Buffalo Springfield (album)

Buffalo Springfield is the debut album by the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in December 1966 on Atco Records. It peaked at number 80 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It is the first album to feature the songwriting of future stars Stephen Stills and Neil Young.

Buffalo Springfield
Studio album by Buffalo Springfield
Released	December 5, 1966
Recorded	July 18 – September 11, 1966
Studio	Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California Columbia Recording Studio, Hollywood, California
Genre	Folk rock[1] pop[2]
Length	32:54
Label	Atco
Producer	Charles Greene Brian Stone
Buffalo Springfield chronology
Buffalo Springfield (1966) Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]

Seeing that the independent single "For What It's Worth" was rising on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, Atco released the album a second time on March 6, 1967, with a changed track list, featuring "For What It's Worth" as the first song on Side 1. "For What It's Worth" peaked at number 7 on the Hot 100 on March 24.[5]

Background and content

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.[6] 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.[7] 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.

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.

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.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Go and Say Goodbye" (July 18)	Stephen Stills	Richie and Steve	2:20
2.	"Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (August)	Stephen Stills	Richie and Steve	2:32
3.	"Leave" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:42
4.	"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (July 18)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	3:25
5.	"Hot Dusty Roads" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:50
6.	"Everybody's Wrong" (August)	Stephen Stills	Richie with Steve and Neil	2:23

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" (September 10)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	2:40
2.	"Burned" (August)	Neil Young	Neil with Richie and Steve	2:16
3.	"Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" (August)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	3:01
4.	"Baby Don't Scold Me" (August)	Stephen Stills	Richie and Steve	3:04
5.	"Out of My Mind" (August)	Neil Young	Neil with Richie and Steve	3:05
6.	"Pay the Price" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:36

March 1967 pressing side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"For What It's Worth" (December 5)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie and Dewey	2:40
2.	"Go and Say Goodbye" (July 18)	Stephen Stills	Richie and Steve	2:20
3.	"Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (August)	Stephen Stills	Richie and Steve	2:30
4.	"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (July 18)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	3:24
5.	"Hot Dusty Roads" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:47
6.	"Everybody's Wrong" (August)	Stephen Stills	Richie with Steve and Neil	2:25

March 1967 pressing side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Vocals	Length
1.	"Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" (September 10)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	2:40
2.	"Burned" (August)	Neil Young	Neil with Richie and Steve	2:15
3.	"Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" (August)	Neil Young	Richie with Steve and Neil	3:04
4.	"Leave" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:42
5.	"Out of My Mind" (August)	Neil Young	Neil with Richie and Steve	3:06
6.	"Pay the Price" (August)	Stephen Stills	Steve with Richie	2:36

Personnel

Buffalo Springfield

• Stephen Stills — vocals, guitars, keyboards
• Neil Young — vocals, guitars, harmonica, piano
• Richie Furay — vocals, rhythm guitar
• Bruce Palmer — bass guitar
• Dewey Martin — drums, backing vocals

Production personnel

• Charles Greene, Brian Stone — producers, stereo mix
• Tom May, Doc Siegel, James Hilton, Stan Ross — engineers
• Sandy Dvore — design
• Henry Diltz, Ivan Nagy — photography
• Tim Mulligan — HDCD digital mastering
• John Nowland, Pflash Pflaumer — analog to digital transfers

Charts

Album - (United States)

Year	Chart	Position
1967	Billboard Pop Albums	80
	Cashbox Albums Charts[8]	54
	Record World Album Charts[9]	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

1. Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
2. Johnny Rogan (September 18, 2007). "Neil Young: 1966-1975". Under Review. Music Video Distribution. 3:50 minutes in.
3. Buffalo Springfield at AllMusic
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
5. https://www.billboard.com/music/the-buffalo-springfield
6. McDonough, Jimmy. Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. New York: Anchor, 2003, p. 181
7. Google Books archive Billboard March 25, 1967 Hot 100 chart retrieved 25 March 2017
8. "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
9. "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.