Again
The Byrds gave us chiming guitars and then, with the addition of Gram Parsons, a pure Country sound that was better than 90% of what Nashville was then cranking out. Buffalo Springfield gave us a rock 'n' roll band that grew from the folk circuit, from Stills, who brought Country and the oldest, most traditional folk, from the South, meeting with Furay, who brought a mild Country sensibility. Richie had met Neil Young, who had been part of the Canadian folk scene, briefly in New York. The Country roots origin of Buffalo Springfield were completed with Dewey Martin, who'd played with The Dillards. Along with Neil's friend Bruce Palmer, this quintet was a rock band simply trying to make the best music, which meant it must avoid teeny bop pop and Tin Pan Alley cliches, musically and lyrically, and that had them reworking Country and folk sources with a rock 'n' roll heart and attitude.
This is the best Buffalo Springfield album, and its importance merits 5 stars. My down ranking to 4 stars is because this should be a remastered version with at least one added cut: the 9 minute jam version of 'Bluebird' that apparently is not available anywhere today. Yes, all things considered, I prefer the 4 minute, originally released version and rank it a Classic, but the 9 minute version is perhaps more important to rock history, for it was an indispensable source for especially Southern rock bands as they forged long, jamming epics such as 'Free Bird' and 'High Tides and Green Grass.'
Beyond that, this album is loaded. In addition to 'Bluebird,' 'Mr. Soul' is an all-time Classic, and 'Broken Arrow, 'Rock 'N' Roll Woman,' and 'Expecting to Fly' are all brilliant. Richie's 'A Child's Claim to Fame' is nearly as good. No song is a throwawy.
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