the buffalo springfield
Though they lacked the commercial success of many of their contemporaries, Buffalo Springfield had a significant impact on the direction of American music. Indeed, it is said that "apart from the Byrds, no other American band had as great an impact on folk-rock and country-rock — really, the entire Californian rock sound." (allmusic.com)
the line-up
Buffalo Springfield initially consisted of five members: Stephen Stills, Neil Young,
Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin. Jim Messina would later
replace Palmer as the bassist. Stills and Young were the primary songwriters though Furay would grow to
offer significant writing contributions over time. Though their
combined talents created a powerful ensemble of vocal, musical, and song-writing
talent, the
individual preferences and personalities of its members stand out markedly
in the various songs. Neil Young largely focused on free-form sentimental
lyrics while at the same time brandishing a wicked guitar. Stills had an
amazing ear for solid melodies grounded in folk and blues and centered on his
great talent as an acoustic musician. Richie Furay was probably the most
polished singer of the group though he would later find himself using
songwriting to take the group further into the country-rock genre as well
as showing an avid interest old styles of music.
beginnings
Most of the members of the group crossed paths at various times during the
early sixties as they moved in and out of start-up bands trying to build their
careers. In the end, Stills and Furay ended up together as a pair
in L.A. while Palmer and Young later arrived to the city together as well. In
a well-known story, each pair of musicians hoped to find the other in order to
propose a collaboration but it was only with the happenstance of Stills spying
Young driving through traffic in his unusual black hearse that they
connected. With the addition of Martin as a drummer, Buffalo Springfield
officially came together as a group in April 1966. Interestingly,
their
name apparently comes from a couple of signs that they saw posted on the side of a
bulldozer outside their studio!
Most of this information comes from the very informative Buffalo Springfield article on wikipedia.com |
successful shows
For some time after the initial start, the group experimented with its sound and identity
in live performances while each member honed his personal strengths in writing or playing. The
energy of the group was apparently infectious and they are said to have had some wicked live
shows in which the instrumental talents of all the members really shone. Most famously, they played
on an ongoing basis at the popular Whisky a GoGo for a number of months.
The original style and obvious talent of the group garnered much interest.
for what it's worth
The first album of the group was released in October 1966
without much success. Some of the band members blame this on poor
production choices, something that would continue to be an issue throughout the
existence of the group. It took the release of Stills' song "For What It's Worth"
(inspired
by the Sunset Strip riots) for the band to have a huge hit nationwide.
Their album "Buffalo Springfield" was re-released in 1967 with this song on it and met with greater
success. The next months consisted of live shows---the energy and caliber of which
increased the band's prestige---and preparations for another album.
on the verge
During this time, Palmer would be arrested and temporarily
deported to Canada. A variety of players would take over his bass role in
the interim. Young suggests that the members of the group were too
young and inexperienced not to be full of themselves at this point, and it is
clear that he and Stills as the de facto leaders of the group had clashing
egos. It led to the departure of Young from the group for some time as
well. In the end, the group somehow managed to
release a consistent album in November 1967. The album is considered by many to
be one of their best and contains a number of impressive and already popular
tracks that nevertheless did not become big hits. As before, the group blamed
this on the spirit of their live shows not coming through on the album.
Emphasizing this
point is the fact that bootleg versions of their
live shows were playing freely on the radio at the time.
at the end
Though the albums were not selling as expected, the popularity, influence, and
prestige of the group was still evident at this time, and it seemed that they
were poised for great success. The heady effects of fame and the stress of
trying to match commercial success with critical acclaim began to take a toll on
their nerves, however, and threatened the groups already strained unity.
Additional problems developed when Palmer was deported for drugs once again and was replaced
permanently by Jim Messina. The group continued to work on yet another
album but Young became less and less involved overall. Even Stills became
less interested in the project, and the album kind of became more of a project
of Furay and Messina.
The group
finally disbanded in April 1968 after which their final album called "Last
Time Around" was released. It is a more polished album and toned
significantly differently from their previous releases. This lack of grit is cited as one of the reasons it is considered
the lesser of the Springfield albums though I actually find it to be quite a
nice set of music.
buffalo springboard
Perhaps one of the most amazing things about Buffalo Springfield is to
realize the great success that many of its individual members would go on to
have. Most significantly, Stephen Stills would help found super-group
Crosby, Stills, and Nash which Neil Young would join occasionally as well. Young also
had phenomenal solo success, gaining a versatility and respect in the music
industry that would allow him to continue making hit records decades in the
future. Stills would continue to have a good deal of solo and
collaborative success as well. Richie Furay and Jim Messina went on to
found the
popular country-rock group Poco as well as participating in other successful collaborations later.
Martin and Palmer would have less fame but continued pursuing musical interests
and even kept the Buffalo Springfield name alive in tribute bands at various
times.
better late than never
As time has gone on, more and more people have recognized the
innovative nature of the music that Buffalo Springfield produced and how it
affected a number of movements that followed. In 1997, the group was
rightfully inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2001, a box set
of rarities and various live performances was released with much acclaim.
Given their lack of commercial success in their heyday, the group probably would have been quite surprised at the time to know
what respect their work would be given in the future.