Buffalo Springfield Again

“Buffalo Springfield Again” by Buffalo Springfield (1967) One of the more interesting results of this project of seriously listening to a random album each day is that sometimes I discover that the music of my youth is not as good as I thought it was. This album is an example. Buffalo Springfield, featuring the great Stephen Stills and the even greater Neil Young, was not a uniformly excellent band. This album (lacking any cohesive unity) has some songs that shouldn’t have made the cut. Don’t get me wrong; it’s good. It’s just not that good. The songs that were not included on later compilation albums (“Retrospective” and Young’s “Decade”) were omitted for good reason. These less than stellar tracks roughly coincide with the list of those written and sung by Richie Furay (“A Child’s Claim to Fame”, “Sad Memory”, and “Good Time Boy”), plus the Stills songs “Everydays” and “Hung Upside Down”. They just don’t fly. Why are these tracks only ‘okay’? In my view, the use of rhyme is contrived; themes lack passion; and performance imperfections are right up front and uncompensated. They were operating outside their comfort zone. If this album were played at a party in 1968 (stoned or not) these weaker songs would provide opportunity for a bathroom break, or arranging one’s ride home, sooner rather than later. Now the good stuff on this album (“Mr. Soul”, “Expecting to Fly”, “Bluebird”, “Rock & Roll Woman”, and “Broken Arrow”) is very good indeed—approaching classic status. But I just don’t want young people seriously listening to form the impression that fans of Stills and Young (like me) are completely crazy, even if we used to be. 3/5

This is an interesting album for me. I'm on the record as being anti-Neil Young and yet here's the band that kind of launched Young's career and... it's good. Perhaps that's because Buffalo Springfield is better known as the precurser to Crosby, Stills & Nash (later to become Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young). It's extremely folksy, a little bit rock, and overall just a chill record. I neither loved nor hated it. Was going to give it 4 stars but Neil Young barfed all over track 4 with a solo track (thereby negating the positive influence of Stephen Stills) that was pure crap. But THEN I hit track 6 (Hung Upside Down) which was really good (sick fuzz paired with bright, shimmery electric guitar tones.... so good) and then I hit track 8 (Good Time Boy) which was even better so it got back up to a 4 again.

Much too slow for me, nothing stands out or is that compelling. No more folk/psychedelic rock 2021

Shite

This is...really good? Even if, pervert that I am, I prefer the version of 'Mr Soul' that appears on Neil Young's lamented electro-rock album Trans. How did they get away with that 'Satisfaction' riff though? And were Sam & Dave's legal team sniffing about when they heard 'Goodtime Boy'? No matter though, there's great variety here and all of it sounds fantastic. Good playing, interesting arrangement choices, some superb vocal performances. I went into this thinking it would be all quite fey and folksy, and I've been roundly disabused of that notion. Might buy this in a physical format.

I've forgotten just how good some of these songs are: Mr. Soul--we all need to stand in front of the mirror and recite these lyrics. NY said it took 5 minutes to write, after a serious epilepsy attack, while in the hospital. He's a genius. Follows up/ends with the surreal Broken Arrow, in case you didn't get his message/theme the first time around. Haunting. Rock n Roll Woman--allegedly about Grace Slick, but really a metaphor for us all. Expecting to Fly: Once again: haunting, beautiful, can't believe there was so much infighting behind this album. Many more thoughts...I need more time with this one.

"Buffalo Springfield Again" is the second album by Canadian-American rock band Buffalo Springfield. Folk rock, pyschedelia, country folk and hard rock are the classified genres but they go deeper into other ones as well. The album was recorded over nine months in LA and NYC and was fraught with dysfunction with essentially each member producing their own material independently. The band is Stephen Stills (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Neil Young (vocals, guitar), Richie Furay (vocals rhythm guitar), Bruce Palmer (bass) and Dewey Martin (drums, vocals). Commercially, the album hit #44 in the US and, critically, is considered a classic of the pyschedelic era. A "dirty sounding" Neil Young guitar opens "Mr. Soul." Young said he was trying to get that Stones' "Satisfaction" sound. And he does. Layered guitars. A great pyschedelic song. It's about Young's personal problems with fame and disregard for rock fandom. Young also penned and sung "Expecting to Fly" with the famous LA Wrecking Crew as his back-up band. With strings, this is actually baroque pop. Don't count out the power of the band when they come together and we get that on Stephen Stills' "Bluebird." Young with electric guitar riffs and Stills matching him on the acoustic guitar. Great finger picking. It's a love song about Judy Collins and not the last song about Judy Collins that Stills would be involved in. Still delivers another rocker in "Hung Upside Down." Great guitar again and great vocal harmonization with Stills and Furay. It's Furay's turn with the ballad "Sad Memory." His vocals are in the forefront with guitars in background. "Rock & Roll Woman" is the song that best highlights the distorted guitar of Young combined with the vocal harmonies of Stills and Furay. A song that is apparently about Grace Slick. This album covers a lot of ground right away with a pyschedelic rocker going to a country rock song to a jazzy-folk song and finally to baroque pop. There's also a ballad thrown in later. The pyschedelic rockers are classics. This albums hints to where each of the vocalists would go next: Young's electric guitar riffs to his solo material and with Crazy Horse, Stills' acoustic guitar and harmonies to CSN(Y) and Furay's more country rock to Poco. If you like any of those groups (and most of you do), this an album to listen to and enjoy.

In which Neil Young can't help but demolish his bandmates, such is the majesty of his talent. Not that their songs are bad. 'A Child's Claim to Fame' and 'Hung Upside Down' are ambitious and whimsical, but in the shadow of Young's tracks they look decidedly comfortable--happy to sit in a safe space. 'Good Time Boy' is the only song as assaultive as Young's, but its ersatz Redding vibe--complete with The American Soul Train horn section--makes it look a little feeble in comparison. Young, meanwhile, pumps his guitar, wrings the neck of mystical lyricism, and pays homage to nothing and nobody. On 'Expecting to Fly', he slows down to stand god-like beside his peers, the strings and marching drums like a chorus of angels surrounding him. As ever, he sounds like he's singing out of the back of his head. As ever, it's eerily beautiful.

Wow. This is SOOOO far ahead of its time. Blues, funk, rock - all together with Neil’s nasal whine. Absolutely loved it. A buried treasure (for me)

great album neil!

I've never heard this record before but I'll listen again...on acid, mannnnnnn! Seriously though, I'll listen again. The record starts at 100 mph. Vocals within a few seconds of the music starting. And those fuzzy psychedelic leads are my jam. Adding the backdrop of bouncing basslines is so good. I love Neil Young and he makes this band for me. There is a lot of variety too. From psych-rockers to country ballads. I like that. Clear that this band was a super group that helped launch a handful of solo careers. David Crosby has a nice voice but he's insufferable. Highlights: "Mr. Soul" is a great first track; harmonies on "Everydays;" The orchestral arrangements on "Expecting to Fly;" The freeform nature (and heavy/excellent acoustic guitar compression) on "Bluebird;" "Hung Upside Down" has a great drowsy summer feel; I feel like I could write something about every song. So, maybe the whole record is a highlight. Yeah, that sounds great. EXTRA NOTE: So far, this record has been the best pleasant surprise for me.

Excellent album - Bluebird is definitely one of my faves. Super cool 12-string and fuzz use with guitars and amazing harmony vocals.

Expected it to not be that great but wow it really surprised me. All really good. 5 stars easily.

Considered the best of the three albums Buffalo Springfield released between 1966 and 1968, Buffalo Springfield Again showcases a band that was increasingly fractured, with three key songwriters often composing and recording their own pieces in isolation. The result is occasionally disjointed, with styles and instrumentation not always reflecting what came before. Despite its unevenness, the standout moments more than compensate for its rougher patches. The album is particularly notable for marking the emergence of Neil Young as the singular songwriter we now know and love, along with the well-documented social awkwardness (borderline misanthropy) he has displayed throughout his career. Young at times simply didn't show up for group sessions, yet the four songs he contributes are exceptional. Mr. Soul, with its raw, gritty energy and biting commentary on fame, captures Young’s discomfort with the spotlight. Meanwhile, Broken Arrow is an ambitious, sprawling piece of experimental rock, full of fragmented imagery and tape effects, hinting at the bold directions Young would later explore in his solo work. Expecting to Fly, a lushly orchestrated ballad recorded separately from the band, showcases Young’s ability to craft deeply emotional tracks with a cinematic quality. Having reached such a stellar level of songwriting, it's no surprise that Stephen Stills would later invite Young to join Crosby, Stills & Nash, despite the inevitable tension he would bring to the group. In fact, Young’s presence may have pushed Stills to reach new heights. Stills' contributions—Rock & Roll Woman, Bluebird, and Hung Upside Down—are among the album’s best, blending smooth harmonies with a more adventurous spirit. These tracks highlight his skill at merging folk, rock, and country elements into songs that feel immediate and timeless. Richie Furay’s contributions, while heartfelt, are a bit more hit-and-miss—sometimes even within the same song. Tracks like Sad Memory show flashes of the more mature voice he would develop, but there’s a sense that Furay was still searching for his direction, much as he was in life, later finding his calling in religion. IBuffalo Springfield Again may be disjointed at times, but its best moments offer a glimpse of greatness, particularly in the songwriting of Young and Stills. Did/Do I own this release? No Does this release belong on the list? Yes Would this release make my personal list? Strong possibility Will I be listening to it again? The Young and Stills tracks for sure

Ein wenig einschläfernd

I don’t have much to say. The good songs are actually really good. The bad ones are awful. This is possibly the actual definition of a 3-star album.

3.9 - I found this album tough to rate. I listened to it 3 times this week and I'm still not quite confident in my assessment. Of its 10 tracks, I think the first 7 feel the most polished and coherent. Taken by themselves, these tracks are amazingly accomplished. "Bluebird" sounds more like a mini-symphony in 3 movements, clocking in under 5 minutes. "Mr. Soul" shows great swagger and hard rock sensibilities. "Expecting to Fly" is cinematic and ethereal with swells of string and brass, set off by Neil Young's breathy tenor. The acoustic solo breakdown in the middle of "Bluebird" rocks hard. Along the way, they cram in so many subtle flourishes, and interesting sounds. The album ends on a lull. "Good Time Boy" is an exercise in white soul that falls flat. "Rock & Roll Woman" is all cliché. "Broken Arrow" contains great promise as another opus of several movements but doesn't quite come together. What I also miss is a true standout hit to help anchor me.

An album that shows the genius behind Stephen Stills and Neil Young. Why? Because Richie Furay's songs suck. For reference, he wrote "A Child's Claim to Fame", "Sad Memory", and "Good Time Boy"... awful songs. "Everydays" and "Hung Upside Down" are ok songs by Stills, but they're pretty weak, and my appeal is mostly to their unique sound: the jazz in the former, and the psychedelic fuzz in the latter. Now that the weak ones are out of the way, the other half of the songs are pretty solid. Stills really killed it with psychedelic rock "Bluebird" and "Rock and Roll Woman" which are the catchiest and appeal to a pop album. But the star is Neil Young as always. Starts off with a blues banger "Mr. Soul." For his other two songs, I noticed that in most cases, the highly experimental psychedelic sounds fall flat. But not here. "Expecting to Fly" and "Broken Arrow" are really well crafted and fit right in with the rest of the album. The former is highly structured while the latter has these really interesting transitions that somehow work. So glad that they're dispersed so I always have something to forward to between the bad songs.

Buffalo va encore faire honte à toute la salle de concert, clamant à qui veut l'entendre "eh tu veux les voir les grosses couilles de Buffalo ?!". La famille Spingfield est décidemment incorrigible...

Un album pas dégueu contre toute attente. J'étais pourtant déjà prêt à lui chier dessus rien qu'au titre et à la pochette.

This was pretty good. I liked the Neil Young songs more than the Richie Furay or Steven Stills songs. 3 stars.

It was alright. More folky than psychy. 5/10

Es ist erkennbar die Quelle von vielen was ich an NY liebe und mittlerweile auch hasse. Die Liebe überwiegt

This reminded me of yacht rock! I love yacht rock. I also appreciated that every song was so different. It kept the album fresh and interesting.

Wonderful. Some dull moments, but otherwise great, low-key, well-performed.

Super group! Super album!

Baroque roots psych I love.

This was great, it's exactly what I loved about the Stephen Stills album and what I often missed in Neil Young's Solo albums: the edge, provided by the guitar and riffs that were probably provided by Stills. It's a perfect length album with a wide array of songs, slow, mid tempo, fast, quiet, heavier. It's easy listening with a rock edge, what's not to love

Precursor band of CSN&Y. Clear 5 Stars

Nice

Amazing. I never knew they had such a jazz vibe.

4.5/5. Actually noticeable musical inspirations, and good flow. Kinda slept on Bud Spring ngl

The only thing that wrong with this is that I can’t rate it a 6 out of 5. Stupendous album.

Very lyrically and soft

Sempre necessário escutar Neil Young.

It was excellent

Classic Buffalo Springfield album - all three of their albums are great but this one contains Expecting to Fly.

Great. There are so many styles and musical ideas in here but it works for me. You can also tell by this spread that the band was never going to last. Far too many ideas/competing visions. "Mr. Soul" sounds like "Satisfaction" and "Good Time Boy" sounds like an Otis Redding song to me, plus you have the folkier/country songs and "Bluebird" which is straight rock and roll. What a talented band!

Heroes of my childhood. Not my favorite album but they're all good.

Not all the tracks stand up with their original shine, but Bluebird, Mr Soul, Expecting to Fly, and especially the stellar Broken Arrow secure this album’s place in the pantheon.

Hell yea rock on brother

Awesome never knew the name before but loved the guitar and drums and recognized Broken Arrow. Would definitely want to give another listen.

Wow, very surprised by this. So much better than I was expecting. When I saw Neil Young's name I was a bit worried, but this was almost like a time capsule from the 60's. I don't think there was one weak track on it, and I really enjoyed several of them.

Admittedly I find Buffalo Springfield a bit boring to listen to. I hadn’t listened to this album before, but some of the songs were pretty good, with “Mr. Soul,” “Bluebird,” and “Sad Memory” being my favorites. As I got near the end, I was pretty certain this was going to get a 4 from me. But then “Broken Arrow” comes on and, wow, what a song! I immediately connected with it, and it drew me in more than any other song on the album. Still not totally sold on Buffalo Springfield, but I’m definitely sold on this album.

motown grooves

Absolutely loved it!

It was pretty good, the band is good, but these weren't the best of their songs. I listened to the whole thing anyway. Real instruments and voices, not synthesizes stuff.

Excellent early material that was the genesis of other bands

cool

Great one.

One of my favorite albums

Great

Great

The Beatles and the stones 😉. Mr Soul is a very catchy opening song and reminds me of some songs of the Stones, the second song could have been from the four fabs themselves 😉. And broken arrow, another great song, has also a structure that reminds to the Beatles. A real classic rock album, that i like very much 😉.

This was a great example of late 60s folk/pop. Loved every second and with it was longer actually.

Quote impressed with this album. Never listened to it, though it has two CSNY members in it. Quote eclectic, it ranges from Neil Young rock to Steven Stills rock, to folk, to country, to epic to R&B. Also has a good mix and sounds great. Mostly 5s. A couple 4s. 5.

9/10 super fun album there’s some really, really great stuff here

Classic Young

Fab

Buffalo Springfield has not been a group I have pursued but given the member always knew I should. I instantly was impressed. The opening track “Mr. Soul” immediately piqued my interest. “A Child’s Claim to Fame” is a great country sounding track with a cool little guitar part I love. Then it gets a little psychedelic with “Everydays”. Neil Young then takes the helm again in “Expecting to Fly,” which had a dreamy, ethereal quality. Then we plunge into “Bluebird” - Stephen Stills at his best with a really cool banjo ending. In the first five tracks we are already served a smorgasbord of some great sixties sounds prepared by experts. Well worth the ride already. The rest of the album continues as one might expect from musicians of this caliber. It’s almost embarrassing that one group held all this talent. It isn’t a surprise to me that they were barely holding together as a group. You can hear them pulling in different directions. But at this moment they put together something really special.

I love this album, especially Neil Young's contributions - some of the best and most creative work of his career.

I love me some Stephen Stills. This is lovely. Top notch!

Glorious

Very pretty album. Lyrically it is strong, musically it is strong. Variation between more electric songs and more folk songs. Excellent work.

Awesome album. "Everydays" live version really stood out to me, will be listening to more Buffalo Springfield and checking out each members solo stuff. Didn't know Stills and Young were in it until reading the Spotify 'About' page.

I really liked this album. All of the songs worked well together. Nice sounding vocals. One song that was interesting in an experimental, this is an experience type song. But not that far from the rest of the album so it wasn’t too jarring. Really liked it 5/5

I very much enjoyed this album. I totally got into the rock vibe of the 60s that this group was putting out!

Fantastic album, love Neil Young

Surprisingly better than expected. Not sure why I've always pushed this album aside. Everydays is fantastic!

This album was dope, it was truly all over the place. Some songs make me want to frolic and be barefoot, some make me wanna boogie, and some make wanna sob (expecting to fly, specifically). I think the order of this album flowed really nicely too. 9/10

Great album with some really good tracks on this one. The second album from The Buffs, Love "Mr Soul" With Neil Youngs searing vocals. "Bluebird" "Rock & Roll Woman" and "Broken Arrow" all favourites. Complex songs developed (Of Course influenced by the Beatles, but then again who wasn't in 1967!) by the whole band. great album rightfully in this list in my opinion.

Short but great experience

Very nice and I liked it

This and Jefferson Airplane have really just confirmed that I'm into psychedelic rock. I really should learn more about this era. Like I had no idea that Neil Young and Stephen Stills was in Buffalo Springfield.

Erstmalig gehört! Aber super album!

Quite excellent stuff there.

Yay, finally, dadrock. No excessive guitars.

To be completed

3.5 | Disco muy interesante, de Buffalo Springfield realmente sabía más sobre su importancia que por su música (junto con The Byrds los verdaderos orígenes de la ola folk y por ser semillero de Neil Young y Stephen Stills). Escuche el disco a ciegas y no hay otra forma de decirlo, no tiene cohesión ni se siente como un trabajo con una visión o idea. Después al leer me di cuenta que en efecto cada quien al parecer escribió sus canciones por su lado y desde ese tiempo ya como banda tenían muchos problemas. Curiosamente las tres canciones escritas por Richie Furay, sin saberlo de inicio, me parecieron totalmente olvidables y de sobra (en especial Sad Memory que tiene una letra pendeja de amor idiota con nivel de niño de secundaria que tiene su primera novia). Curiosamente también, o quizá no tanto, Richie Furay fue quien no despunto a nada posterior a la disolución de la banda. Sobre las otras canciones abriendo con Young y un blues maravilloso que recuerda a los Rolling pasando a folk, rock, psicodelia... solos realmente deliciosos y cerrando con Young de nuevo y Broken Arrow con un experimento entre estilos, en vivo y estudio muy al estilo Beatles. Las canciones de Stills destacan por su música más, las de Neil Young por sus letras y las de Furay... mejor saltárselas. Me parece que tanto Neil Young solo como Crosby Stills Nash fueron mejores proyectos pero aun así, e incluso con la falta de cohesión y sintiéndose más como un Greatest Hits que un album con sentido propio, e incluso con esas 3 canciones malas, el disco es excelente.

This album holds remarquably well after all those years.

really liked the diverse voices and folk sounding music. Will listen to again.

Enjoyable

Country rock usually doesn't resonate with me as much, but this album is super great! There are a lot of varied influences. The album flows well but each song manages to sound distinct. It has aged well. Favorites: Expecting to Fly, Bluebird, Sad Memory, Broken Arrow

A little too out there, but flashes of brilliance

veisla maður mjög sáttur með þetta, uppáhalds lagið mitt er Sad Memory, ahh, verð víst að gefa enn eina 4-star einkunn... því miður ekki alveg fimma

So much Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on here! I did enjoy this one though. Lots of variety: horns, organ, woodwind as well as the folky guitar rock I was expecting. Better that The Byrds for sure.

This album is cool!

Way more varied stylistically than I expected it to be with mixed results...sometimes within the same song. There was one jazz style song that I'm listening to and thinking well this sounds kinda lame and not very Interesting, then the sax solo kicks in and wow, the song takes off. That's a microcosm of the album, moments of brilliance and ordinary moments of ordinary meh. But the high moments are enough to give this a pretty good rating. 3.75 🌟

I will always listen to anything with Neil Young. I have listened to Buffalo Springfield before but I don't think I've heard this album much before.

Buffalo Springfield was most notable for helping launch Neil Young's career. Buffalo Springfield Again is without doubt a very good album, though Young's contributions were kind of minimal with two of his tracks recorded solo, but it does contain one of Young's great tracks, Mr. Soul. To not take away the contribution of the other members of the band, the record suffers from inconsistency and wasn't quite as great as I remember. That being said, this is an important piece of 60's rock history that is the beginnings of something greater (CSN&Y and Neil solo), that can't be denied.

7/10 FT: sad Memory

Nice folk rock song. Good jumping off point for similar songs

Actually a good album. Some just weren’t my style but other than that a solid record

This was hugely entertaining and will listen to again

Started off strong and I was thinking "easy 4!" but the back half sagged and brought it down to a 3.5. I'll still give it a 4 overall, but its just squeaking by.

Psychedelic country and folk rock

Classic Americana

Picos altos seguidos canciones que bajonean. Al final en promedio resulta un buen disco, muy disfrutable.

I really dig it

Très bon old school rock'n'roll. L'album s'écoute très bien et la présence de Neil Young dans le band vient clairement rajouter quelque chose.