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The band themselves were displeased with this record, feeling that the production did not capture their on-stage energy and excitement. Yet to most ears, this debut sounds pretty great, featuring some of their most melodic and accomplished songwriting and harmonies, delivered with a hard-rocking punch. "For What It's Worth" was the hit single, but there are several other equally stunning treasures. Stephen Stills' "Go and Say Goodbye" was a pioneering country-rock fusion; his "Sit Down I Think I Love You" was the band at their poppiest and most early Beatlesque; and his "Everybody's Wrong" and "Pay the Price" were tough rockers. Although Neil Young has only two lead vocals on the record (Richie Furay sang three other Young compositions), he's already a songwriter of great talent and enigmatic lyricism, particularly on "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," "Out of My Mind," and "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong." The entire album bursts with thrilling guitar and vocal interplay, with a bright exuberance that would tone down considerably by their second record. [A 1997 CD reissue presents both mono and stereo mixes of the album, and includes "Baby Don't Scold Me" (which was on the first pressing of the record, but was soon replaced by "For What It's Worth").]
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Although the Byrds receive more credit (and perhaps rightfully so), Buffalo Springfield, in some respects, were just as responsible for the country-rock and singer/songwriter explosion that continued through the full flight of the Eagles and later mutated into '90s neo-country. This 1966 debut reveals the precocious songwriting talents of both Neil Young and Stephen Stills; check out Stills's Beatlesque "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" and Young's weird (for '66!) but classic "Burned." Their next album, Again, is widely considered their best effort, but this is an excellent debut, made even stronger with the addition of their hit, the single-only "For What It's Worth." The CD offers both stereo and mono versions of each track. --Bill Holdship
Tinny production and the band's own tentativeness mar this set. That said, there are several very fine moments--Neil's "Out of My Mind," "Burned" and especially "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" are light years beyond his band mates' contributions on the original (mono) portion of the set. That's not to negate the other songs, mind you, but ... there's good and then there's **good**. As if taking the bait, Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth"--added after it became a hit, and included in the "stereo" portion here--is as perfect a "protest" song ever recorded, transcending its origins (the Sunset Strip riots) by never saying what, exactly, is going down. Of note, the mono set restores the much-bootlegged "Baby Don't Scold Me" to its proper place (it was dropped in favor of "For What It's Worth" after that single became a hit).
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