Buffalo Springfield debut released 50 years ago today

Approximately half of the songs on this album are good. You can sense the tentative beginnings of an original sound but somewhere they still want to be the Beatles or the Stones.

The production does the band a lot less than justice, even in mono.

And I've always had a problem with the lyrics of FWIW: for me, it sounds like they were written by a man in his middle-fifties trying to 'get down' with the kids (or 'young people speaking their minds" as Stills clunkily puts it).

 

Baby, Don't Scold Me
have the original Stereo copy of this and this track sounds better than most of the others on the same LP>imo
Too bad they took it off....Day Tripper riff in it.

sean

 

Well a similar claim might be made for John Mayall, but I agree.

 

Not a sonic wonder, but make sure you have the hand etched matrices for all 4 of your copies
(Stereo & Mono 66 Origs & 67 Stereo & Mono reissue) the machine stamped Columbia pressings are more common, and make the limited fidelity they had to start with even worse. There is a certain amount of compressed tube charm to this album if you get the right copies.

 

Neil has been in/been leader of many bands. I wonder if Buffalo Springfield was his favorite.

 

but john mayall wasn't a band, i know that the bluesbreakers were, but they were alwyas hired guns, the springfield was a band.

 

This thread caused me to revisit the album. I have decided to delete it from my collection.

I'll bow out now.

 

Nah, FWIW is the message of a young man who knows things are not always black or white. Stills is my favorite

 

Yeah it's just not a strong album.

 

Already becoming more of a fractured band, each doing their thing, kind of a Beatles white album though it took the Springfield mere months what it took the Beatles about 6 years to get to. Of course after this BS was pretty much over as a band.

 

Burned more than any song sounds like it was recorded with a total of 2 mics

 

I feel sorry for you. For What It's Worth is one of the classics of the sixties. The songs penned by Neil Young are very beautiful. It's a pity that weren't all sung by Neil Young. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing, Flying On The Ground and Burned are among my Neil's favourites.

 

Don't feel sorry for me.

As has been pointed out, "For What It's Worth" was not part of the album until int became a hit single. They only added it later. I love that song, but it is not representative of the rest of the album.

I also happen to like Stephen Stills.

 

C'mon man!

 

Everyone has their own tastes. There's a guy on here who doesn't like earth, Wind & Fire's "That's The Way Of The World". Whaddya gonna do? His opinion.

 

I love this album. My US 2nd press mono sounds pretty good.

 

3 words: Pay the Price. The bass on that track is completely insane, especially for '66.

 

I thought the cover was a perfect encapsulation of the period, especially the back cover, so Monkees-esque....

 

Love the record.
The band is audibly great despite the production. Steve and Richie harmonize great together. Richie singing Neil’s songs is magical. Neil’s vocal turns are fantastic. Hot rhythm section. You can imagine how incredible they would have been during the summer ’66 residency at the Whisky. All good as far as I’m concerned.

I love the Byrds, and Gene Clark is my favorite songwriter, but IMO THIS was the great American rock band and two more albums would have made it a little plainer.

 

I'll pump up the bass and check it out

 

It appears that was what they were going for, along with A Hard Days Night, but it looks like a poor imitation using bad photos. I don't hate the cover, it just could have been a lot better.

 

Maybe you've seen this, but the Buffalo Springfield acted as the house band in a 1960s TV episode of the detective show Mannix and plays "Bluebird".

 

Funny how everyone is so insistent about "For What's It's Worth" not being on the original release.
How many bought that original version? I didn't.
The release with "For What's It's Worth" came out only three months later (remember?) and it's the one my friends and I all had.
For most if you are of a certain age it's the version we remember, know and love.

Memory is foggy but pretty sure that song is the reason we all bought the LP.

 

Yes. It would be nice to have a copy of that recording.

 

Landmark album. I still can't find the true
stereo mix of "Baby Don't Scold Me"
anywhere else.