What It Is Ain't Exactly Clear (Not True--It's a Buffalo Springfield Poll)

The "Bluebird" here, if you don't know the album, runs nine minutes--think I liked the shorter version on the CD I bought today better.

I only really know the first album, which seems to be well-represented on this comp... But if anything would tempt me away from "For What It's Worth," it'd be "Flying on the Ground is Wrong," inexplicably left out. I should check out their other stuff!

Besides the two compilations, I only have their third/final album--was going to ask if anything was conspicuously left off.

Breakdown:

7 of 12/13 songs* from the s/t debut
7 of 10 songs from Again
9 of 12 songs from Last Time Around

*A Stills' original, a rocker entitled "Baby Don't Scold Me" was removed after the first pressing to make way for "FWIW"

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Best stuff left off: "Flying On The Ground Is Wrong"; "Baby Don't Scold Me"; "Hot Dusty Roads"; "Everydays"; "Good Time Boy" (shut up!); and "Carefree Country Day".

Love “Flying on the Ground”. Rainy Day/Kendra Smith do a fantastic cover.

I had the 1 disc retrospective with the very late sixties cover. Bluebird and Broken Arrow were some of the first songs I remember hearing that had multiple different sections.

The whole BS catalogue is pretty strong. I burned a two-disc comp for a friend about 15 years ago with disc 1 being the s/t & ...Again in full, and disc 2 consisting of all of LTA and what I called "The Last Stampede": all of the full-band outtakes from the box set and Neil's Archives #1, which timed out to a pretty solid quality LP-length collection in and of itself.

I don't remember how deep my Monkees collection was at the time, but I could have added Tork's "Lady's Baby" and "Long Titles..." to the outtakes program: they both feature partial backing from Stills and other BS members, and could have fit in ala "Lose This Skin" on Sandinista!.

It would have been "For What It's Worth" that brought me to this, probably Lillian Roxon too, and maybe Neil Young--my NY obsession began around the same time. Still love "Mr. Soul" and "On the Way Home," but I've never been that big on "Broken Arrow" or "Expecting to Fly."

Bluebird even though I much prefer the short version to the 9 minute gruntfest on this comp.

Fat clemenza in the house
I bought this tape at a garage sale when I was a junior in high school

So many great songs here it's hard to pick just one but my vote goes to Expecting To Fly. It has an ethereal sound Neil rarely returned to.

Voting for "Broken Arrow" - the "Mr. Soul" travesty, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", feedback drumroll, clarinet solo, heartbeat, every pretentious second of it - because the song itself is so beautiful, touching and wonderfully sung and performed.

I'd never heard this fabled long version of "Bluebird" before, because even the shorter version never struck me as very special, and this is even less so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P3j91kubHw

I'll need to think what I'd do if I had a vote just for a Stills song.

fwiw that long "Bluebird" is a splice of two different takes

I once confused a girlfriend by talking about Buffalo Springfield while she thought I was talking about Dusty Springfield.

I think the end part is just tacked on to the LP version but I could be wrong, it's been a while

voted Mr. Soul but already regretting not voting for other Neil tunes

my vote goes to Expecting To Fly. It has an ethereal sound Neil rarely returned to.

For me, "Out of My Mind" is a much better expression of that sound.

I think the end part is just tacked on to the LP version

I believe they're the same for the first three minutes, the 1967 version has a brief bluegrass coda and the 1973 version has this longer electric jam.

The 2LP '73 comp was all the Springfield I had until that terribly-organized box set came out in 2001 and sort of punctured my unconditional-positive-regard balloon for them. One of the bigger crimes of the 60s is that nobody ever recorded any of their live shows, which is apparently where they rose to another level entirely. I love Neil's songs on this, but I have a secret fantasy life in a cover band that covers the sweatier Stills songs on here -- "Hung Upside Down," "Uno Mundo," "Special Care" and "Questions." I hope I never hear "For What It's Worth" again in my life tbh. Haven't figured out my vote yet.

"expecting to fly" but not an easy choice!

I've always been curious about these guys live. They were supposedly pretty awesome for the time as being this guitar duel with Stills and Young, but the records don't really sound like that kind of thing.

One of the bigger crimes of the 60s is that nobody ever recorded any of their live shows, which is apparently where they rose to another level entirely.

wow, never knew this, I guess I'm still holding out for a reel to be discovered in someone's basement

It is noted in Shakey that they got together and jammed a few times at Neil's barn like in the late 90s/2000s but it never came to a reunion or anything.

Imagine the wigged-out Synclavier'd trainwreck this reunion could have grown into:

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

After Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin died, they did a very brief reunion tour in 2011 backed by Rick Rosas and Joe Vitale.

my ex-mother-in-law saw them. it was a story i would ask her to tell and retell often. "it was the loudest band i've ever heard. i thought they were cool, but dangerous."

but also, "i was pretty stoned so it could have been a lot different than i recall."

lol

Expecting to Fly

Expecting to Fly for me too though it's obviously not a band effort

There actually is a high quality live recording of them out there...the only problem is that it's without Neil:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBDIMq6uU3o

Monterey Pop, with David Crosby

I guess I should have known "Expecting to Fly" would win--I think it was high on the Neil Young poll I did many years ago. Honestly, I think my top three might be Stills songs.

“Burned” — just an utterly classic early Neil rocker.

Saw them do a reunion show at Bonnaroo, which was good except the sound was weirdly too low. Between songs people were chanting “Turn it up!” — not something you usually have to tell Neil Young.

Out of My Mind or A Child's Claim to Fame

Might have voted Flying on the Ground is Wrong if it had been on here.

I heard csn’s “carry on” before bs’ “questions,” so that was a surprise

Mr. Soul for me.

I once confused a girlfriend by talking about Buffalo Springfield while she thought I was talking about Dusty Springfield.

Everybody look what's going down
Stealin kisses from me on the sly

that terribly-organized box set came out in 2001

In the mess there's a lot of interesting stuff, like Stills doing a piano demo of "Four Days Gone" that completely tops the recorded version.

I hope I never hear "For What It's Worth" again in my life tbh

Into your life it will creep

Imagine the wigged-out Synclavier'd trainwreck this reunion could have grown into

Instead we got, uh, American Dream

I'll need to think what I'd do if I had a vote just for a Stills song.

"Rock & Roll Woman" is great but I would have picked "Hung Upside Down" just for the Stills/Richie Furay vocal tradeoffs.

Glad "A Child's Claim to Fame" has been mentioned. Love that--much more than Neil's "I Am a Child." (Seems like I'm down on Neil in this thread...I'm not; I just think the other songwriters in the band are sometimes overlooked because of Neil's solo career.) Actually, "Rock 'N' Roll Woman" was backed with "A Child's Claim to Fame" as a single--probably one of my favourite double-sided singles ever.

Think I'll look around online for a copy of this:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1415837.There_s_Something_Happening_Here

I've read they would have the occasional argument.

Andrew Hickey's #152 of History in 500 Songs is a great Buffalo Springfield episode. It sent down a big Stephen Stills retrospective.

It sent me down...
Voted Mr Soul. Just hits me from the start, gets my adrenaline flowing.

The change to the F chord in the Mr. Soul solo section is really cool

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

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

My fave Buffalo Springfield song, Richie Furay's "Sad Memory" isn't here, so I'll go with either Rock 'n' Roll Woman or On the Way Home (which is great both in the original form and Neil's solo acoustic guitar arrangement)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

No surprise. A number of songs I love among the zeros.