Mr. Soul

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This article is about the song by Buffalo Springfield. For other uses, see Mr. Soul (disambiguation).
"Mr. Soul"
Single by Buffalo Springfield
from the album Buffalo Springfield Again
A-side"Bluebird"
ReleasedJune 15, 1967 (1967-06-15)
RecordedJanuary 9, 1967
StudioAtlantic, New York City
Genre
Length2:35
LabelAtco
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)
  • Brian Stone
  • Charles Greene
Buffalo Springfield singles chronology
"For What It's Worth"
(1966) 		"Mr. Soul"
(1967) 		"Rock 'n' Roll Woman"
(1967)

"Mr. Soul" is a song recorded by the Canadian-American rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1967.[1] It was released June 15, 1967, as the B-side to their fourth single "Bluebird" and later included on the group's second album Buffalo Springfield Again.

Background

"Mr. Soul" is about

hallucinogenic drugs.[3]

Composed on an acoustic twelve-string guitar, the dark and moody song is in double drop D tuning, which Young used in a number of other songs, such as "Ohio" and "Cinnamon Girl".[4] On the third track of Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968, Young stated that, "A lot of songs take a long time to write. Generally they take an hour and a half, two hours to write. But this one took only five minutes". The main riff of the song is based on a modified version of the riff used in the Rolling Stones "Satisfaction"[5] Young subsequently recorded several other versions of the song, often with marked stylistic changes. The song has been described by music writers as folk rock,[6] psychedelic rock,[7][8] hard rock, [9] and R&B.[10]

In a contemporary review of the song,

Cash Box called it "a rhythmic, funky-filled stanza".[11]

An excerpt of a live version of the song is heard in the song "Broken Arrow" (1967), with the sounds of cheering crowds, taken from the cheering for the Beatles.

Cover versions and variations

Young has frequently performed the song both solo and with various backing bands. Live recordings appear on Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968, 1993's

synthrock style on his 1982 album Trans, with vocals processed with a vocoder;[12] a live performance of this version also appears in the film Solo Trans. During the 2016 Bridge School Benefit concerts, Young guested with Metallica to perform an acoustic cover of the song.[13]

Cher recorded a cover of the song for her 1975 album

In A Chamber.[14] In 2004, Rush covered the song on their cover EP of songs from the 1960s, Feedback.[15] The song has also been recorded by The Everly Brothers in December 1968, but was not released until 1984 on their studio album Nice Guys.[16]

Iron & Wine covered the song on his live album Iron & Wine Live Bonnaroo, released in 2005.[citation needed]

The Icicle Works covered the song on the 12" version of All the Daughters (Of Her Father's House).

Model Zero covered the song on their self titled album from 2019.

Personnel

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-906002-04-6
    .
  2. AllMusic
    . Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-9529540-4-0
    .
  4. ^ McDonough, James (2003). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. New York City: Anchor. p. 194.
  5. ^ "Neil Young". sugarmtn.org. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  6. ISBN 978-1-933237-39-8
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0761149415
    .
  9. ISBN 0907188249
    .
  10. ^ Masley, Ed (May 30, 2017). "Sgt. Pepper and beyond: A look back at 20 great albums released in 1967". azcentral. Retrieved November 3, 2023. ...on the psychedelic R&B of "Mr. Soul"...
  11. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 1, 1967. p. 16. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  12. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Neil Young: Trans – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  13. rollingstone.com
    . Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  14. ^ https://www.45cat.com/record/c47019
  15. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Rush: Feedback – Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  16. ISBN 978-0-275-99902-5
    .
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