffalo Springfield
~ Crosby Stills Nash & Young
~ Neil Young & Crazy Horse
~ Buffalo Springfield
~ Neil Young
by Buffalo Springfield 
