BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD - LAST SHOW 1968
July 12, 2009 – 4:05 am
Click on the panels for a better view or to download artwork.
BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD
Last Show 1968 [no label, 1CD]
Live at Long Beach Arena, CA, May 5, 1968.
For those who are intrigued by the musical collage on the hidden track, This Is It, on Disc 1 of Neil Young’s Archives Vol 1, here are the rest of the songs. This Is It is a 14-minute collage of mainly Rock ‘n Roll Woman (part of the song), A Child’s Claim to Fame (more or less complete) and Bluebird (about seven minutes or so) of Buffalo Springfield’s last show in 1968.
Formed in 1966, Buffalo Springfield’s lineup featured Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Jim Messina, Richie Furay and Dewey Martin. Today, they would have been seen as a supergroup. The group released three albums and lasted about 25 months but its legacy has been long lasting.
This recording has been circulating, especially among Neil Young fans, for a while and though the sound leaves much to be desired (some consider the sound “poor”), it is historically significant, especially for the extended 22-minute Bluebird which became known as the band’s swansong.
For those who own either the DVD or the Blu-ray set of Neil Young’s Archives Vol 1 and want to locate the hidden tracks/video clips (or Easter eggs as they are commonly known), go to the individual pages of each song. Look for the feather that is pinned to the file card. (Note that not all pages/tracks have hidden tracks.) Click on the feather and this will highlight the hidden track. Also access the “More/Timeline” page. Click on the coloured pushpins there.
Note: Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
These tracks are no longer available for download. Kindly email us at [email protected] if you want to download them at a later date.
01. Introduction
02. Rock ‘n Roll Woman (up to “The Buffalo Springfield will not perform unless you go back to your seat!”)
03. Rock n’ Roll Woman (cont’d)
04. A Child’s Claim to Fame (omitted - officially released)
05. Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing
06. Good Time Boy
07. Mr. Soul
08. Uno Mundo
09. For What It’s Worth
10. Bluebird
Lineup:
Richie Furay - guitar, vocal
Stephen Stills - guitar, vocal
Neil Young - guitar, vocal
Jim Messina - bass
Dewey Martin - drums
Click on the link to order the Buffalo Springfield
15 Responses to “BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD - LAST SHOW 1968”
Excellent performance. However, the audio board of this show had a problem. It appears that whenever the singers were to “hot” on the mics, their vocals became distorted.
By Timmy on Jul 12, 2009
i’ll take it
By heli0tr0pe on Jul 18, 2009
This was my first concert! After the show was over, we walked right into the dressing room where Stills was playing piano, and everybody else was talking. No security at all, different days.
By Just Bill on Jul 19, 2009
I’m glad somebody mentioned the mic problems, or I’d have thought it was my equipment crappin’ out. Too bad, cuz it was otherwise a great show.
By O.B. Dan on Jul 19, 2009
Aloha! qur
By Gundosknh on Jun 3, 2010
I don`t think i gave this group enough credit when they were around and now all these years later i can`t get enough of them.thanks.
By sluggo on Sep 13, 2011
In ‘67 or ‘68 I saw BS with Canned Heat and Paul Revere & the Raiders @ UCI. Any also see that one. Also was it 67 or 68?
thanks
By Richard on Mar 2, 2012
Since thr ringing continues in my ears, I can listen to this not so perfect recording of Buffalo Springfield and appreciate it better. Found some studio and rehearsal tapes of my late wife’s singing in our band Archangel from 1991, about 2 hours worth. Nice to hear again her singing and also her talking and laughing. Thank God if you have hearing, and usually in stereo. “If man were meant to have Quad, he’d been born with four ears!”
By 4yrsnojob on Oct 21, 2012
“And if he were meant to have 5.1, he’d have two on each side of his head, one on his forehead, and one big one just above his butt to catch the bass.”
By 4yrsnojob on Oct 21, 2012
Don’t know what the earphones would look like on that last configuration. Butt you’d better be careful how you wipe!
By 4yrsnojob on Oct 21, 2012
This show’s notes aree off - Neil left the band in 67- see Monterey Pops show where David Crosby is sitting in for Neil. By 68 NY was doing his first solo album. Also, the original bass player was Bruce Palmer - deported back to Canada in 68 after a pot bust - that’s when Messina stepped in - last album only.
By bj on Oct 24, 2012
i believe neil is on this recording. the following is from wikipedia which none of u wanna believe anyway….
Although Palmer returned to the group at the beginning of June, Young had already left and as a result missed the celebrated Monterey Pop Festival, at which the band performed with former Daily Flash and future Rhinoceros member Doug Hastings on guitar and guest David Crosby. Young eventually returned on October 7 or 8th at the Third Eye in Redondo Beach, California, and after bidding adieu to Greene and Stone (Ertegün convinced the duo to release the band from production and management agreements), the band divided its time between playing concert gigs and putting the finishing touches on its second album, ultimately titled Buffalo Springfield Again, produced by Ertegün himself.
Although more of an amalgam of individual work than an integrated group effort, Buffalo Springfield Again is considered by many critics and fans to be the group’s finest record. Released in November 1967, it includes “Mr. Soul” (the version of which that appears as the B side of the edited “Bluebird” has a completely different guitar lead than the stereo LP version and has yet to be issued on CD), “Rock & Roll Woman”, “Bluebird”, “Sad Memory”, and “Broken Arrow.” The group was featured playing “Bluebird” in an episode of the television series Mannix called “Warning: Live Blueberries”, which aired on October 28, 1967.
For many Buffalo Springfield fans it is “Bluebird”, a Stephen Stills composition, that was then and remains the band’s peak. Unlike the studio version – which winds down after the instrumental break with a plaintive rendition of the third verse, accompanied by a banjo – in live performances the opening verses of “Bluebird” served as a springboard for an extended jam session, during which Stills, Young and Furay intertwined guitars for minutes on end. One such “live jam” version which was officially released on the 1973 compilation Buffalo Springfield had become a staple of FM radio in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
[edit] Last Time AroundWith strong reviews appearing all over the country, not only of Buffalo Springfield Again but of the band’s performance as part of the Beach Boys Fifth Annual Thanksgiving Tour, things were looking up.
However, in January 1968 Palmer’s second deportation for drug possession once again threw a wrench into the works. This time, guitarist and studio engineer Jim Messina was hired as a permanent replacement on bass. With Palmer gone for good, Young also began to appear less and less frequently, often leaving Stills to handle all the lead guitar parts at concerts. Recording sessions were booked, and all the songs that appeared on their final album were recorded by the end of March, usually with Messina producing, but the group was clearly on the verge of disbanding. In April 1968, after yet another drug bust involving Young, Furay, Messina and Eric Clapton, the group decided to break up.
The final 20th century concert appearance was at the Long Beach Arena on May 5, 1968. After the band played many of its best-known tunes, an extended 20+ minute version of “Bluebird” became the group’s swan song. Buffalo Springfield disbanded a little more than two years after it had begun.
By darth on Oct 24, 2012
Neil Young was definitely playing at the Long Beach may 5 /68 concert with Buffalo Springfield.
He told reporters after the show backstage that he was already negotiating a solo recording contract possibly with the Beach Boys “Brother records”.
By sluggo on Oct 24, 2012
It’s my belief that this lineup:Stills, Young, Messina, and Furay, had they stayed together, would’ve been the US’s answer to the Beatles. They were that good, and considering the wealth of material, those 4 came up, with over the years, there’s no doubt in my mind. I’ve been in the music business 43 years, 27 with Neil, and this is my biggest, “what if’s”.
By Stu Cohen on Mar 19, 2014
Thanks so much for reopening the link for me; such a great group, and since the promoters knew it was their last show, I don’t understand why they didn’t give them all the time they wanted for encore after encore….
By Fred Ross on Apr 28, 2016