Buffalo Springfield Again

Buffalo Springfield Again is the second album by Buffalo Springfield, released on Atco Records in October 1967. The album features some of the group's best-known songs, including "Mr. Soul", "Bluebird", "Expecting to Fly" and "Rock & Roll Woman", all of which were released as singles. In contrast to the band's hastily made debut album, recording for Again took place over a protracted nine-month span and was fraught with dysfunction, with each member eventually producing his own material largely independent of one another.

Buffalo Springfield Again
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 30, 1967[1]
RecordedJanuary 9 – September 18, 1967[2]
Studio
Genre
Length34:07
LabelAtco
Producer
Buffalo Springfield chronology
Buffalo Springfield
(1966)
Buffalo Springfield Again
(1967)
Last Time Around
(1968)
Singles from Buffalo Springfield Again
  1. "Bluebird" / "Mr. Soul"
    Released: June 1967
  2. "Rock & Roll Woman" / "A Child's Claim to Fame"
    Released: September 1967
  3. "Expecting to Fly" / "Everydays"
    Released: December 1967
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[10]
The Village VoiceA−[11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]

The album was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, and came to be regarded by many rock critics as a classic of the psychedelic era. In 2003, the album was ranked number 188 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[13] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.[14] The album was included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[15]—and in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[16] It was voted number 165 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums in 2000.[17]

Background

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Several factors may have contributed to the slow pace of the recording sessions, including that bassist Bruce Palmer had been deported in January and had re-entered the United States illegally to continue working with the band, and guitarist Neil Young had quit and rejoined the group on several occasions, notably absent for the band's appearance at the famed Monterey Pop Festival where David Crosby substituted in his place at the request of guitarist Stephen Stills.[18][19]

The album features the first recordings of songs written by guitarist Richie Furay, who had not contributed any material to the band's debut album. Also unlike the previous record, which had been recorded in its entirety by the band proper, session musicians appeared on various tracks as indicated on the album's inner sleeve. Palmer's deportation issues necessitated the contributions of outside bass players. During one of the times that Young had left the band, he had booked a studio to record "Expecting to Fly," with session musicians under the impression it was for a Neil Young solo project rather than for Buffalo Springfield.[20] Phil Spector Wrecking Crew associate Jack Nitzsche provided the musical arrangements for "Expecting to Fly"; it does not feature any members of the Springfield. Nitzsche would continue to work with Young through the early 1970s on both his solo debut album and his best-selling Harvest, also becoming a member of Young's backing bands Crazy Horse and The Stray Gators.

The album includes an early country rock track by Furay, "A Child's Claim to Fame." The track "Rock & Roll Woman" allegedly includes vocals by Crosby, who also allegedly had a hand in its composition; whether true or not, Stills acknowledges the genesis of the song was from jamming with Crosby.[21] Cash Box said of "Rock & Roll Woman" that it's a "mid-tempo rock ballad" and that "throaty vocals with a shimmering group backing are spiced with some outstanding guitar showing."[22] Record World called "Rock & Roll Woman" an "imaginative, different rock song."[23] Young's extended piece "Broken Arrow" begins with audience applause (taken not from a Buffalo Springfield show, but rather from a concert by the Beatles) and the opening of "Mr. Soul" (which opens the album) recorded live in the studio. The back cover of the album includes a lengthy list of people thanked as influence and inspiration, some of whom are musicians who contributed but were unaccredited. The album is dedicated to Barry Friedman, and listed as a York/Pala production. The album was remastered for compact disc in HDCD and reissued on June 24, 1997.

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Mr. Soul"Neil YoungYoung2:48
2."A Child's Claim to Fame"Richie FurayFuray2:09
3."Everydays"Stephen StillsStills2:38
4."Expecting to Fly"YoungYoung and Furay3:39
5."Bluebird"StillsStills and Furay4:28
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Hung Upside Down"StillsFuray and Stills3:24
2."Sad Memory"FurayFuray3:00
3."Good Time Boy"FurayDewey Martin2:11
4."Rock & Roll Woman"StillsStills2:44
5."Broken Arrow"YoungYoung and Furay6:11

Personnel

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Adapted from band researcher and archivist Joel Bernstein.[24]

Buffalo Springfield

Session musicians

Production

  • Producers – Brian Stone (Track 1), Charles Greene (Track 1), Neil Young (Tracks 2, 3, 4, 9, 10), Stephen Stills (Tracks 3, 5, 6, 9), Ahmet Ertegun (Tracks 3, 5), Jack Nitzsche (Track 4), Jim Messina (Track 6), Richie Furay (Track 7), Dewey Martin (Track 8)
  • Recording engineers – Bruce Tergesen (Track 1), Ross Myerling (Tracks 2, 6), Jim Messina (Tracks 2, 6, 8, 9, 10), James Hilton (Track 3), Bruce Botnick (Tracks 4, 5), William Brittan (Track 7), Bill Lazarus (Tracks 7, 10), Tom May (Track 10)
  • Design – Loring Eutemey
  • Cover illustration – Eve Babitz[25]
  • HDCD digital mastering – Tim Mulligan
  • Analog to digital transfers – John Nowland, Pflash Pflaumer

Charts

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Album -
(United States)
Year Chart Position
1968 Billboard Pop Albums 44
Cashbox Albums Charts[26] 33
Record World Album Charts[27] 36
Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year Single Chart Position
June 1967 "Bluebird" (1:59 edit) / "Mr Soul" Pop Singles 58
September 1967 "Rock And Roll Woman" / "A Child's Claim To Fame" Pop Singles 44
December 1967 "Expecting To Fly" / "Everydays" Pop Singles 98
Singles - Cash Box (United States)[28]
Year Single Chart Position
June 1967 "Bluebird" (1:59 edit) / "Mr Soul" Pop Singles 68
September 1967 "Rock And Roll Woman" / "A Child's Claim To Fame" Pop Singles 52
December 1967 "Expecting To Fly" / "Everydays" Pop Singles 99
Singles - Record World (United States)[29]
Year Single Chart Position
June 1967 "Bluebird" (1:59 edit) / "Mr Soul" Pop Singles 63
September 1967 "Rock And Roll Woman" / "A Child's Claim To Fame" Pop Singles 39
December 1967 "Expecting To Fly" / "Everydays" Pop Singles 92

References

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  1. ^ "Neil Young Archives Timeline". Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  2. ^ Buffalo Springfield – Box Set (deluxe box set booklet). Buffalo Springfield. ATCO Records. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ Buffalo Springfield – Box Set (deluxe box set booklet). Buffalo Springfield. ATCO Records. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites". www.richieunterberger.com. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  5. ^ Gallucci, Michael (18 November 2013). "The Top 100 Albums of the '60s". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  6. ^ Gallucci, Michael (18 November 2013). "The Top 100 Albums of the '60s". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  7. ^ Peter Buckley, The Rough Guide to Rock, (Rough Guides, 2003), ISBN 1843531054, p.147.
  8. ^ Buffalo Springfield – Box Set (deluxe box set booklet). Buffalo Springfield. ATCO Records. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Richie Unterberger review of Buffalo Springfield Again". Allmusic.
  10. ^ Rolling Stone: Vol 1. No. 3, December 14, 1967, p. 19
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 20, 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967". The Village Voice. New York. p. 69. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  13. ^ [1] Archived January 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0899190251. Retrieved March 16, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  16. ^ ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  17. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 92. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  18. ^ Casetext website United States v. Palmer retrieved 26 March 2017
  19. ^ "Buffalo Springfield again: A conversation with Richie Furay", Goldmine Magazine, retrieved 26 March 2017]
  20. ^ Google Books website Kupernik, Harvey. Neil Young: Heart of Gold retrieved 26 March 2017
  21. ^ "Rock & Roll Woman", Rolling Stone magazine website retrieved 26 March 2017
  22. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 16, 1967. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  23. ^ "Single Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 16, 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  24. ^ Buffalo Springfield – Box Set (deluxe box set booklet). Buffalo Springfield. ATCO Records. 2001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Anolik, Lili (2019). Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the secret history of L.A. New York: Scribner. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-5011-2579-9.
  26. ^ "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  27. ^ "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-10-06.
  28. ^ "CASH BOX MAGAZINE: Music and coin machine magazine 1942 to 1996". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  29. ^ "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2021-03-07.