The concert that made Neil Young leave Buffalo Springfield: “That audience wouldn’t have understood us”
Think what you want about Neil Young, but there is simply no denying that he is an artist who lives by his own decisions. Rarely has he ever made a career choice with the thought of pleasing the masses, be it in a sonic direction an album takes or an outright refusal to engage in anything remotely commercial.
We’ve seen it in more recent years, with the removal of his music from Spotify, a stalemate with social media platforms and the famous flip-flop on his Glastonbury headline performance. But those instances can’t be mistaken for the decision of a goddamn cantankerous old legend, but rather the resilience of a man who has consistently lived by his artistic values from the very start of his career.
This is an artist who turned his back on Buffalo Springfield, one of the most exciting bands of the late 1960s, which helped pioneer this new blend of psychedelic rock and folk. Despite the roaring success of this outfit, Young never wavered in his perspective and made the bold fucking decision to jump into solodom, without knowing if the net would be there to catch him when he jumped.
These sorts of decisions frighten the life out of most artists, but for Young, it was clear. It was rooted in a faithfulness to artistry. He explained, “I never really thought much about anything other than the people we were writing our songs for and the crowds that we played for live when they would come to see Buffalo Springfield – not 100 bands, Buffalo Springfield.”
He continued, “We had our own thing. So I’m saying, ‘We don’t need to dilute it with all of that and become part of that whole thing.’ I just thought that it would be good if we stayed focused on our message and what our songs were about and sing our songs directly to our fans, who loved us because of what we did.”
When Young felt that purpose slipping away, he wasted no time in leaving. But it was a balance Young would have to learn pretty quick, as the consequence of enjoying the sort of success Buffalo Springfield did was increased exposure.
The sort of exposure that takes you away from grass-roots music venues and into the warmth of studio stage lights. But Young didn’t care if his refusal to partake in that ruined his career, for him, engagement with that was non-negotiable.
“The reason I initially left the group was because I didn’t want to do the Johnny Carson Tonight Show,” he explained. ”I thought it was belittling what The Buffalo Springfield was doing. That audience wouldn’t have understood us. We’d have been just a fuckin’ curiosity to them.”
It was a valiant stance Young took as he attempted to defend music from the commercial overlords. Sadly, he couldn’t quite grasp that genuine fans of the band would be collateral damage in his decision, and despite the allure of sticking it to the man, ultimately, aren’t those the people who should be thought about with more consideration?
