Buffalo Springfield debut released 50 years ago today

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JoeRockhead, Dec 5, 2016.

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  1. Thesmellofvinyl

    Thesmellofvinyl Senior Member

    Location:
    Cohoes, NY USA
    A sealed copy of this was in a box of about 100 LPs at a Craigslister's house one night. I knew there might be something desirable about it but wasn't sure what. Didn't matter - he wouldn't sell single LPs, only the whole box. The next day I found a couple of Buffalo Springfield cassettes at a thrift shop and picked them up. I knew "For What It's Worth," and that's about it. The next day I bumped into a friend who had an extra ticket and invited me to the Stephen Stills show in town that night that I'd had no idea about (and would have skipped if I had known). It was a thrill hearing Stills play all this music I'd heard over the years but never registered a second thought about who was on the record. After the concert I went looking for albums by everyone in the band.
     
  2. SteveSDCA

    SteveSDCA Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego
    If only Neil Young would let Steve Wilson remix it.
     
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  3. Joel1963

    Joel1963 Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal
    If only all artists would let Steven Wilson remix their stereo stuff into 5.1.
     
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  4. Joe oliver

    Joe oliver Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I personally find some of the poorly-recorded aspects of records like this adds to their charm, I'm sure there are many clear-as-day fidelity and mastering issues that my untrained ears can't spot that irk a lot of people here, but cramped production, odd mixes, shrillness, oddly miked drums and outright naivite about how to record a rock band all adds to the slightly dis-embodied ghostly feel to a lot of 60's production. I would always argue if a lot of music from the 60's was recorded as well as a lot of music began to be recorded in the 70's it wouldn't sound as 'good' in many ways. Not to say there wasn't a lot of outstanding mastering, production going on in the 60's too.
     
  5. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I couldn't agree more. I like hearing the imperfections and the limitations of the technology on 60s records.
     
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  6. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    It's just that many records made in this time period sound MUCH clearer and have actual bass frequencies!
    It was indeed poorly produced and that's a shame because I'm confident the Buffalo Springfield didn't sound this thin live.

    Ultimately, I love this album and am happy to have it- whatever the sonics are!
     
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  7. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    It's one of the worst produced albums of the era, but like you, I just love it. The style of production Moby Grape had on their debut LP could have suited Buffalo Springfield.
     
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  8. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    yes, the bad production sort of makes "Clancy' and 'Flying on the Ground' seem more distant, dreamlike and poignant. That said, the other tracks would certinaly have benefitted from better sound.
     
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  9. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Oh yeah!
    The producers of BS, Greene & Stone, were hustler hacks who knew nothing about production. The story goes that during the recording, Stills and Young decided THEY better figure out how to produce if they want it to sound right!!
     
  10. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I love the mono mix of 'Flying on the Ground is Wrong'. 'Do I Have To Come Right Out and Say It?' sounds so fine too.
     
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  11. dance_hall_keeper

    dance_hall_keeper Forum Resident

  12. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    I have read that this band was amazing live, well, well beyond what their records sounded like. Makes sense in that you had Stills and Young doing the two lead guitar assault, playing off of each other.

    It's a shame that there is little in the way of live recordings.
     
  13. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    I always thought Greene and Stone must've sold themselves to the band by telling them "we MADE Sonny & Cher" and the band took one look at their limo (with a car phone!) and believed their booshwah. I always wondered if they tried to get in touch with Sonny and find out the truth. Probably not, sigh.
    I also think a big part of the reason the first LP sounds the way it does is because they recorded it at Gold Star. FWIW sounded so much better, but it was recorded at the presumably more expensive Columbia studio in LA. Just the opening drum on FWIW sounds light years away from the rest of the first LP.
     
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  14. dennis1077

    dennis1077 Forum Resident

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  15. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Sure makes you wish they'd release something/anything (nod to Todd), doesn't it? I don't care if it's lo-fi....I hate having to get bootlegs of their shows, always makes me feel dirty. If they'd just released the second LP as a double-set, with at least one side live, I think it would've made them a lot bigger in terms of sales. In the end, I guess, they would've broken up in '68 anyway, just later in the year. Too much talent and too many egos.
     
  16. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Very telling for the times! Of course, the line about Stills---the leader, but we all are---tells you right then what was going to doom them in the end.
     
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  17. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Flying On The Ground was also partially recorded at Columbia as well. Vocals?

    What's odd is that the demos were also recorded at Gold Star, and those sound great.
     
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  18. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    The Richie Furay book FWIW lists mid-November for the release but doesn't give a specific date.
     
  19. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Always loved that pic.....even though Neil seems to be shooting daggers at Steve! Should've used that for the cover of the first LP!
     
  20. TheDailyBuzzherd

    TheDailyBuzzherd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Good LP a few notches down from the second release. Woulda been nice
    to have "Stampede" between those two. Ah well.

    The following is a repost from a Neil Young thread; the vid is more
    appropriately shared with fellow Springalos.

    GREAT collection of lo-fi footage; but the real surprise starts at the 45min mark.


     
  21. Doug Sclar

    Doug Sclar Forum Legend

    Location:
    The OC
    Likewise. I saw them twice in early 67, once at the Carousel Theater (small in the round venue) and once at the Hollywood Bowl, which was a 93 cent concert featuring the Supremes.

    First thing I remember about them was their name. The Jefferson Airplane broke here at about the same time and although they were totally different, their names seemed a bit similar to me. Go figure?
     
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  22. sixelsix

    sixelsix Forum Resident

    Location:
    memphis, tn, usa
    From what I remember reading/hearing, this was pretty much the case. The band didn't know the limitations of their handlers until they got in the studio with them. They did get some relatively high-profile gigs early on (the summer '66 Hollywood Bowl show, which was pre-first album recording sessions, for example) but that might have had as much to do with Chris Hillman's patronage and turning people on to the band, as much as anything Greene and Stone did.

    I love the first album, warts and all. My one wish (probably expressed earlier in this thread) was that the bass and drums had been recorded somewhat better and/or been more present in the mix. Dewey was a good drummer and Bruce was an exceptional bass player. Check the playing on Pay the Price - pretty next-level rock and roll bass playing for 1966.
     
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  23. milankey

    milankey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, Ohio, USA
    Thanks for that. I imagine that reunion footage is only the tip of the iceberg of cool stuff that we will never get to see more of.
     
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  24. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Hear, hear! Always loved "Pay The Price"---and when I listen to it I end up straining and bending my ears to hear Bruce having at it.
     
  25. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Ah yes, the KHJ Appreciation Day concert. They sounded so good at that show, and Neil sang "Mr. Soul" like some possessed demon. Darn shame there was microphone hum throughout the whole concert. I think I heard it on the website Past Daily; that's the show that they did while in the middle of a stand in SF. Took a Lear Jet to LA in the morning, limo'd to the Bowl, did a short set then back to SF. That kind of overspending helped keep them permanently in the red.
     
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