Buffalo Springfield, deep into the sixties

At the heart of the sixties, the British Invasion and its raging rhythm'n'blues ruled the kingdom. But this didn’t prevent some groups from offering up an alternative.

Buffalo Springfield is one of those groups, led by Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay and completed by bassist Bruce Palmer and drummer Dewey Martin. From their eponymous first album, Buffalo Springfield, which appeared at the end of 1966, their attention was turned towards folk-rock, psychedelic, country (like with Go And Say Goodbye) and even pop (with Sit Down I Think I Love You). It’s a cocktail that often touches the sublime (like the protest hit song For What It's Worth by Stills) and remains the cornerstone of 60's folk rock, just like the ballad Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing by Neil Young.

This atypical group remains especially fascinating for the assortment of its strong personalities. Though it was exactly for that reason that the group came to an end. As early as their second album release in November 1967 (Buffalo Springfield Again) the cracks began to show - notably between Stills and Young who were fighting over artistic direction. Each leader signed his own themes, like Broken Arrow, Mr Soul and Expecting To Fly for the Canadian and Bluebird for the American...

With the aptly named Last Time Around, Buffalo Springfield took its final bow, with Neil Young even jumping ship before the end of the recording of this third opus that was released during the summer of 1968. Even the album cover is in fact a montage simulating a group shot... From there after, the various members found further success independently: Neil Young took off solo, Richie Furay went on to form the band Poco and Stills joined David Crosby and Graham Nash for the trio Crosby, Stills & Nash...

This 5CD box set brings together the stereo mixes of the three albums and the mono mixes of Buffalo Springfield and Buffalo Springfield Again, all remastered from the original analogue tapes under the direction of Neil Young. An essential collection from a crucial band in the history of rock.