1964, being the year of
The Beatles, was also the very end of the folk group phenomenon. After the success of groups such as The Serendipity Singers and
The New Christy Minstrels, there were countless 'clone groups', and indeed,
The Au Go-Go Singers were one. However, the one thing that makes them interesting is the fact that they contained two members who, just over a year later, would provide the nucleus of The Buffalo Springfield,
Stephen Stills and
Richie Furay. After a few seasons of touring, a contract was offered by Roulette Records. The results here are predictably bland, professional and well executed group hootenanny folk music. However, there a couple of shining individual moments here by Stills and Furay. Furay's performance of the folk ballad standard, "Where I'm Bound," clearly shows what an incredibly talented singer Richie was, even at this early stage. Better still is
Stephen Stills vocals and arrangement of "High Flying' Bird," a true coffeehouse staple of the time. His soulful, whisky-soaked voice belied is age (a mere 19 years at the time). When the Au Go-Go Singers disbanded, a few of them (including Stills, but not Furay) toured briefly in Canada as The Company. At one stop the opening band was Neil Young and The Squires, and the rest, as they say, is history. ~ Matthew Greenwald