Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002IAZ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,143 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #26 in	Music > Rock > Country Rock
  #69 in	Music > Rock > Folk Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Only a handful of bands have made a greater impact with fewer recordings than the short-lived Buffalo Springfield. Their history is told in the titles of their three albums: 1967's eponymous debut was followed by the peak-performance Again later that year, which was followed by 1968's Last Time Around. While their entire recorded career encompasses a mere two years, the Stephen Stills-Neil Young-Richie Furay-led quintet produced a number of '60s rock classics. Stills chipped in "For What It's Worth" and "Bluebird"; Furay's "Kind Woman" is one of the touchstones of country-rock; and Young fired off the likes of the raucous "Mr. Soul," the gentle "I Am a Child," the ambitious "Broken Arrow," and the breathtakingly pretty "Expecting to Fly." They're all on this 12-song overview, a suitable option for anyone who isn't up to stocking up on the entire catalog. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TOO MUCH TALENT FOR ONE BAND, April 23, 2001

By	Patrick Earley (Edmond, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Buffalo Springfield was a band more known for what it's members did after they left, than the great music they made as this short lived group. Although only together 18 months, they were the blueprint for some of the most successful country rock bands to come, such as CSN, Poco, and the Eagles, along with about every other west coast rock group. The songs on this retrospective, which originally came out in 1969, just after their breakup, were written by either Steven Stills or Neil Young. The lone exception being "Kind Woman", which was penned by Richie Furay, who later recorded it again with his band Poco. The first song here, and probably their most famous single "For What It's Worth", established Steven Stills as a great songwriter. It also had that catchphrase in it, "There's something happening here/what it is ain't exactly clear", which was a popular line in 60's counterculture at the time. Another great Stills song is "Bluebird", which features some nice guitar work. It starts out as an all out rock song, then comes that famous guitar interlude, and then switches gears and becomes a banjo driven country song. Absolutely brilliant! Not to be outdone is Neil Young. He pens 3 great tunes in a row, starting with "On The Way Home". I love this song. With it's horn arrangements, it's different than any other Buffalo song. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" is a beautiful folk rock song with CSN type harmonies. His masterpiece here is "Broken Arrow". A unique song that has a bit of everything in it, from full orchestration with a bolero type of drumbeat, mixed with a countryrock sound with numerous rhythm changes. This song rivals anything those boys from Liverpool were doing at the time. There may not have been a better songwriter around than Neil Young during the Springfield period leading up to his first 2 brilliant albums "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere", and "After The Goldrush". Although this is a relatively small retrospective, every song here is a gem. Buffalo Springfield was one of the most creative bands of the 60's, but because of their strong individual writing and performing talents, this was also the reason for their breakup. This is an excellent historical document of the band that started the whole folk, country rock movement. Highly recommended!

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you get only one Buffalo Springfield album, this is it, January 13, 2000

By	Douglas A. Greenberg (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Now that we've stopped guffawing over the Limp Bizkit remark, let's get serious :-). Buffalo Springfield was a great mid-sixties band from Los Angeles that embodied the tendency of talented rock groups to provide listeners with a taste of greatness, only to end up splitting apart into offspring bands that in most cases are not as musically satisfying. Buffalo Springfield included some of the truly creative artists of sixties rock: Steven Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, and Jim Messina. The tension between their distinctive talents and styles led the band to achieve a fresh, original sound that today, over thirty years later, is still incredible to hear. The progeny of this highly original group, which included Poco, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and Neil Young With Crazy Horse, all produced great recordings in their time, but I still wonder longingly what Buffalo Springfield might have achieved musically had the band been able to stay together longer.

Fortunately, Buffalo Springfield did leave us with three terrific albums, which provide the basis for this "best of" collection, which includes twelve selected tracks. It's likely that most Buffalo Springfield fans will have at least one objection to the track selection here. That's nearly always the case with "best of" albums. However, I think that whoever made the choices did about as well as anyone could do. Any album that includes sixties political classic "For What It's Worth," hot rockers like "Mr. Soul" and "Rock and Roll Woman," gorgeous pop compositions like "On the Way Home," and the short Neil Young composition that is nearly perfect in its heartfelt simplicity, "I Am A Child," has got to be considered a winner.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Competing Brilliance!, August 3, 2000

By	Brent Evans (Rockhampton, Australia) - See all my reviews

The reason that Buffalo Springfield only lasted two years was the egos of three men:Neil Young,Stephen Stills,and Richie Furay.Any band that has three lead guitar playing songwriters will undoubtedly hear the clash of egos sooner rather than later.While they were around,not only did they produce four classic sixties albums(BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD,BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD AGAIN,LAST TIME AROUND and the unreleased STAMPEDE),but they paved the way for such acts as Poco,The Eagles,The Flying Burrito Brothers,CSNY plus the solo careers of Stills and Young.This retrospective shows you what comes out of competition betwwen band members.Neil Young lays down foundations for later work with CrazyHorse(MR SOUL),CSNY(EXPECECTING TO FLY,BROKEN ARROW)and the Stray Gators(I AM A CHILD).Richie Furay delivers a country rock classic(KIND WOMAN)and tackles two Young gems(ON THE WAY HOME,NOWADAYS CLANCY CAN'T EVEN SING).Stephen Stills presents straightforward protest(FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH),jangly pop (SIT DOWN,I THINK I LOVE YOU),a multi layered country rock epic written about Judy Collins(BLUEBIRD)anda folk rock masterpiece co-witten by David Crosby and later covered in concert by the Beach Boys(ROCK AND ROLL WOMAN).When in sync,Buffalo Springfield could have claimed the title of the American rival of the Beatles;duelling lead guitars with meshing harmonies and intelligent lyrics.It is a shame that they have never had a full reunion album/tour.Maybe that's just as well.RETROSPECTIVE:BEST OF BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD is and excellent jumping off point for the beginner or the Neil Young fan who just wants to know what the fuss is all about.