Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Found this clip of Buffalo Springfiel doing Mr. Soul and thought others might like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3_n3ZN8VDg&search=buffalo%20springfield

Cool,

Whats up with the bass player? That seems like a strange thing to do.

The lead solos kill me too. Neil looks very young (no pun intended) and Stephen Stills looks awkward. Who was the drummer anyone know his name? He looks like he flew in from England for the gig.

What was the deal with the bass player being shot from behind by the camera? I saw a lot of these Hollywood Palace Shows but don't remember this one. Boy, I bet Steve Stills wished he had the same weighed.

Wasn't Dewey Martin the drummer? Also the bass would have been played by Jim Messina (of Loggins & Messina fame)-- if that was him.

From Wilkepedia:


"In one of rock history's most synchronous moments, Young and Palmer ran into Stills while stuck in Los Angeles's notorious traffic, Stills having recognized Young's distinctive mode of transportation.

It was not long before the trio, along with Ritchie Furay on rhythm guitar and Dewey Martin on drums, formed the Buffalo Springfield. The Springfield immediately caused a rapturous local sensation because of Furay's stage presence and, perhaps more importantly, the guitar duels between co-lead guitarists Stills and Young.

On stage, relatively tame numbers such as "Bluebird" and "Mr. Soul" were expanded into weaving, deeply intertwined ten minute epics. Though Palmer's bass playing was fairly understated as compared to the fretwork of Stills and Young, his propulsive, deeply pulsating work ensured that the tension-filled jams (often evocative of personal differences between the two guitarists) did not devolve into the noisy madness that characterizes most late-60s psychedelic-inspired rock jamming."

So the bass player was a Canadian as well. Bruce Palmer.

More stuff from the Buffal Springfield website:

"Born in 1946, in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada, the enigmatic Bruce Palmer is known mostly as the original bassist in Buffalo Springfield, one of the greatest rock groups of the 1960s. Although Buce Palmer did not sing or write any material during his time in the band, he was a vital member, both on-stage and (at least in the beginning) in the studio, for providing much of the "rock" muscle in the band's folk-rock with his powerful, creative basslines.

He was also its most mysterious member, playing with his back to the audience and often even posing in photographs with his face away or hidden from the camera. Some bad luck and personal problems interrupted his stint in Buffalo Springfield several times, however, and he was eventually replaced by Jim Messina shortly before the band split up."

About Bruce Palmer - Although Palmer plays on everything on Buffalo Springfield's first album and most of the second, he's not on most of the band's third and last LP. Actually, he first left the group in January 1967, when he was busted for marijuana possession and deported back to Canada. The group used a couple different bassists (Ken Koblun and Jim Fielder) over the next few months, until Palmer managed to get back into the United States and rejoin in June. Another bust for various offenses, including speeding without a driver's license and drug possession, led to his final departure from Buffalo Springfield in January 1968, Jim Messina taking his place. The group only lasted a few more months without Palmer, disbanding in May 1968.

I should have mentioned that Bruce Palmer died of a heart attack on October 4, 2004.

Brian, this was like a school day in R&R 101

Rock School rules yeah yeah yeah!



Thanks for posting the film clip Greg.

That was lip synched, I think Youngs first guitar solo was live but all the rest was direct from the single. Even For what it's worth was lip synched. Mr Soul is by far their best song for me though.

Mr. Soul is great. I saw NY&CH in the mid '80's, they opened with that, the loudest and most rockin' concert I have seen. More rockin than Zep!

A shame Buffalo Springfield didn't last longer than they did, but they spawned some mighty bands.