OPO: Buffalo Springfield

If I could OP5...
1. Special Care
2. Mr. Soul
3. Questions
4. Rock & Roll Woman
5. Broken Arrow

yah gotta go with expecting to fly.

Ì am with you on that one. Wonderful slightly psych pop-like song. And completely unlike anything Neil Young has ever done since.

Another vote for "Expecting to Fly." Unlike anything anyone has done since. "Mr. Soul" is great but any archaeologist could date it within three years.

i'm just in love with Mr Soul at the moment

Mr. Soul / Open My Eyes would have been the greatest split single ever released. (/off-topic ramble)

Cdn-born drummer Dewey Martin of Buffalo Springfield dies at 68
11 hours ago

NEW YORK — Dewey Martin, the Canadian-born drummer for '60s rock band Buffalo Springfield, has died.

Rolling Stone reports that Martin died Jan. 31 of unknown causes in Van Nuys, Calif. He was 68.

According to the Rolling Stone report, Martin not only sang backup on the Buffalo Springfield hit "For What It's Worth," he also provided the LSD to Stephen Stills that inspired him to write the song.

After the band fell apart in 1968, Martin tried to carry on by forming the New Buffalo Springfield, which led to legal battles.

He later became a car mechanic.

Martin, who grew up in the Ottawa area, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.

He was born Walter Milton Dwayne Midkiff and began playing drums at age 13, according to the online music encyclopedia Allmusic.com.

After moving to the U.S. he worked as a touring drummer with performers including Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Patsy Cline

RIP :(

Apparently this is the only Buffalo Springfield thread on ILM, so I'm reviving it without picking one. I'm listening to the May 5 1968 Long Beach show, and it's great. I think I finally get why Neil says that the Springfield really was best as a live band and it never came across on record. The sound's not great, but for what I can hear (vocals, drumming, Neil's guitar) the playing is uniformly excellent. Stills' voice sounds especially great (and does well on drums on "Good Time Boy"). This "Clancy" might be definitive. And Neil sounds hilariously midwest when talking, more than he does in 1973, say.

I haven't listened to this but it's kinda neat that it even exists at all

weird. Buffalo Springfield is playing this year's Bridge Benefit: http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2010/09/bridge-school-concert-lineup-for-2010.html

http://rustfest.org/allonesong/BSB2010SAT/
sorry that i missed it

http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=615

is it good?

Out of My Mind

haven't listened to it yet ... i'm usre it'll be ok, though probably not mindblowing or anything.

I got through the first two songs...I hope they made a lot of money for the Bridge School, but that was pretty rough. I'll go back and listen to more later.

Wow, SO awesome hearing those guys do "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing!"

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-buffalo-springfield-to-reunite-for-fall-tour-20110210

Wow.

seems pretty iffy -- why would david crosby be confirming this? not saying it won't happen but the story is kinda weird.

Despite earlier reports, Buffalo Springfield will not be hitting the road early next year after canceling plans to tour this fall. And Stephen Stills says they probably won’t tour for a while. He tells us, “Neil [Young] started a book and said, ‘Don’t mess with the muse, man.’” Stills adds that he’ll probably tour next summer with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

kind of interesting about the "book."

feelin bluebird lately

kinda feeling ALL of the LA rock scene of the 60s lately -- you seen this? http://crystalsphere1.blogspot.com/2011/07/la-gemstones-rock-box-compilation-5-cds.html
amazing stuff.

nice!

Neil's tortured artist persona must be annoying for Stills. He's been bailing on him for nearly 40 years now.

probably -- but i'm sure stills was plenty annoying too.

re stills - i know he's a mega-douche and his oeuvre is riddled with crap, but i've been really enjoying that first manassas record and his buffalo springfield stuff the last couple of weeks.

how are those first couple of solo records?

whenever possible, I blame Stills

i haven't heard all of the stills records from the 70s, but yeah, manassas is good. my friend was telling me a recent thing of demos from the late 60s/early 70s was great but i haven't heard it.

you know, i kind of like his voice! it took me a while to get there though. most likely due to hearing "love the one your with" 1 million times and hating it from day one.

he can be a great vocalist, and also horribly annoying -- his gruntier stuff is awful a lot of the time.

"Uno Mundo" is the worst

awww, I love "Uno Mundo" -- but I admit I would love it more if it were an instrumental

ditto

stills seemed like the kind of songwriter who thought he could do ~anything~ and be brilliant -- like "i'm the best blues/country/pop/rock/salsa/folk songwriter EVER". if he'd stuck to folk rock, he'd probably be better regarded now.

I mean, if it were an instrumental; as it is it is an abomination

cocaine's a helluva drug

lol i was literally posting the same tinh

thing

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ab/Just_Roll_Tape_Stephen_Stills_2007.jpg
this is that demo session thing, i guess it's immediately post-buffalo springfield. seems like it could be cool.

he's kind of a walking embodiment of narcissistic, self regarding self mythologizing baby boomerism

guess you could pin the same on Crosby though.

Stephen Stills:USA::Roger Waters:England

yeah but that voice! I'll forgive Crosby anything (provided he stays away from my children)

i've been really enjoying that first manassas record

I love that record.

Stills obviously isn't Neil, but I think his singing on "Go and Say Goodbye," "Rock and Roll Woman," "Special Care," and "Four Days Gone" is pretty great, ditto some CSN(Y) songs.

yeah there's a solo version of "four days gone" on the BS box set that is pretty amazing, super ominous.

> http://bigozine3.com/rarities/?p=4305

I would have thought Buffalo Springfield (in Jan. 1968) could score a better gig than a high school auditorium....

My high school couldn't even afford to hire a local wedding band, much less Neil Young....

Oh and my one pick: "Sad Memory"

pref of vocalists in the Springfield:

Furay > Neil > Martin > Palmer (yeah I know) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Stills

who's singing mr. soul at the beginning of "broken arrow" anyway -- is that stills or martin? sounds wild, sort of hoped a full version would show up, but maybe it doesn't exist.

this just popped up on my facebook feed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXKEjIApac&feature=player_embedded
costarring flip wilson? i think?

crowd shots are kind of hilarious. unimpressed with the BS's lip syncing prowess, i guess.

Brilliant song--probably my favorite from them.

yeah, i imagine it must've sounded pretty unique at the time?

Flip calls it the "Western Sound," and credits it to them. The '60s (nostalgic sigh).

Wow at first I thought they just played the studio recording and asked the band to fake playing & singing along to it, but the 3rd verse definitely has a few differences from the record so maybe it's not lip-synched. Whatever, that's definitely one of their best songs, and everyone hating on Stills should listen to it and reconsider.

huh, maybe stills is the only one actually playing/singing? i mean, the studio version is definitely present in that clip, right?

Yeah, I think that's a mix of canned/live.

That's what I thought at first too, but it's definitely not the familiar studio recording without the vocal(s) removed. Guitars have a different sound, and the Hammond organ in the studio version (on the bridge and outro) isn't in the "live" clip. Maybe it's really live or semi-live. Not sure what the norm was back then for these sorts of performances.

After a 2nd look, I think Stills' vocal may be the only live element, and the canned portion has a different mix, with the organ removed -- maybe an attempt at verisimilitude since there's obv no keyboardist on stage.

yeah, Dewey's drumming in video doesn't even come close to matching what I hear

!!!

In 1971, Palmer released his lone solo record, The Cycle Is Complete, on Verve Records. Primarily consisting of three long jams, "Alpha-Omega-Apocalypse", "Oxo", and "Calm Before The Storm" (with an "Interlude" between the first two numbers), the album featured Palmer playing with the remnants of fellow L.A. psychedelic group Kaleidoscope, Toronto keyboard player Ed Roth and Rick James contributing jazzy scat vocals. The record has been described[citation needed] as a jazzier version of Skip Spence's Oar or Syd Barrett's two solo records—an aural, drug-induced nervous breakdown. The album was a commercial disaster, and Palmer seemingly retired from music.

Has anyone here heard this?

yes, this is a great record!!!!

there is an affordable reissue of dubious quality on LP via Scorpio... there is maybe a CD too, i dunno. but i like this record a lot. maybe i should put it now now!

Collector's Choice did the cd, which is now OOP (like all CCM product).

The CD release of Palmer's only album was totally borked by Collectors' Choice, with alternate mixes / takes released as the album, instead of the original album tracks. It's not a great album anyway, but the CC version is inferior to the real one. They didn't even notice the mistake themselves, which says a lot.

To get back to OPO, that's really tough - so many great songs - but I think 'Bluebird' just about shades it from 'Broken Arrow'.

The 12 minute version of Bluebird that's either Whittier High School or Dallas is awesome, quite breathtaking.

It was great when the ban on circulating their live material was lifted a couple of years back. I think I probably now have most of the extant live stuff by them

Bluebird extended studio - Stills finest moment.

Dear Stephen, funny how some things that start spontaneously end that way. Eat a peach. Neil.

sometimes i find myself daydreaming about a full version of Mr. Soul as played for a few seconds in the beginning of Broken Arrow.

it could have been such an awesome version...

who is singing on that version?

I used to think Broken Arrow or Expecting To Fly were my favourite Buffalo Springfield songs. But since immersing myself in Neil live boots and the recent Archive live LPs, I'm starting to think On The Way Home is Neil's best song ever.

who is singing on that version?

That's Dewey Martin.

i totally interviewed richie furay for this uncut magazine story

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWWXqgTUMAEQq1n.jpg:large

i haven't met any other buffalo springfielders but i feel safe in saying that furay is the nicest one.

i've also been digging into later poco more, as one does. this version of jj cale's "magnolia" is super.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zachNKsJDJY

Thanks! Yeah, was thinking of Furay when I commented This 'un is like something unaccountably left off Buffalo Springfield's Last Time Around, but also holds its own--- re this Cowboy vid (over on S/D Southern Rock several others were recently posted---they seem to write songs from experience, but think they like Furay)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Bsx0_GUJEBc

Somehow was vainly hoping this thread would be related to: rejected JBR screen names

Oh cool, Palmer's album is on Spotify.

Nice. I haven't gotten around to Richie Furay's records with Poco etc. It is something I still need to check out.

How much of that LA rock scene actually did shows together? I always got the idea that Buffalo Springfield didn't really play live all that much. Love's original lineup did not play live outside of LA very much. The Doors toured a bunch.

There's a complete list of Springfield gigs in the liner notes to their box set. They were pretty busy on on the road, played coast-to-coast, did package tours etc.

First Poco album is the most anyone has ever sounded like Buffalo Springfield outwith Buffalo Springfield.

I am hereby changing my pick to Bluebird

How much of that LA rock scene actually did shows together? I always got the idea that Buffalo Springfield didn't really play live all that much. Love's original lineup did not play live outside of LA very much. The Doors toured a bunch

If they weren't playing together they still might have seen each other play at the Whiskey A Go Go, the Hollywood Palace, or the Cheetah in Santa Monica. Buffalo Springfield played live quite a lot actually... according to setlist.com:

1966: 61 gigs
1967: 139 gigs
1968: 68 gigs

Richie Furay was the guest of honor.
https://star1015fm.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2018/01/abcnewsradioonline.comM_BuffaloSpringfieldTribu-5aebeadca8d4760c98d229ed9b05d8865c09b9a1.jpg

https://star1015fm.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2018/01/abcnewsradioonline.comM_BuffaloSpringfieldTribu-5aebeadca8d4760c98d229ed9b05d8865c09b9a1.jpg

https://www.facebook.com/WildHoneyEagleRock/photos/gm.1630155140356684/2137529449814518/?type=3&theater

Oh hello Mr. Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason

Buffalo Boxed Again: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/buffalo-springfield-whats-that-sound-box/

Pretty sure that they disowned the debut because of having no control over recording quality, later (at least some of 'em) therefore considering remastering hopeless? CD I heard did seem fairly harsh, but dunno how would have compared w my long-gone original LP (which I considered good waaay back there, though had a dinky record player so who knows). Having stereo and mono may help. Would rather get this Rhino box first, with all the previously unreleased demos, incl. a number of titles I've never heard of (although it doesn't incl final album)
https://www.discogs.com/Buffalo-Springfield-Box-Set/release/2434262

That set has most of the final album. It was kind of a dry run for Neil's archives re: compiling quirks (chronological tracklist, curious omissions, alt. takes/mixes in lieu of O.G. versions etc.).

However, if--like me--you had the first box and a copy of Last Time Around, you're good. Seems like the main attraction of the new box is the mono ...Again, which (I think) hasn't been out on CD before, and the upgraded remastering--however the prior remasters sound fine and the debut was never going to sound <amazing> due to flaws in the original production.

Just googled Ken Viola (writer of of the liners to the first Springfield box, and a much quoted source in Shakey) and found this recent interview , which includes this nugget:

I found out from a collector about a song by Neil Young I had never heard of, “High School Graduation” (which turned out to be a song from his unrecorded first solo album post Buffalo Springfield, about the complexities of feelings & experiences in high school). I obtained the lead sheet from the publisher, and Kevin & I arranged the track. We recorded with Garry Tallent and Vini Lopez. This featured a brilliant duel lead feedback Springfield homage by guitarist Joel Gramolini, and a climatic sax solo. With help from the great concert promoter John Scher (I worked for him many years both part & full time), through Elliot Roberts (I had met him & Neil many times over the years), Neil approved our recording. As far as I know, I am the only one to have released a Neil Young song he has not.

Hard to beat Bluebird extended

his unrecorded first solo album post Buffalo Springfield

WANT

Glad for Viola & friends; intrepid effort, would like to hear. There were some other covers of then- unreleased Springfield etc. demos, at least one this one album, which I scribbled about on Rolling Country 2008 and Can We Talk About Early West Coast Country Rock etc:
Just got through my first listen to reissue of Yellow Hand's s/t from 1970.They do a bunch of Stills and Young songs from a Buffalo Springfield album that never did come out, it sez here (so they're on the bootleg of Stampede?) I think Neil did release a later version of "Down To The Wire." That's the Yellow Hand track where the four-part close harmonies kinda crowd me, plus they sound particularly in there between the Grassroots and Three Dog Night, just this combination of by-the-numbers and overemphasis. But, if you've got any tolerance for Stills early solo and Manassas stuff, this is mostly like that (still chunky harmonies, but with a touch of plaintiveness/querulousness to balance the manliness, and allowing the lyrics to come through just enough, so [modicum of]personality is okay simulated, while dumb complaints and inspiration are not heard too clearly)(also get Neil's sufficiently stylish, punky bitchy folk-rock putdowns on "Sell Out)." And Delaney Bramblett/Mac Davis "God Knows I Love You," which coulda maybe shoulda been a hit for somebody. Also, the lead singer, Jerry Tawney, steps up front on some okay self-writs, and "My World Needs You" would be good for Gary Puckett. Yellow Hand's drummer keeps rushing and then almost stumbling over the beat, and mostly they do seem more singers than players, but overall seems okay.
That was a promo from forcedexposure.com, which doesn't have it in stock now, but guess it's around somewhere. All of the originals might be on the xpost Rhino Springfield box, come to think of it----oh yeah here's the covers I heard duh:
https://www.discogs.com/Yellow-Hand-Yellow-Hand/release/2933099

And they get some points for giving it a legit (if generally little-known) try in 1970, 31 years before the Rhino box.

Would be good to get some of the live stuff in good quality. Though not sure it would be taht much better than what has been circulated.
But a 12 minute version of Bluebird with an extensive guitar duel is pretty essential. & other stuff is pretty worth hearing.

Beg to disagree about the 9-minute 'Bluebird'. Haven't heard it for a while, but one of the more… shall we say, 'noodly' of the Stills/Young guitar duels as I recall. Hard to beat the great banjo/guitar coda on the 'Again' version which it replaces. Might be nice to have it on CD for the first time though, I guess for completists.

Anytime I hear someone rave about the long "Bluebird", I think either (A)They must have it confused w/the James Gang version, or (B) they must really be into listening to Stills grunt.

haha, yeah Stills vocalizing on the long Bluebird is not great.

I've heard several long "Bluebirds" here and there online, over the years: some are even good. Listening to xpost Poco's 1969 debut here: several jangly brisk ones, kind of proto-power pop, and especially like the instrumental "Grand Junction," ballads have the lingering notes that were kind of a Springfield & subsequent config troubadour trademark---more warbly via Neil, more almost-ponderous courtesy Stills (at times), and every track so far benefits from expert detailing to some extent---but several I wouldn't miss atall on A Great Lost Buffalo-type mixtape, which is where I keep wanting the best ones here to be, as every third or fourth or fifth choice in such a mix. Oh well, glad I checked, will prob go on to the s/t one of these days---rat now I'm gonna see if Spotify also has the Rhino box (even if it's OOP, cos they have some of those)(ho, Spotify's slipping in the later Poco track, "Neil Young is not my brother...he's rich as Donald Trump")

"You won't find me on his Facebook page..."

This is better than the original Poco, possibly because it's NY-based pastiche pisstake

they must really be into listening to Stills grunt.

OTM and LOL. Mr. Stills is certainly feeling that extended Bluebird jam.

They do have the Rhino box, got the brand new one too.

Neil didn't tell Stephen about the new box: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/stephen-stills-new-buffalo-springfield-box/

Pro Tools has a thing in it where you can feed the record into it and slow it down without changing the record a bit, plus it does really wonderful things to the bass. I hope they employed that

...

Finally occurred to me to check Albums That Never Were, and sure enough, he's got his own Stampede, and as always he tells you exactly why he did it his way, while acknowledging that there are others (discogs has a 20-tracker from Italy, with a number of titles I've never seen before, studio and live from Whittier High etc). But here's this, incl. several tracks that ended up on Again, plausible back story, and links (from 2016) that don't work for me, but I'll look a little further:
http://albumsthatneverwere.blogspot.com/2016/07/buffalo-springfield-stampede.html

Anytime I hear someone rave about the long "Bluebird", I think either (A)They must have it confused w/the James Gang version, or (B) they must really be into listening to Stills grunt.

― Making Plans For Sturgill (C. Grisso/McCain)

the one from bonnaroo 2011 is v. nice

xp wow that is a convoluted story, amazing. I don't think the Shakey book goes into that much detail.

Anytime I hear someone rave about the long "Bluebird", I think .... they must really be into listening to Stills grunt.

I believe this is my single favorite ILM post.

Making Plans For Sturgill (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday

Youtube threw these at me today...the legendary private BS reunion in 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWMGFnXHk44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IhUMy4aNnI

Stills w/the headless Steinberger!

haha, when I interviewed Furay a little while back he still sounded dismayed by this reunion.

There's probably an alternate timeline where they kept going and actually made a reunion album that finishes off their careers for good.

I watched that Jakob Dylan thing about Laurel Canyon on Netflix a few days ago. Never was familiar with Buffalo Springfield much outside of For What It's Worth and Mr. Soul, but MY GOD EXPECTING TO FLY I NEEDED THIS SONG IN MY LIFE

oh hell yeah

you know "Out Of My Mind" yeah? and "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing"?

I heard "On The Way Home" in the wild the other day, and--while I know the band was basically finished when it came out--it still astounds me that it wasn't a huge hit for them or a huge cover for someone else (somebody on Motown perhaps) at the time.

I'm learning them now. xp

Another great Neil penned ballad from his time with Buffalo Springfield - Flying On The Ground Is Wong.

I prefer the Rainy Day cover with Kendra Smith singing.

https://youtu.be/fQDym5QZBX09

^^ yup that one too

Broken Arrow! Kind Woman! Out oF My Mind (esp the demo version from the box)!

A Child's Claim to Fame is a great country-rock tune. One of my favorite songs to sing along to.