Buffalo Springfield (album)

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Buffalo Springfield
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1966[1]
RecordedJuly 18 – September 11, 1966
Studio
Genre
Length32:54
LabelAtco
Producer
  • Charles Greene
  • Brian Stone
Buffalo Springfield chronology
Buffalo Springfield
(1966)
Buffalo Springfield Again
(1967)
Singles from Buffalo Springfield
  1. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" / "Go and Say Goodbye"
    Released: August 1966[4]
  2. "Burned" / "Everybody's Wrong"
    Released: November 1966[5]
  3. "For What It's Worth" / "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It?"
    Released: December 1966[6]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]

Buffalo Springfield is the debut album by the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in October 1966 on Atco Records. Band members Stephen Stills and Neil Young wrote all the material on the album.

Most subsequent pressings of the album from March 1967 onward replaced the track "Baby Don't Scold Me" with the standalone single "For What It's Worth", which was ascending the US charts at the time. The single eventually peaked at number 7 on the Hot 100,[9] while the album reached number 80 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.

Background and content[edit]

Buffalo Springfield were formed in early 1966, playing their first gig at The Troubadour club in Hollywood in April of that year. An initial single that appeared on this album, Young's "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" sung by Richie Furay, failed to reach the national charts but made the Top 40 locally in Los Angeles during August. This album was recorded in the summer of 1966 at Gold Star Studios where Phil Spector created his "Wall of Sound" and Brian Wilson produced recordings by the Beach Boys. Young sings lead on only two of his five compositions, Furay singing lead on the other three.

The album was produced by the group's managers, Charles Greene and Brian Stone, both of whom had minimal experience as record producers. The group was reportedly unhappy with the sound of the album, feeling that it did not reflect the intensity of their live shows.[10] The band asked Atco for time to re-record the album, but not wanting to miss the Christmas holiday season the label insisted that the record be released as it was.

Buffalo Springfield was originally released in both mono and stereo versions as Atco SD 33-200. The back cover contained band profiles of each member in the mode of those for Tiger Beat. Recorded the day the LP was released and issued soon after, the band's new single by Stills "For What It's Worth" became a national hit, making the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in March 1967.[11] For the second pressing of March 6, 1967, the album was reissued as Atco SD 33-200A with the hit as the lead track, dropping "Baby Don't Scold Me" and slightly reconfiguring the running order. "Baby Don't Scold Me" has never been reissued in stereo; all compact disc releases feature only the mono mix of this track.

The album was remastered in HDCD and reissued on June 24, 1997, with two versions on one disc, the mono tracks from Atco 33-200 first with the stereo tracks from SD 33-200A following. Not contained were the stereo mix of "Baby Don't Scold Me" from Atco SD 33-200 or the mono mix of "For What It's Worth" from Atco 33-200A. Strangely, "Burned" has also never been issued in stereo for unknown reasons. It redundantly appears twice on this disc in mono.[citation needed]

Recording sessions took place at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles from July 18 to September 11, 1966, with "For What It's Worth" recorded at Columbia Studios in Los Angeles on December 5, 1966.

Cash Box said that "Burned" has a "slick, mid-tempo rock arrangement that could catch on big."[12]

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead singer(s)Length
1."Go and Say Goodbye" (July 18)Stephen StillsStills and Richie Furay2:20
2."Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:32
3."Leave" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:42
4."Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (July 18)Neil YoungFuray3:25
5."Hot Dusty Roads" (August)StillsStills2:50
6."Everybody's Wrong" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:23
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead singer(s)Length
1."Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" (September 10)YoungFuray2:40
2."Burned" (August)YoungYoung2:16
3."Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" (August)YoungFuray3:01
4."Baby Don't Scold Me" (August)StillsStills and Furay3:04
5."Out of My Mind" (August)YoungYoung3:05
6."Pay the Price" (August)StillsStills2:36

March 1967 release[edit]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead singer(s)Length
1."For What It's Worth" (December 5)StillsStills2:40
2."Go and Say Goodbye" (July 18)StillsStills and Furay2:20
3."Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:30
4."Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (July 18)YoungFuray3:24
5."Hot Dusty Roads" (August)StillsStills2:47
6."Everybody's Wrong" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:25
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead singer(s)Length
1."Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" (September 10)YoungFuray2:40
2."Burned" (August)YoungYoung2:15
3."Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" (August)YoungFuray3:04
4."Leave" (August)StillsStills and Furay2:42
5."Out of My Mind" (August)YoungYoung3:06
6."Pay the Price" (August)StillsStills2:36

Personnel[edit]

Buffalo Springfield
Production personnel

Charts[edit]

Album - (United States)
Year Chart Position
1967 Billboard Pop Albums 80
Cashbox Albums Charts[13] 54
Record World Album Charts[14] 54
Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year Single Chart Position
August 1966 "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" / "Go And Say Goodbye" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 110
November 1966 "Burned" / "Everybody's Wrong" - -
January 1967 "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" / "Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 7

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Billboard". October 22, 1966.
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  3. ^ Johnny Rogan (September 18, 2007). "Neil Young: 1966-1975". Under Review. Music Video Distribution. 3:50 minutes in.
  4. ^ Alexander 1967, quoted in Lizie 2021, chap. 1.
  5. ^ Savage 2015, p. 562.
  6. ^ Savage 2015, p. 563.
  7. ^ Buffalo Springfield at AllMusic
  8. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  9. ^ "The Buffalo Springfield". Billboard.
  10. ^ McDonough, Jimmy. Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. New York: Anchor, 2003, p. 181
  11. ^ Google Books archive Billboard March 25, 1967 Hot 100 chart retrieved 25 March 2017
  12. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 12, 1966. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  13. ^ "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  14. ^ "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.

Sources[edit]