Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)

Buffalo Springfield are credited with inventing the country-rock sound that defined Southern California pop for nearly two decades after their 1968 breakup, but their 1967 album Buffalo Springfield Again, a mix of psychedelia, straight rock,  old-fashioned Hollywood arranging, and freewheeling sound effects, was much more than that.  It should have been a lot less than that - Neil Young could barely commit himself to the band, they were unable to hold on to a permanent bass player, and numerous session musicians had to step in more than once to bail them out - but they were able to deliver an essential record just the same.   

The songs on Buffalo Springfield Again feature all sorts of sonic experiments, such as fuzzy guitars and brooding keyboard lines on Stephen Stills' self-aware "Everydays" and "Hung Upside Down." Meanwhile, Young and co-producer Jack Nitzsche go off on a tangent together with the sweeping strings of "Expecting To Fly" and the Picasso-like juxtaposition of different ideas - orchestral music, sound effects, and whimsical sampling - on "Broken Arrow," a confessional reaction to the pressures of fame and maturity.  Neither Young song includes any other Springfield members, but both songs cohere nicely with the band's performances on other tracks, particularly Young's brittle, intense rocker "Mr. Soul," one of the best songs he's ever written, and Stills' majestic ballad "Bluebird," which goes from joy to sorrow with a slowing tempo and an abrupt banjo line without missing a beat.  For all the emphasis on shifting gears in the middle of the album - sometimes in the middle of a song - Buffalo Springfield recognized the importance of the material itself, and the songs are sturdy enough to withstand a multitude of styles.  How else can you explain Richie Furay successfully juxtaposing his slow, soft MOR-like tearjerker ballad "Sad Memory" with his brass-laden white-soul bravado "Good Time Boy," which features a hilarious lead vocal ridiculously delivered by drummer Dewey Martin that somehow manages to produce a James Brown moment?

For those expecting to hear the sort of LA country rock that would typify pop radio in the seventies, there's Furay's sprightly lament "A Child's Claim To Fame," while the Stills tune "Rock and Roll Woman" is another gem in the same vein, with some heavy playing that rivals that on "Bluebird" and "Mr Soul."  But the linchpin of Buffalo Springfield Again is the use of disparate musical ideas, working together to produce sounds that no one had ever quite heard before.  Alas, the difficulties of getting such disparate musical personalities to work together in the same band proved more daunting, which is why Buffalo Springfield didn't last much longer.  But their commitment to the music is why this seemingly erratic album has lasted to this day.