Stampede

The group were nearly set to release a record of this name as their second LP, going as far as to take a cover photo. Despite rumors to the contrary, it seems as though the album was never finished, and that some of the material originally intended for it did actually appear on their later LPs. But the myth of an entire lost Springfield record inspired several bootlegs of the same name, containing outtakes from their early sessions. These outtakes, mostly written by Stills, may not constitute an actual lost album, but they're by and large superb nonetheless. "Neighbor, Don't You Worry," "We'll See," "My Kind of Love," and "Baby Don't Scold Me" (the last of which briefly appeared on early pressings of the first Springfield LP) are all first-rate, charging folk-rock that would have fit in well on the group's debut album. There are also considerably different alternate takes of Young's "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It" and "Down to the Wire"; one version of the latter did appear on Neil's Decade collection. This studio material is usually packaged with interesting acoustic, solo Stills and Young demos from the early Springfield era, as well as live material from an early 1967 high school show — marginal fidelity, excellent performances. Not a lost grail, the Stampede collection is nonetheless necessary for Springfield fans and highly enjoyable on its own merits.