Richie Furay Admits Frustration Over Aborted Buffalo Springfield Reunion

Richie Furay has enjoyed fronting his own band during promotional dates for his new album Hand in Hand, but he hasn't forgotten the way some of the songs on the record started — as new material for a potential Buffalo Springfield album.

Furay opened up to ABC News Radio about the fallout from the band's short run of dates in 2011 — a brief tour that was supposed to turn into something bigger, until Furay and Stephen Stills found themselves left holding the bag after their ever-unpredictable bandmate Neil Young walked away from the reunion.

"I think everybody was having fun. What was 30 days out of your life ... when you're a musician and that's what you're gonna do? But Neil, his idea was, you know, 'I don't want to go back and play those old songs,'" sighed Furay. "So what did he do? He went out and he played all the old songs with Crazy Horse again. But that's his thing."

That's par for the course with Young, which Furay readily notes, saying, "I respect him for who he is as a musician, what he's done with his life as a musician, and you're either gonna flow with it or not." And he's also quick to point out that he ended up with the songwriting kernel of his new album, which led him where he is today: "I've got my own band and I make my own music, and I'm happy."

And even after the frustration following the 2011 shows, which he says left Stills particularly embittered, Furay isn't willing to rule out the possibility of another attempt at getting Buffalo Springfield back together — although he vows he'd do everything he could to safeguard against another collapse.

"If it ever came up again, it would certainly be under different circumstances. I would want to know commitment," he pointed out. "I'll never say never, but will it ever happen? I doubt it."

Furay's new Hand in Hand album includes "Don't Tread on Me," which we premiered in March.

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