Mr. Soul

"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.

This article is about the song by Buffalo Springfield. For other uses, see Mr. Soul (disambiguation).
"Mr. Soul"
Single by Buffalo Springfield
A-side"Bluebird"
ReleasedJune 15, 1967 (1967-06-15)
RecordedJanuary 9 & April 4, 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)

Background

"Mr. Soul" is about Neil Young's personal problems with fame and disregard towards rock stardom.[2] It was written by Young after experiencing an epilepsy attack after an early show with Buffalo Springfield in San Francisco. Many people in the audience were questioning if it was part of the act.[3] While being a patient at UCLA Medical Center, he wrote the song once he was awake and recovering and told to return for further tests.[3] The lyrics had reflected Young's experience, feeling as though he was about to die.[3] Thereupon, he was advised by his doctor to never take LSD or any other 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". 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,[5] psychedelic rock,[6][7] and hard rock.[8]

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 Unplugged and 1997's Year of the Horse with Crazy Horse. In addition, Young re-recorded the song in a synthrock style on his 1982 album Trans, with vocals processed with a vocoder;[9] 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.[10]

Cher recorded a cover of the song for her 1975 album Stars (Cher album). In 2004, Rush covered the song on their cover EP of songs from the 1960s, Feedback.[11] 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.[12]

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

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

Personnel

References
  1. Priore, Domenic (2007). Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood. London: Jawbone Press. ISBN 978-1-906002-04-6.
  2. Greenwald, Matthew. Song Review by Matthew Greenwald at AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  3. Rogan, Johnny (2001). Neil Young: Zero to Sixty – A Critical Biography. Music Sales Distributed. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-9529540-4-0.
  4. McDonough, James (2003). Shakey: Neil Young's Biography. New York City: Anchor. p. 194.
  5. Luft, Eric v.d. (2009). Die at the Right Time!: A Subjective Cultural History of the American Sixties. Gegensatz Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-933237-39-8.
  6. DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
  7. Moon, Tom (2008). 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List. Workman. p. 130. ISBN 978-0761149415.
  8. Joynson, Vernon (1984). The Acid Trip: A Complete Guide to Psychedelic Music. Babylon Books. p. 60. ISBN 0907188249.
  9. Ruhlmann, William. "Neil Young: Trans – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  10. Kreps, Daniel. "Metallica Perform with Neil Young Cover the Clash at Bridge School". rollingstone.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  11. Jurek, Thom. "Rush: Feedback – Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  12. Bielen, Kenneth G. (2008). The Words and Music of Neil Young. Praeger Publishers. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-275-99902-5.
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