Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield recorded just three studio albums in their short, volatile life, but this late-‘60s combo introduced the world to Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Poco’s Richard Furay, and helped plant the seeds for future country-rock and ‘70s folk-based expression. (The Eagles owe a great debt.) The band’s great diversity in both songwriting and performance made it one of the era’s finest, immediately scoring with Stills’ “For What It’s Worth,” a song that virtually defined the paranoia of the Vietnam era in America with its haunting, trembling guitar work and its suggestion that if you “step out of line, the man comes and takes you away.” The band could also be heartbreakingly romantic with Furay’s “Kind Woman,” cryptically psychedelic with Young’s “Mr. Soul,” “Broken Arrow” and “Expecting to Fly,” but still keep its pop head (“Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing,” “Sit Down I Think I Love You”) and deliver illustrative instrumental work (“Bluebird”). This Retrospective offers a brief, broad view of the band’s accomplishments. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself soon doing further research.