Neil Young and Stephen Stills locked horns for the first time in Buffalo Springfield, and this five-disc collection rounds up their three-album legacy (the eponymous debut and follow-up are afforded stereo and mono variants). Newly remastered, more prominence has been given to Bruce Palmer’s bass parts, further punch is added to the percussion and the band’s triple-guitar attack bites even harder. Springfield wear their influences on their sleeves for the debut, but it still oozes confidence – from the Byrdsian jangle of Go And Say Goodbye to the Beatles-esque Sit Down, I Think I Love You and the anthemic For What It’s Worth. Young’s Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing shows an ambition to break free of the two-minute-pop straitjacket, a move fully realised on wonderful second LP Buffalo Springfield Again, an impressive leap in terms of production and scope. Young rewrites the Stones’ Satisfaction riff for the rollicking Mr. Soul and Stills contributes the funky Bluebird, a precursor to his CSN work. But it’s the former who takes the spoils here, with the multi-part Expecting To Fly and Broken Arrow. Final LP Last Time Around was completed after the Springfield had split, but Young’s I Am A Child and the Latin-flavoured Stills workout Uno Mundo are standouts.
Written by Steve Harnell. Released on Acto/Rhino.