Buffalo Springfield - Last Time Around

Buffalo Springfield fell apart after the release of Again, working sporadically on individual members' tracks in the studio and playing concerts with incomplete lineups. Bassist Bruce Palmer was deported to Canada following a drug bust and replaced by Jim Messina (later of Loggins and fame). Follwoing the break-up, Messina and Richie Furay put together a final studio album from extant finished songs. Here Neil Young's contributions are down to two songs and a co-writing cerdit on one of Furay's.

Not only were his contributions dwindling, but his style seems to be regressing. "On the Way Home" is a solid tune, but sounds like the straightforward folk-rock the other members had been producing. The song could just as easily have been written by Stephen Stills. "I Am a Child" is a bit more interesting due the haunting minor-key shifts in the verse melody, but it still sounds like the same strain of west coast country-rock Furay had been exploring as his own writing developed.

Furthermore, I can't find my own copy of it. I'm not even sure if I ever owned it, though I'm pretty sure I know most of the songs on the track list. So the tracks posted here aren't even from vinyl. Bit of an underwhelming end to the first week, but Young was just getting started, and would bounce back strong upon going solo. I'll get into his debut on Monday.

Buy it... (tempting, I know) on vinyl.

From my deck to you: Buffalo Springfield - "On the Way Home" and "I Am a Child"