The Byrds

Track Listings

1. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better

2. All I Really Want to Do

3. Here Without You

4. World Turns All Around Her

5. It Won't Be Wrong

6. C.T.A. - 102

7. Renaissance Fair

8. Girl With No Name

9. Wasn't Born to Follow

10. This Wheel's on Fire

Tracks:

Mr. Tambourine Man
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
The Bells Of Rhymney
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
All I Really Want To Do
Chimes Of Freedom
Eight Miles High
Mr. Spaceman
5D (Fifth Dimension)
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
My Back Pages
It Won't Be Wrong
Set You Free This Time
Have You Seen Her Face

Amazon.com

The 12-string electric guitar may never recover. As long as there are baby boomers roaming the earth, its airy jangle will signify psychedelic innocence and optimism refracted through the peculiar light of mid-'60s Los Angeles. With Roger McGuinn leading, the Byrds kicked off American rock history with a merger of Bob Dylan's words and the Beatles' melodic energy. The results are here: "Mr. Tambourine Man," "The Bells of Rhymney," and "Eight Miles High" still jump off the airwaves. The midpoint between Dylan and the Beatles is a one-of-a-kind place, where optimism and innocence still sound smart. --Steve Tignor

Customer Reviews:

The REAL best of the Byrds.......2007-07-03

The thing about the Byrds is that after they lost David Crosby and Gene Clark, they totally disintergrated into insignificance. Don't try to tell me Notorious Byrds Brothers, Sweetheart of the Rodeo or Untitled are masterpieces, because I'll only laugh at you if you do. And Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde is one of the worst albums ever. But the David Crosby/Gene Clark/Jim McGuinn/Chris Hillman/Michael Clarke Byrds were great, and this contains most of their biggest songs - in fact, the only classic they missed is Crosby's masterpiece Everybody's Been Burned, but its parent album Younger Than Yesterday is a must-have in the first place. Still, I would've taken over their dirge-like cover of Dylan's Chimes of Freedom, one of the few missteps found on the great Mr. Tambourine Man.
Every other song here is great, though: Quite a few solid Dylan covers (Mr. Tambourine Man; All I Really Wanna Do; My Back Pages, my personal favorite of the bunch), and the group's classic originals: the free jazz folk raga Eight Miles High (my favorite Byrds song); cynical, Dylanesque I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better; industry attack So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star; space-rocker 5D; folk-rocker Mr. Spaceman; and their classic Pete Seeger cover Turn! Turn! Turn!, today a radio staple.
The reissue, with bonus tracks, only makes this album better. It adds two noteworthy songs from Turn! Turn! Turn! (It Won't Be Wrong; Set You Free This Time), and one of the best songs from Younger Than Yesterday (Have You Seen Her Face?) Make sure to have this album!

Pure Nostalgia.......2007-02-12

This album brings back the spirit of the Sixties. Interestingly, we have many of the same problems now that we had then. This music got people interested in what was happening and the anti-war movement finally succeeded. Where is this kind of music these days? Back in the Sixties the politicians were old and nobody paid any attention to rock. Those in power are hipper now. Anybody who dares to speak out today is punished-- the Dixie Chicks did it and got crucified.

The Byrds Greatest Hits.......2007-01-09

I enjoyed listening to the CD, it took me back to my youth. Not a CD that I would play a lot, but when I need a trip down memeory lane, it is a good choice.

Connoisseur ........2006-11-11

Lacked only one track not in my extensive inventory but it was required to complete my reproduced CDs containing a repertoire of great artists and the tracks of music preferred.

One For The Collection.......2006-07-11

Great transaction & fast delivery. This CD was a nice fit in my collection.

Average customer rating:

It's just not that good
One of country-rock's greatest moments.
Transitional Byrds
Sweetheart of the rodeo
Classic Album

Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

G.P./Grievous Angel
Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Bros. Anthology 1969-1972
Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel
Mr. Tambourine Man
Younger Than Yesterday

ASIN: B000002AHB
Release Date: 1997-03-25

Tracks:

You Ain't Going Nowhere
I Am A Pilgrim
The Christian Life
You Don't Miss Your Water
You're Still On My Mind
Pretty Boy Floyd
Hickory Wind
One Hundred Years From Now
Blue Canadian Rockies
Life In Prison
Nothing Was Delivered
You Got A Reputation
Lazy Days
Pretty Polly
The Christian Life (Rehearsal-Take #11)
Life In Prison (Rehearsal-Take #11)
You're Still On My Mind (Rehearsal-Take #43)
One Hundred Years Form Now (Rehearsal-Take #2)
All I Have Is Memories (Instrumental)

Amazon.com essential recording

After Chris Hillman dragged new friend Gram Parsons into the Byrds, they made an album as close to a country masterpiece as a rock act could ever make. In fact, the only tunes better than the definitive covers here of songs by Bob Dylan ("You Ain't Going Nowhere"), Guthrie ("Pretty Boy Floyd"), and the Louvin Brothers ("The Christian Life") are Parsons's originals, especially the incomparable "Hickory Wind." Sweetheart wasn't the first country-rock album, but with its gorgeous three-way harmonies and sweet pedal steel, it remains the best. --David Cantwell

Album Description

Millenium digipak edition, with original artwork and 8 previously unissued bonus tracks, 'You Got A Reputation', 'Lazy Days', 'Pretty Polly', 'The Christian Life' (rehearsal take #11), 'Life In Prison' (rehearsal take #11), 'You're Still On My Mind' (rehearsal take #43), 'One Hundred Years From Now' (rehearsal take #2) & 'All I Have Is Memories' (instrumental). 2001.

Album Details

Limited Millennium Edition. Packed in a Heavy Weight Card Wallet that Faithfully Recreates the Original Vinyl Sleeve, Right Down to the Inner Bag. The Wallet Will Come in a Plastic Cover.

Customer Reviews:

It's just not that good.......2007-07-05

Sweetheart of the Rodeo has a reputation, of course, as one of the best and most influential albums of all time. And, well, it was tremendously important , almost singlehandedly inventing country rock. The fact is that I'm not a big country fan, and that ruins the listening experience for me. Now, I'm all for Johnny Cash, and when Neil Young or the Rolling Stones whip out the pedal steel, the results are often entertaining. Hell, I even think the Crosby/Clark/McGuinn/Hillman/Clarke lineup might've been able to make country-rock sound good.
One problem I have with this album are the two preachfests The Christian Life and I Am a Pilgrim. I think both are overwrought and painful. You're Still on My Mind is the stereotypical sappy country ballad; Pretty Boy Floyd is a good Woody Gurthie song mutated thanks to banjo and fiddle; You Ain't Goin' Nowhere is an insult to Dylan's excellent original, though not the group's worst Dylan cover (that would be either the space-metal This Wheel's on Fire or the toothless Positively Fourth Street), and Nothing Was Delivered indeed delivers nothing (hard to believe it's a Dylan song!) Only two self-penned songs appear on this album: one (the swaying Hickory Wind) is a classic song that even I'll admit to liking; the other (100 Years from Now) is just more brainless sap. The rest is good, though: even the syrupy Born in a Prison and the cliched Blue Canadian Rockies pack soem emotion. And I do like You Never Miss Your Water.
This is probably my favorite Mach II Byrds album, but that's not saying much: Notorious Byrds Brothers, Untitled and Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde all simply leave me wondering what the hell happened to the Byrds.

One of country-rock's greatest moments........2007-05-29

In 1968, infighting and strife had reduced the Byrds to two members, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman. Although they were both incredibly talented musicians, the two couldn't agree on a direction for the band: McGuinn wanted their next album to be a double LP that tracked the development of American music from bluegrass to Moog-based prog rock, while Hillman preferred to focus on the band's folk and country influences. The disagreement was rendered moot when the band hired guitarist and pianist Gram Parsons, who persuaded the duo to record an album of what he had dubbed "cosmic American music," a mixture of folk, country, gospel, and rock. The resulting album was a commercial flop (reaching #77 in America and not even charting in the U.K.) and a source of further contention within the group (Parsons was fired shortly after the album's release, and Hillman left the band soon afterwards).

Which is a shame because Sweetheart of the Rodeo is an incredible album. The songs are a brilliant mixture of gin-soaked honky-tonk, bleary-eyed Americana, and impeccable pop savvy. It's fun, engaging, and atmospheric, capable of invoking the breadth and depth of American music at its very best. Just listen to that oppener, an absolutely stunning version of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere." The Byrds were always excellent at reinterpreting Dylan's music, and this is no exception: It combines surreal, ethereal lyrics with McGuinn's dreamy vocals and a lush musical background that incorporates entranced guitars, hypnotic rhythms, and serenadeing organs. The end result is a beautiful, dreamlike tune that perfectly encapsulates Parsons' vision of American music. And that's just the first song on the album! "I Am A Pilgrim" and "The Christian Life" are excellent renditions of classic gospel songs. The former is a gentle swirl of fiddles, mandolins, and genuinly reverent vocals, while the latter features some marvelous harmonies (not surprising, considering that it was originally written by the Louvin Brothers). Meanwhile, the group's take of the soul standard "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a slice of heartwrending melancholia with some truly gorgeous vocals and instrumentation that'll make you forget all about Stax. "You're Still On My Mind" is pure gin-soaked bitterness, complete with saloon-storming piano. The cover of Woody Guthrie's classic "Pretty Boy Floyd" is a classic in its own right, a dizzying celebration of twirling banjos and slippery fiddles. Guthrie's lyrics, meanwhile, come off as pure poetry. Gram Parsons' "Hickory Wind" (one of the only two songs on the album to be written by a member of the group) is a truly beautiful ballad with a lilting, haunting vocal. "One Hundred Years From Now" (also written by Parsons) features a superb cascade of guitars and drums, as well as some sky-scraping vocals. "Blue Canadian Rockies" flows and churns like a river, gently winding its way through a sing-along chorus and some delicate, yearning vocals. A cover of Merle Haggard's "Life In Prison" positively brims with desperation and regret. The album concludes with another Bob Dylan tune- "Nothing Was Delivered" closes the proceedings on a solemn, haunting note, a maze of eerie melodies and layered instrumentation.

The result is a masterpiece, a scintillating slice of Americana that can stun any music fan, weather or not they like country. Get this; you won't regret it.

Transitional Byrds.......2007-05-24

Once again, the Byrds are in a state of transition. Too bad they were not to last much longer in this guise, for many reasons. The price is right and the listening is mellow. A top 20 group/personnel of the era.

Sweetheart of the rodeo.......2007-02-19

Fantastic and a must have for all Gram Parsons as well as Byrds lovers.

Classic Album.......2006-11-11

This is just plain good music. As a Gram Parsons fan, this album appeals to me just based on his limited vocal contributions. The song selections are outstanding. This is an important record.

Average customer rating:

They Put The Jingle-Jangle In Mr Tamborine Man
Full Circle
One Of The Best Box Sets This Year
Second Box Set Is Indispensable
IF IT AIN'T ON HERE, THEY DIDN'T SING IT

There Is A Season
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Legacy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Box Sets | Stores | Music

Box Sets at 30% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Pop | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Classic Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Styles | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

All Blowout Music | Blowout Music | Stores | Music

More Titles at Least 25% Off | Blowout Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Voyage
Live at Massey Hall (CD/DVD)
Live at the Fillmore East
The Complete Reprise Sessions
If I Could Only Remember My Name (CD + DVD-Audio)

ASIN: B000HEWGEW
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Tracks:

The Only Girl I Adore
Please Let Me Love You
Don't Be Long
The Airport Song
You Movin'
You Showed Me
Mr. Tambourine Man
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
You Won't Have To Cry
Here Without You
The Bells Of Rhymney
All I Really Want To Do
I Knew I'd Want You
CHimes Of Freedom
She Has A Way
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
It Won't Be Wrong
SZet You Free This Time
The World Turns All Around Her
The Day Walk
IF You're Gone
The Times They Are A-Changin'
She Don't Care About Time
Stranger In A Strange Land

Tracks:

Eight Miles High
Why
5D (Fifth Dimension)
Wild Mountain Thyme
Mr. Spaceman
I See You
What's Happening ?!?!
I Know My Rider
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
Renaissance Fair
Time Between
Everybody's Been Burned
My Back Pages
It Happens Each Day
He Was A Friend Of Mine
Lady Friend
Old John Roberston
Goin' Back
Draft Morning
Wasn't Born To Follow
Tribal Gathering
Dolphin's Smile
Triad
Universal Mind Decoder

Tracks:

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
I Am A Pilgrim
The Christian Life
You Don't Miss Your Water
Hickory Wind
One Hundred Years From Now
Lazy Days
Pretty Polly
This Wheel's On Fire
Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
Candy
Child Of The Universe
Pretty Boy Floyd
Buckaroo
King Apathy III
Sing Me Back Home
Lay Lady Lay
Oil In My Lamp
Tulsa County
Jesus Is Just Alright
Chestnut Mare
Just A Season
Kathleen's Song
All The Things

Tracks:

Lover Of The Bayou
Positively 4th Street
Old Blue
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
Ballad Of Easy Rider
You All Look Alike
Nashville West
Willin'
Black Mountain Rag
Baby What You Want Me To Do
I Trust
Take A Whiff (On Me)
Glory, Glory
Byrdgrass
Pale Blue
I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician
Nothin' To It
Tiffany Queen
Farther Along
Bugler
Mr. Tambourine Man
Roll Over Beethoven
Full Circle
Changing Heart
Paths Of Victory

Amazon.com

A newcomer to the musical progression and legacy of the Byrds could hardly expect to find a better crash course than this: four discs with 99 songs, a DVD of ten previously unissued television performances, extensive annotation. Yet longtime fans of the band might wonder what the point is. Any riches buried in the vaults have long ago been mined--first in 1990's definitive four-disc Byrds box, then on Columbia's series of extended editions of every Byrds album in the catalog, replete with previously unreleased bonus tracks. By this late date, all possible revelations have been revealed, with the five previously unissued performances here of interest mainly to completists. The familiar music is glorious, of course--the chiming guitars and soaring harmonies that brought Bob Dylan and folk-rock to the top of the charts and then soared into the stratosphere with "Eight Miles High" and all but invented country-rock with Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Yet except for the DVD, anyone who wants this much Byrds probably already has most of it. --Don McLeese

More Byrds

Mr. Tambourine Man
Turn! Turn! Turn!
Fifth Dimension

Younger Than Yesterday
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Sweetheart of the Rodeo

Greatest Hits
The Essential Byrds
The Preflyte Sessions

Customer Reviews:

They Put The Jingle-Jangle In Mr Tamborine Man.......2007-04-06

It's just about impossible to overstate the influence The Byrds had on contemporary pop music in the sixties and early seventies. After putting the tweleve string jingle-jangle into Bob Dylan's Mr Tamborine Man, one could hear that sound clear across the Atlantic as The Beatles, particularly George Harrison picked up on it on Rubber Soul. Listen to Harrison's composition If I Needed Someone and you can't help but think of The Byrds. The love affair continued on into Revolver. The Lennon/McCartney song And Your Bird Can Sing owes a debt to Roger McGuinn's It Won't Be Wrong. Listen to George Harrison's compostions I Want To Tell You and Taxman, both are indelibly stamped with The Byrds signature tweleve string sound.

The influence dosen't end with The Beatles. It continued to be felt and heard by everyone from Van Morrison on Brown Eyed Girl to Donovan's Sunshine Superman to The Kinks A Well Respected Man and The Turtles I Only Want To Be With You and eventually back to Dylan himself as he embarked on his classic Nashville Skyline album. And the most obvious Byrd devotee Tom Petty kicked off his career with American Girl, a song that many thought actually was recorded by The Byrds.

This box set gives both first time listener and Byrd afficianado an in-depth overview of their vast and varied body of work. From their PreFlight orgins to their folk-rock emergance of Mr. Tamborine Man and Turn Turn Turn to the raga-rock thunder of Eight Miles High and Fifth Diminsion to the Nashville West incarnation of Sweetheart of The Rodeo and Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde. It's all here. Listen and think back to the days when McGuinn and company were blazing a new path and so many were born to follow.

Full Circle.......2007-04-03

A lot has happened to the Byrds' body of work since 1990's Byrds Boxset, a collection which has long been unavailable and which There Is A Season sets out to replace. Starting in 1996, as befits a band of such stature, the entire Byrds Columbia/CBS catalogue has been digitally remastered and each album re-issued complete and expanded with a feast of bonus tracks - singles, outtakes, alternate takes and mixes, live performances - and a new album, Live At The Fillmore - February 1969, was dusted off from the archives and released in 2000.

These extra tracks and the copious booklet notes gave a fresh extra insight into the history of the band, which had probably more changes of line-up and musical direction than any other major band, and gave the compilers of this 4CD spin-off vast scope to draw from in telling the musical story of the band. This it does from its pre-Columbia inception in 1964 to its disbandment nearly a decade later, and, as a coda, one of four pieces the band reformed to record for the 1990 box set. As a fulsome introduction to the band it would be hard to better in value for the clarity of the recordings and the illustrative overview it provides. If a particular year or album should particularly chime, rest assured there is plenty more left to discover to warrant a separate purchase covering that section of the band's life.

Disc 1 includes the earliest known recordings by the fledgling band in 1964, from when they were known as the Jet Set and the Beefeaters onwards, and 18 of their ground-breaking 1965 folk-rock tracks, their most prolific and arguably most successful year. Disc 2 covers their psychedelic explosion in 1966 and the subsequent come-down in 1967, the last contemporary recordings of the original classic line-up.

Disc 3 launches the re-invented band featuring Gram Parsons on the seminal Sweethearts Of The Rodeo album in 1968, including some with Gram's lead vocals that weren't used after he left the band; and the following period up to 1970 with master guitarist Clarence White. These include Dr Byrds And Mr Hyde, Ballad Of Easy Rider and (Untitled). Disc 4 continues the same period with a dozen live 1970 New York performances, then fragments with various recordings from the Byrdmaniax/Farther Along era (1971), all with the same line-up of McGuinn, White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons. Two live recordings from January 1973 (with John Guerin on drums) for the film Banjomen; a reunion of the original line-up a month later featuring two Gene Clark songs; and finally, a 1990 reunion recording by McGuinn, Crosby and Hillman complete the 99-track smorgasbord.

If you should already own the expanded re-issues there is far less to tempt you to part with your money. The first disc does include a rare Jet Set recording, both sides of the Beefeaters' Elektra single and some of the readily available so-called Pre-Flyte sessions. The rest are from the 1996 re-issues (Turn! Turn! Turn! turns up in mono again, peculiarly, as it was on the expanded album). The second disc includes the authentic mono mixes of Why? (single version), Lady Friend and Old John Robertson, and a mono Swedish radio session version of He Was A Friend Of Mine.

On disc three Candy is the remixed soundtrack version, but Lay Lady Lay is again not the official version as released as a single. Contrary to the booklet information, Kathleen's Song is the standard Byrdmaniax version. Disc four fares better with 4 1970 live recordings previously unreleased and 2 only from the 1990 box set. It also has their instrumental contribution to a 1971 Earl Scruggs album; the two Banjomen soundtrack live recordings; and the 1990 box set recording. Fittingly, since their career kick-started with Mr Tambourine Man, this final track is Dylan's Paths Of Victory.

Perhaps the juiciest carrot is the fifth disc: a truly evocative DVD with 10 1960s TV appearances showing the band miming to their hit singles as go-go dancers in cages gyrate the way only sixties dancers could.

One Of The Best Box Sets This Year.......2007-02-06

Many others have talked about the importance of the Byrds and the influence of their music. If you are interested at all, buy this set. I won't repeat all of that, but I did want to add my vote for this being a great set. It is much more than a history of the Byrds, a time piece about the 60's and 70's, or a tribute to the members. It is exceptional and quintessentially American music, most of which has aged very well. Ii have the original Byrds boxed set and I bought this anyway for the new tracks on it and the DVD. I am not disappointed! It is a great set and a bargain for new or old fans.

Second Box Set Is Indispensable.......2007-01-22

During the Byrds' all too brief career (less than 10 years in all it's various incarnations through their 1973 reunion), they didn't enjoy the kind of commercial success of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, or even the Kinks or the Who for that matter. (Even Chad & Jeremy had as many Top 40 singles as the Byrds!) But history has rightly bestowed the status of legends on one of America's most influential bands. Does this justify a second box set? The answer is an unqualified, yes. While the 1990 BYRDS box set is an equally essential collection, THERE IS A SEASON includes 37 songs not on the first box set and an additional 15 songs presented in different versions (alternate takes, mono, or live). So nearly half the tracks here are new to this box set. And the bonus DVD (although brief at under 30 minutes) is a treasure trove of full song performances--all lip-synched--from a variety of TV sources.

Here's the complete rundown on what's new to the THERE IS A SEASON box set:

Disc One (64:51) - Where THE BYRDS box set began with "Mr. Tambourine Man," this set begins with six tracks from 1964. The first track is the folky "The Only Girl I know," written by McGuinn and Clark and recorded as The Jet Set. The next two tracks, "Please Let Me Love You" and "Don't Be Long," were recorded as The Beefeaters. The next three tracks, "The Airport Song," "You Movin'" and "You Showed Me," still showed the Byrds still looking for their own distinct voice, experimenting with blending folk, pop and rock. In addition, the compilers have put more emphasis on Gene Clark's songwriting this time. "You Won't Have to Cry" (co-written with McGuinn), "Here Without You," "I Knew I'd Want You," "She Has a Way," "Set You Free This Time," "The Day Walk" and "If You're Gone" are all Clark tunes. Also added are Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" and Crosby's instrumental "Stranger in a Strange Land" (taken from the expanded edition of TURN! TURN! TURN!). In addition there are the mono single versions of both Clark's "She Don't Care about Time" and Dylan's "All I Really Want to Do." Also, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is the mono "withdrawn version" taken from the expanded edition of TURN! TURN! TURN!

Disc Two (66:20) - This disc adds tracks to focus on David Crosby's songwriting talents. Several tracks from FIFTH DIMENSION are new to this set: "Wild Mountain Thyme," "I See You" and "What's Happening?!?!" along with the single mono version of "Why." The last three were all written or co-written by Crosby. Then there is the Crosby-Hillmen "Tribal Gatherings" from THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS. Also included is a 1967 live radio broadcast version of "He Was a Friend of Mine" (previously unreleased) and a bonus track from the expanded edition of THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS, "Universal Mind Decoder," which is a fascinating instrumental demo which later became "Change Is Now."

Disc Three (78:45) - There are alternate versions of "Lazy Days" and "Pretty Polly" from the Legacy Edition of SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO; "This Wheel's on Fire" from the expanded edition of DR. BYRDS & MR. HYDE; "Pretty Boy Floyd," "Buckaroo," "King Apathy III" and the Merle Haggard classic "Sing Me Back Home" all from LIVE AT THE FILLMORE; and "All the Things" from the expanded edition of (UNTITLED)/(UNISSUED). Also new to this set is "Candy" from DR. BYRDS AND MR. HYDE and "Child of the Universe" from the motion picture soundtrack CANDY.

Disc Four (71:24) - There are four previously unreleased live recordings from 1970: "You All Look Alike," "Nashville West," "Baby What You Want Me to Do" and "I Trust." There are two live tracks from the movie soundtrack BANJOMAN: "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Roll Over Beethoven" (both recorded in 1973). Also new to this box set are "Take a Whiff (On Me)," "Glory, Glory," "Byrdgrass," "Pale Blue" and "Nothin' To It," the latter from EARL SCRUGGS: HIS FAMILY & FRIENDS. And finally there are perhaps the two finest songs from the 1973 BYRDS reunion album: the countrified "Full Circle" and the melancholy "Changing Heart," both written and sung by Gene Clark.

Bonus DVD (26:00 approx.) None of these TV performances are live recordings and only "All I Really Want to Do" gives a broadcast date (1965). It's obvious that producers didn't know how to film rock musicians. For example, there's way too much attention paid to the dancers during Clark's terrific "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." Some of the songs have abruptly truncated fades (to eliminate announcer voice-overs?)--it's especially irritating on "Set You Free This Time." The first seven songs feature the original 5-man lineup. Tracks 8 and 9 are after Clark had exited the group. Track 10 is the only color video (from a Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour broadcast) and has the group performing "Mr. Spaceman," and though Crosby is now gone from the group Clark is back on board (although his return lasts less than two months). [This lineup dates the "Mr. Spaceman" clip to October or November of 1967.] While you are only hearing the recorded versions of these songs, it was great fun to see videos of the band at their peak. [Wasn't there any concert footage available to augment this bonus disc? As such, there are no additional features on this DVD.]

Overall this is an amazing box set. Not only are there 99 songs on this box set (compared to 90 on the previous box), the booklet is 100 pages with essays by Tom Petty, Gary Louris (of the Jayhawks) and Roger McGuinn himself, along with liner notes by David Fricke that include new interviews with surviving members McGuinn, Hillman and Crosby, and dozens of photos--the most poignant is the 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame picture. (It would be the last time they shared a stage together; two years later Gene Clark and Michael Clarke would both be dead.) This box stands as a testament to their greatness as singers, songwriters and musicians. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

IF IT AIN'T ON HERE, THEY DIDN'T SING IT.......2007-01-18

exhausting as well as exhaustive, this is a completist set for real completists, with no filler, no several lame takes a la Elvis Costello of songs you didn't want to hear once. Nope, this is the real deal and covers every single reason why in the Sixties, there really were only 2 bands, and these guys were the North American one.
They came a long way from a bunch of beach bums assembled around two protean talents (McGuinn and Crosby) who didn't even play their own instruments on the first record. In fact, I'm still not certain Michael Clarke can keep time. Nonetheless with Crosby and McGuinn at the controls and Gene Clark and Chris Hillman coming up fast, the Byrds took off. In no uncertain terms, Dylan would be some Minnesota shlub suffering from verbal diarrhea had not McGuinn taken his interminable paeans and turned them into iconic classics. In almost every case, these are still the best renditions of Dylan out there, bar none, by a long shot. When the original band fell back to earth (something about McGuinn telling Crosby he'd never amount to anything), McGuinn proved the master of his own destiny, assembling Gram Parsons and his colleagues into the finest Country Rock outfit ever, and yes, had it not been for the Byrds, the other birdies from Southern California would never have found their wings either.
Dylan recently said in ROLLING STONE. "The Sixties? I own the Sixties! You want 'em, I'll sell 'em to you." Well, that's as maybe. If you do buy the Sixties from Zimmy, then he'll have enough to payback the mortgage McGuinn, Baez and Harrison gave him.
For this record set, buy it! You'll understand why this band in each of its lineups was so seminal. And if you don't, go tune your iPod to Clap Your Hands and leave the rest of us to the really good stuff - almost all of it is here or in Abbey Road.

Average customer rating:

4 1/2 stars.
Just to make one point...
Byrd Changes!
Awesome introduction to all the Byrds' eras at once
The Byrds Had Never Flown Higher Than In '67

Younger Than Yesterday
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Fifth Dimension
Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Mr. Tambourine Man
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde

ASIN: B000002ACR
Release Date: 1996-04-30

Tracks:

So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
C.T.A.-102
Renaissance Fair
Time Between
Everybody's Been Burned
Thoughts And Words
Mind Gardens
My Back Pages
The Girl With No Name
Why
It Happens Each Day
Don't Make Waves
My Back Pages (Alternate Version)
Mind Gardens (Alternate Version)
Lady Friend
Old John Robertson (Single Version)

Amazon.com essential recording

Four of the five original Byrds were aboard for this folk-rock landmark. Within months of its release in the summer of 1967, David Crosby would move on and the group would enter a permanent period of flux. Younger Than Yesterday, however, finds songwriters Crosby, Roger McGuinn, and Chris Hillman prodding one another with varied but complementary triumphs. "My Back Pages" is one of their best Dylan covers (and the Byrds had plenty of them), while "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" (written as a jab at the Monkees) represents two minutes of compressed pop cynicism that's as valid today as it was when it hit the airwaves. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

4 1/2 stars........2007-03-19

one of my three favorite byrds albums (the other two being "mr tambourine man" and "the notorious byrd brothers"), this is like a crossroads for all the byrds leanings in sound. the 12-string guitar is still present, the heavy psychedelia is in full bloom, and there are touches of country shadings. all in all, though, this is their most hippy oriented outting (the notorious byrd brothers album does give it a run for its money), with all the psychedelic trappings present, including reversed tapes and all that jazz. the songs are top notch, and the whole recording has a fresh playful quality that time has not diminished. this album is a must for all fans of 60's music, and highly recommended to all lovers of pop/folk/rock in general. the remasterd version is highly preferrable in sound to the first cd version, so buyer beware. the six bonus cuts could well have been left off. they add nothing to impact of the original 11 cuts.

Just to make one point..........2007-01-22

If you read anything about the song So You Want To Be A Rock and Roll Star - including here - you'll see the claim that the song is about The Monkees, usually in a dismissive tone. It is true that one of the band members has been quoted as saying that he was thinking about The Monkees at the time. However, a simple listen to the lyrics once through would tell you otherwise. The song is about the rapid rise to stardom available to ALL bands at the time. In fact, I don't see how it could be anything other than a reflection of the Byrds own experience, screaming girls and all. There's certainly nothing in the song about television shows, or not writing your own songs, or any other criticism of the Monkees. And anyway, what's wrong with The Monks? They had great songwriters and great production, along with damn good vocalists.
While I'm at it, this is a great album. I was just a bit too young to anything more than the singles that got played on Top 40 radio, and they were gone before I started buying records. It was obviously my loss - this was a stellar band.

Byrd Changes!.......2007-01-06

This, the fourth album from the Byrds, is often regarded as their strongest. This is mostly a matter of taste and opinion, but considering that most Byrds albums are great and near-masterpieces, it's not really that interesting if a particular is hailed as the best, the second best or third best.

This is a great album and an intersting one in several respects. For the first time the Byrds made an album without contributions from their original main-songwriter, Gene Clark. Clark had already left the band after the second album, but he is actually featured on "Fifth Dimension" as song-writer and possibly also playing on some tracks.

His absence gave place for a very interesting rise of bass-player Chris Hillman, who suddenly became the most prolific song-writer of the Byrds. Contributing four first-class songs, and four co-written with McGuinn ( 2 of them bonus-tracks ) his importance on his album obviously is immense.

"Have You Seen Her Face" was even chosen as a single, and though it did not fare very well (#74), it's one among many standouts on the album. Great guitars and vocals. "Time Between" is just as strong, and interestingly featuring future Byrd-member Clarence White on his easily recognizeable guitar. He's also featured on the short but nice "The Girl With No Name"

On the Beatles inspired "Thoughts and Words" McGuinn delivers some great psychedelic guitar-licks. Hilmann sing lead on his own songs and Crosby is delivering some breathtaking high pitch harmony vocals.

David Crosby is also showing strengths as a song-writer. Whereas Hillman's songs are mostly up-beat, Crosby's are mid-tempo or ballads. Strongest songs here from Crosby are "Everybody's Been Burned" and "Renaissance Fair" ( co-written with McGuinn). He also delivers the album only miss, the atonal time-piece "Mind Gardens".

Vocally usual lead-vocalist Roger McGuinn is up-front on the hit-singles ( #29 & #30 ) "So You Want to Be a Rock'n Roll Star" and Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". Both great tracks; the former a satirical comment to the music-industry and the latter is classic Byrds with 12-strings and out-standing vocals.

The bonus-track are mostly nice additions. Crosby's "It Happens Each Day" would have been a nice swop for the weak "Mind Gardens".

The rare B-side "Don't Make Waves" is interesting though unsignificant. The other B-side "Old John Robertson" is much better. An different version was included on the band's next album "The Notorious Byrd Brothers".

Crosby's flop A-side "Lady Friend" does not really sound like anything the Byrds recorded before. Big, slightly chaotic production. Some fans consider the song an over-looked masterpiece. At any rate, the album as a whole is one the greatest and most important records that was released in 1967.

Awesome introduction to all the Byrds' eras at once.......2006-10-27

I personally am a relatively new Byrds fan - I'm pretty sure I don't like most of the stuff after this album (country-rock was never really my thing anyway), but this album is absolutely amazing! While I agree that maybe it wasn't the most radical statement of 1967 by any stretch of the imagination, it was certainly one of the most consistently great albums of the year and the decade, and for that reason I'd also say it's also one of the most underrated.

Personally I've never been a David Crosby, but I actually like all of his songs here, even "Mind Gardens," which is a bit hippy-drippy, but not bad at all. In fact I think the album benefits from its presence - it's weirdness adds diversity to the album, as does "C.T.A.-102," which would otherwise be a good but indistinguishable song without the whooshes and alien voices. "Renaissance Fair" is also a hippy-drippy timepiece lyrically, but it's also a really great song - the guitars manage to be atonal and melodic at the same time, which is a difficult effect to describe.

I like "Why" a lot, too - it highlights the most direct connections between the Byrds and their more punk-influenced power pop followers in the late 70s, 80s and 90s - although I'm interested to hear that there is a better version out there. Is it available anywhere?

To be cliche, the cream of the crop is "So You Want To Be A Rock N' Roll Star," where the verse predicts, strangely, Can and Talking Heads' polyrhythmic textures, world percussion and odd time signature while being a great classic Byrds song, awesome psych sound effects (crowd screaming cutting through the mix) and having a great trumpet part at the same time. Had the whole album had songs as unprecedented as this one, the album might have been a VERY radical statement. Not that any of the songs are slack at all, but it makes me wonder what would have unleashed had they not broken up.

I love "Thoughts and Words," although I question if they couldn't have written a slightly less clashing/forced sounding chorus, which seems awkward next to the haunting, rolling guitars of the verse. The backwards tapes are awesome, by the way. "My Back Pages" is also awesome, especially the alternate take, where the Leslie really fleshes the sound out, making it more expansive where the original feels a slight bit anemic. "Everybody's Been Burned" is haunting, beautiful and wistful in a Nick Drake sort of way - along with "Lady Friend" probably the only two songs by Crosby I can say I really love.

The country rock tracks are my least favorite on the album, but even they are top-notch for the genre. I already mentioned I'm not a huge fan of the genre (at least, not up until No Depression alt-country - but I absolutely loathe the Eagles and am not a big CSN fan either), but I still don't skip these songs, which speaks to their strength.

I haven't purchased the other early albums yet (soon I will) - so I won't pretend to be a Byrds expert enough to say this is their best or not. But I will say it is not only a great introduction to new Byrds fans, as all of the bands eras (folk-rock, psychedelia and country-rock) are present in one album with some of the strongest songwriting and playing in any of these genres. Amazing and underrated.

The Byrds Had Never Flown Higher Than In '67.......2006-06-04

The thing that's most impressive about the Byrds' best album - namely "Younger than Yesterday" - is that both Hillman and Crosby are finally afforded a greater opportunity to strut their stuff as up-and-coming singer/songwriters rather than continuing to play reluctant sessionman roles to group leader McGuinn. In other words, a more "democratic" approach is employed on this stellar 1967 document ...

The best cases in point include the irresistable harmonies of Hillman's "Have You Seen Her Face" and his melodic country-rocker "Time Between" as well as Crosby's wistful "Everybody's Been Burned" (this reviewer's favorite Crosby composition, by the way) and HIS dreamy yet up-tempo "Renaissance Fair." Incidentally, two more excellent Crosby tunes are added to the reissue - the ethereal "It Happens Each Day" and the melodically rollicking "Lady Friend." It does seems rather strange that the latter song features a Boyce-and-Hart-style horn section that nonetheless works brillantly - even for a Crosby composition!

As for McGuinn, his satiric opener "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" (which features Good Ol' "Grazin' In The Grass" Himself, Mr. Hugh Masakela on brass) and the hard-rocking "Why?" are first-rate, as is the inclusion of another Dylan classic ("My Back Pages"), also sung by McGuinn. Unfortunately, though, the continuing efforts of each band member to have their own writings included on subsequent albums would eventually trigger the band's legendarily acrimonious break-up (especially on "The Notorious Byrd Brothers"). If all this is too painful to even think about, then stick with Good Ol' YTY - one of The Byrds' (and 1967's) finest pop releases. CIAO ...

Average customer rating:

3 1/2 stars.
Raga Rock, McGuinn's Fascinations, Crosby's Voice
buy it, or be forever square
Patchwork album of highlights and filler
The day the Byrds discovered psychedelia...

Fifth Dimension
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classic Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Younger Than Yesterday
Turn! Turn! Turn!
Mr. Tambourine Man
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde

ASIN: B000002ACQ
Release Date: 1996-04-30

Tracks:

5D (Fifth Dimension)
Wild Mountain Thyme
Mr. Spaceman
I See You
What's Happening?!?!
I Come And Stand At Every Door
Eight Miles High
Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
Captain Soul
John Riley
2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)
Why (Single Version)
I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)
Psychodrama City
Eight Miles High (Alternate/RCA Studios Version)
Why (Alternate/RCA Studios Version)
John Riley (Instumental Version 1)

Amazon.com

Having already pioneered folk-rock via their electrified versions of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger songs such as "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn," the Byrds helped midwife yet another new musical form in 1966 on this, their third album. Influenced by Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, Jim McGuinn's atonal 12-string guitar on the suitably titled "Eight Miles High" was a psychedelic omen of things to come. Pointing in other new directions, too, are the prescient country-rock tune, "Mr. Spaceman," string-aided updates of folk evergreens "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley," and David Crosby's fusion-y "I See You" and "What's Happening?!?!" On this album, plenty. --Billy Altman

Customer Reviews:

3 1/2 stars........2007-04-06

of the byrds albums released in their great 1965-1968 period, this one i consider the least essential. "wild mountain thyme," and "john riley" are excellent pieces of orchestrated folk/pop, "mr spaceman" is wonderful, a great melody played with that byrds jangling guitar sound, and, of course, there is "eight miles high." all fine. but, "i come and stand at every door" sounds badly dated, aged poorly like cheap wine. "2-4-2 fox trot" is an unsuccessful piece of psychedelia. and the rest is on the mediocre side. this is a must for byrds fanatics (who will simply want the entire discography of the band), but not the place to start for the novice. this was a great group, and they did better work elsewhere. check out "mr tambourine man," "younger than yesterday," or "the notorious byrd brothers" first. after hearing those three great albums you may very well end up at "fifth dimension" sooner or later. a confirmed byrd nut.

Raga Rock, McGuinn's Fascinations, Crosby's Voice.......2006-04-01

Other reviewers have covered the ground here, but I wanted to add a few points. First, the opening track, "5D" is one of their best, a Dylan-inspired but utterly original composition that holds up remarkably well and sounds fresh every time I hear it. Of course any Byrds album with "Mr. Spaceman" and "Eight Miles High" is a winner, despite the internal strife afflicting the band at that time. Crosby's paranoia is starting to emerge, sweetly wrapped as it is in his lilting, beautiful tenor. While the Byrds never really recovered from Gene's departure, they both still managed to make a ton of great music afterward.

"Lear Jet" is a trip, highlighting McGuinn's fascination with gadgets, the future, technology and such. Interestingly, the Byrds' versions of "Hey Joe" and "I Know You Rider" sound ok but a bit pale and limp compared to the workouts Hendrix and the Dead turn in on these classics later. In all, satisfying and top-of-their-game Byrds, creativity and personality flowering in every direction.

buy it, or be forever square.......2005-12-24

I would have rated the Byrds original 'Fifth Dimension' disc as a four star effort, but the six bonus tracks offered on this remastered package easily promote the collection to five star status. In fact, the bonus tracks, which essentially form a third album side to the original vinyl release, are collectively superior to either of the two album sides put together by the band in 1966.

This album, along with 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers' established The Byrds as the true 'American Beatles', a title usually reserved for the Beach Boys. The Byrds, however, were a much more dynamic force than the Beach Boys in the 1960's. With this album, the band broke the ice of the Psychedelic Era, and with 'Notorious...' helped usher in the Country-Rock genre, with a nod to Buffalo Springfield. It's quite remarkable to realize that the RCA version of 'Eight Miles High' was recorded at the end of 1965, signifying the bands stature as the founders of psychedelic rock. It wasn't a fluke as other psychedelic contributions from the disc attest, including 'I See You', 'What's Happening', and 'The Lear Jet Song'. Even though the lyrics to most of the songs were not truly acid-based or even acid-laced, they were acid-friendly, and Roger (still at the time aka "Jim") McGuinn's adaptation of his jangling guitar to mimic John Coltrane's jazz saxophone and as a sitar is a stroke of psychedelic genius. Had the band been bold enough to release a full-fledged psychedelic montage by replacing the rather placid folk tracks ('Wild Mountain Thyme', 'I Come and Stand at Every Door', and 'John Riley') with the likes of 'Why', 'I Know My Rider', and 'Psychodrama City', this album would be the only competition 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' would have to being the greatest album ever. Each of these songs possess great hooks, harmonies, and lyrics. In fact, listen to 'Psychodrama City' and see if you can't perceive the makings of Steely Dan's 'Show Biz Kids'. When you add to these bonus tracks the likes of the title track, with it's thoroughly spaced-out lyrics set to a melody that's like a cool summer breeze in your brain, the delightful aural message-in-a-bottle to extraterrestrials everywhere that is 'Mr. Spaceman', the dramatic emergence of David Crosby as a songwriter on 'I See You' (with a little help from McGuinn), and 'What's Happening?!?!, which relies more on exclamation points than question marks, and the funky instrumental 'Captain Soul', and you have a record beyond one, two, three or four dimensions. It truly begins to possess the essence of the Psychedelic Era... a mind altering experience.

Of course I have hardly even mentioned the shining gem of the album, Roger McGuinn's 'Mona Lisa' (with credits to David Crosby and even the departed Gene Clark, who ironically left the band rather than travel on jumbo jets... no lie), 'Eight Miles High'. There is no lead vocal on the track as the lyrics are delivered entirely in harmonies, which serves to contrast McGuinn's mind-blowing, still today avante-gard guitar work. For years it was rumored that the first recorded version of the song, done for RCA in 1965, was superior to the officially released version. The inclusion of that recording here proves that isn't the case, but the track is not to be overlooked. Whereas the version we are familiar with seems to be soaring at least Six Miles High (as the song was originally titled as that is the altitude jumbo jets normally cruise at), the RCA version is so heavy it sounds like it might never get off the runway. The flight, as it turns out, is less intricate, but more turbulent. It has its own appeal, and its existance demands that every serious fan of psychedelic rock possess a copy. Fortunately there is much, much more to be enjoyed here. While the lyrics would be nice to have, they aren't included, but the liner notes, photographs, and track information is extensive. And be sure when you listen to the disc that you don't turn it off too soon. Included after the final bonus track is an radio interview with Jim McGuinn and David Crosby, sans the interviewer, whatever local DJ wanted to offer his audience a "live" interview with the pair, hawking this new release in 1966. This is just a marvelous artifact for any fan of 1960's rock music to own. Buy it, or be forever square.

Patchwork album of highlights and filler.......2005-09-07

With one of the band's main songwriters (Gene Clark) having left the shortly before recording commenced, the Byrds were left to pull together an album's worth of new material. The result is a bit of a stretch, mixing coffee house standards ("Wild Mountain Time" "John Riley") and garage rock classics ("Hey Joe"), with new material that ranges from novelty ("Mr. Spaceman") to instrumental ("Captain Soul") to revolutionary ("Eight Miles High") to abject filler ("2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)").

The band's folk-rock roots get an extrapolation into more psychedelic territory, with McGuinn's 12-string exploring more jagged jazz-influenced territory. The album's centerpiece, "Eight Miles High," anticipates the grapple with fame that's essayed more explicitly on the follow-up LP, "Younger Than Yesterday." With Clark just about to exit, the band authored a commentary that's as much about their pop-culture trip as their 1965 flight to England. The album's most dramatic moment, or at least it's most macabre, is the poetic translation, "I Come and Stand at Every Door," in which a child's spirit wanders the post-atomic streets of Hiroshima. Overall this album is a patchwork of soul-searching originals and filler. Crosby's rendition of "Hey Joe" was recorded in spite of the superior take by The Leaves, and the folk standards feel regressive in the presence of the leap forward charted by "Eight Miles High."

This reissue's bonus tracks fill out the Byrds' studio work surrounding the album, including the single (flip-side of "Eight Miles High") "Why" and an alternate studio version, each of which differs from the album track that would turn up on "Younger Than Yesterday." The alternate take of "Eight Miles High" trades the hint of mania in the released single for a slight Revolver-like drag. The closing track finishes out with a lengthy piece (over 13 minutes) by McGuinn and Crosby that appears to be a fill-in-the-DJ interview. Now where's the script? [©2005 redtunictroll at hotmail dot com]

The day the Byrds discovered psychedelia..........2005-05-05

Fifth Dimension (1966.) Byrds' third album.

By 1966, the Byrds had released two studio albums - Mr. Tambourine Man, and Turn! Turn! Turn!. Both of these studio albums demonstrated the group's ability to create excellent folk-rock that was easily among the finest of the day. And then, in 1966, the group had something totally unexpected happen - Gene Clark left the band. With Clark gone, Roger McGuinn, the guitar genius who had done so much for the band already, became more free to do the things he wanted to in the band. This caused the band to be lead in a new musical direction. Was it a good thing? Read on for my review of Fifth Dimension.

The Byrds have a ton of excellent album, and it's really hard for me to pick a favorite, but if you forced me to choose a favorite, there's a very good chance this would be the one I'd pick. After two albums of folk rock, the group began experimenting with psychedelic rock, which was becoming more and more popular in this day and age. What resulted from their experiments with this new style of music was what was, in my opinion, an album that surpassed their first two (both excellent albums in their own right! I admit, I'm a little prejudiced because I like psychedelic rock more than folk rock, but still, I stand by my opinion.) Many a Byrds classic emerged from this album, including the title track, Mr. Spaceman, and the controversial-but-still-cool Eight Miles High. This album beautifully demonstrates that the Byrds truly had no limits musically, and that they could quite literally do anything they would put their minds to, in a musical sense. What's truly incredible is that, on this album, EVERY SONG IS GREAT. While the first two albums had mostly excellent songs, no one can deny that they had a few fillers. Listen to songs like Wild Mountain Thyme, I See You, Captain Soul, John Riley and What's Happening?!?! and you'll see that the lesser-known songs on this album are certainly no fillers. The group even covers the blues classic Hey Joe (and this is a 1966 release, meaning they actually COVERED it a full year before Jimi Hendrix unleashed his version on the masses.) As hard as it maybe be to believe, I actually like the Byrds' take on the song more than Hendrix's (and I'm a Hendrix die-hard!) There isn't really anything else I can say. If you want to hear the Byrds at their best, get Fifth Dimension. No sixties rock collection is complete without it.

The Byrds catalogue got remastered and reissued. The reissued feature expanded liner notes and bonus tracks, making them superior to the original CD releases. THIS, my friends, is the way remastered albums should be done. It's just too bad that other record labels (Mercury, for example) aren't likely to follow the example set here.

It's hard to believe the psychedelic rock geniuses on this album are the same band that recorded the folksy Turn! Turn! Turn! LP just a year earlier - this sounds like it could be a different band entirely, in many aspect. If I keep talking, I'm going to start to ramble, so I'm just going to end it now. This is, more likely than not, the ultimate Byrds album, and it's also one of the defining albums of sixties rock and roll. I give this one my highest recommendation.

Average customer rating:

overshadowed by their classic debut
Turnin' Through The Years
all dressed up with somewhere to go
The Byrds' Second Album Is Great
Still vital...even if you didn't grow up with it

Turn! Turn! Turn!
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Mr. Tambourine Man
Fifth Dimension
Younger Than Yesterday
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Ballad of Easy Rider

ASIN: B000002ACP
Release Date: 1996-04-30

Tracks:

Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season)
It Won't Be Wrong
Set You Free This Time
Lay Down Your Weary Tune
He Was A Friend Of Mine
The World Turns All Around Her
Satisfied Mind
If You're Gone
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Wait And See
Oh! Susannah
The Day Walk (Never Before)
She Don't Care About Time (Single Version)
The Times They Are A-Changin' (First Version)
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Version 1)
She Don't Care About Time (Version 1)
The World Turns All Around Her (Alternate Mix)
Stranger In A Strange Land (Instrumental)

Amazon.com

Arriving just months after the folk-rock call to arms of their brilliant debut, the Byrds' second album closely follows the same formula, but what a formula: durable American folksongs (from Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and even Stephen Foster) and their own strong originals are laced with the band's keening vocal harmonies and chiming guitars in a mix since institutionalized as a perennial rock dialect. With Seeger's classic title song, the Byrds brought Ecclesiastes onto the charts, importing the urban folk movement's social and political consciousness to the pop mainstream. If the album couldn't repeat the revelatory impact of its predecessor, it's still an earful, from Gene Clark's urgent, ardent "It Won't Be Wrong" to Dylan's contemplative "Lay Down Your Weary Tune." Meticulously remastered, this restored version also boasts unreleased tracks and B-sides, including "She Don't Care About Time," noteworthy for a 12-string solo lifted from Bach. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

overshadowed by their classic debut.......2007-03-23

if this album were a one shot deal by an obscure band, it would seem excellent. problem is, the byrds made many albums, several great ones: so we know they can do better than this. "turn, turn, turn" is a disappointing follow-up to the debut masterpiece which the byrds released in 1965. if you are a 60's music fanatic, or a byrd's maniac, then you will need this. if you are a more casual person in your approach to the bryds, then "mr tambourine man," "younger than yesterday" "the notorious bryd brothers," "sweetheart of the rodeo," and perhaps "the ballad of easy rider" are all you will need.

Turnin' Through The Years.......2006-01-10

'Turn! Turn! Turn!' is the Byrds' second album, & featured the title track, their second & last US #1 single. The rest of the album follows the formula laid down the same year by their debut album, 'Mr. Tambourine Man', though somewhere, this second album is a bit more flawed, which is only understandable due to the hectic conditions under which it was created.

The title track is as wonderful a Byrdesque folk-rock song as any, fully reprising the glory of 'Mr. Tambourine Man', not only commercially, but also artistically.
'It Won't Be Wrong' is another folk-rock classic, whose intro sounds anticipate the coming of psychedelia a few years later. Later the song changes pace & returns to the original speed again later. All in all as great a Byrd song as any on their debut album.
'Set You Free This Time' sets their strongest lyric so far (those covered from Dylan not included), to a tune that marks a slight step down from the previous two songs, but not enough to prevent this from being one of their most underrated gems.
'Lay Down Your Weary Tune' is one of the group's best Dylan-interpretations, and, like all of those, it is hard not to think of it as a Byrds-original. An already strong song loses nothing of its beauty, but is presented in the full grace of folk-rock.
The traditional 'He Was A Friend Of Mine' is buoyed by a great, twangling acoustic guitar, but otherwise the song becomes somewhat tedious in the long run, though it isn't at all bad, and doesn't seem out of place on the album.
'The World Turns All Around Her' is a pure Byrds-classic, complete with the title, a perfect blend of tortured romanticism & mind-altering psychedelia.
'Satisfied Mind' is here transformed into a great Byrds song, but it pales next to the classic 'If You're Gone', an immortal folk-rock jewel.
It is followed by the biggest flaw of the album, the Byrds' cover of Dylan's more-than-immortal classic 'The Times They Are A-Changing'. The band simply betrays the rebellion & protest of the original & try to make it another tender tune, which just doesn't work. For the original is as angry as Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy In The U.K.', and nobody would ever make a serious folk-rock version of that track, well?

'Wait And See' is a suave little love song quite well played, & though it doesn't compensate for the previous track, it is strong enough to overshadow the flaws of the ending track, so it doesn't feel like the last fourth of the album is crap. The cover of 'Oh! Susannah' is indeed an idea spawned of genius, & a great song it is. But it irritates me the way it returns to a single guitar playing the main riff after each verse. This way, an otherwise great, rollin' song, that could have been a Byrds' classic & an album peak, is cut into small pieces, that seriously disturbs your heartbeat ;)... you get up, fall down, get up, and in the end, it gets really annoying. Hard to imagine, but easy to hear.

But except the full-scale flaw of 'The Times They Are A-Changing' & the much better 'Oh! Sussannah', which is anyway mostly a joke, the album is about as great as 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. As for the bonus tracks; 'The Day Walk (Never Before)' has a riff that sounds like 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' some years too early - but otherwise that song is pretty inessential.
But on the other hand, 'She Don't Care About Time' is a timeless Byrds classic, & their cover 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' actually surpasses Dylan's original (the only time the Byrds inarguably did that). Those two songs are so great that it seems complete foolish they were left off the album for the sake of the Byrds' greatest flaw, 'The Times' cover.
As for the alternate versions, they are really not essential, but they don't hrt anybody with their presence, and the instrumental 'Stranger In A Strange Land' is also fine enough, though one can only imagine how the Byrdesque voices entwined in each other would have transformed it...

all dressed up with somewhere to go.......2005-11-13

Between the twenty-third of August and the first of November of 1965, 'The Byrds' recorded the 18 tracks that make up this 1996 reissue of their second album. Already, 'The Byrds' possessed several of the elements that would combine to make them one of the most proficient and influential bands of the greatest decade for music, the 1960's. Jim McGuinn's chiming 12- string guitar sound is fundamental to every song, as are the exquisite background harmonies being delivered by Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman. The only element still reserved for development was their talents as composers. Only vocalist Gene Clark was beginning to reveal himself as more than a soundboard for other writer's works, penning five numbers, four of which are among the best on the disc. Jim McGuinn only offers one composition of note, and David Crosby teams up with McGuinn for his only writing contribution, aside from the closing instrumental.

On 'Turn, Turn', Turn', the continuing success of 'The Byrds' turned on their ability to accomodate old and sometimes obscure compositions, as well as chart-topping hits, to their own distinctive sound. On this disc, the quintet parlay the music of Pete Seeger ('Turn, Turn, Turn'), Bob Dylan ('Lay Down Your Weary Tune', 'He Was a Friend Of Mine', 'The Times They Are A-Changin', and 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue'), and even Stephen Foster ('Oh! Susannah'). It is perhaps that last, unlikely choice that most dramatically demonstrates the remarkable skill of this band to take any composition, especially folk music, and make it their own. If not for the many, many times most of us have both heard and sang along to 'Oh! Susannah', this Byrds version could well pass for a modern folk song. Every Byrd cover I hear brings new meaning to both lyrics and music, often in stunning ways.

Aside from the title track, which endures despite being played into what should be oblivion by now, the best songs on the disc are the Dylan covers. The ninth track, 'The Times They Are A-Changin' was the hoped for sequel to their first Dylan cover, 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. The recording, however, was deemed inferior to expectations, and was shelved toward the end of the album. While it probably didn't deserve to be downplayed, it is the 24 second shorter bonus recording of the same track which should have been released as a single. This bonus track, along with the alternate mix of 'The World Turns All Around Her', a Gene Clark original, present a much more determined atmosphere than the released versions, both suitable for Top-40 contention. Another bonus track, 'The Day Walk (Never Before)' is another Gene Clark composition that should have found it's way onto the 'Turn, Turn, Turn' disc, being the most basic rock tune the band put down during these sessions. Another recording of note is Crosby's 'Stranger In A Strange Land', a tasty instrumental from an artist best known for his talents as a vocalist and lyricist. Add to these numbers two versions of yet another excellent Gene Clark composition, 'She Don't Care About Time', and it's clear that a much bolder 'Turn, Turn, Turn' disc could have emerged in 1965. It's perplexing why producer Terry Melcher didn't hear the potential for some of these tracks over lesser numbers such as 'Satisfied Mind', 'If You're Gone', and 'Wait and See'.

Despite the shortcomings of the original release, all is forgiven with the inclusion of these tracks in this 1996 reissue, adorned with glorious 20-bit remastering. Although subsequent releases such as 'Fifth Dimension' would enlarge, expand, and mature the talents of each band member, 'Turn, Turn, Turn' expands our exposure to what the band was in 1965, in itself a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. Revel in the 12-string and harmonies being applied to some of the finest compositions of any era in this handsomely illustrated package. Definitely four stars, and approaching five.

The Byrds' Second Album Is Great.......2005-08-30

TURN! TURN! TURN!, the second album by the Byrds, is a classic. There are many great songs here, with the best being the title track and "It Won't Be Wrong." The band members were playing their own instruments on every song here, whereas studio musicians had been used for two songs on the debut. The title song was adapted from the Book Of Ecclesiastes by Pete Seeger, and there's also a great Dylan cover or two on this CD as well. The fact that the surviving Byrds believe that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

Still vital...even if you didn't grow up with it.......2005-05-05

I grew up with oldies radio because my parents were fans, but being born in 1970 I was much too young to have heard this album when it was new. I'd already purchased a Greatest Hits on the band which had all the stuff I knew from the radio and had borrowed the band's box set from the library. I didn't like it at the time (I was around 12). It was the wrong time...I didn't have the maturity I needed to "get it". Flash forward about 9 years...I'm now a Tom Petty fan and I'd read that he considered the Byrds a huge influence on his music. I decided I should try and pick up some more of their music and found the original issue (not this re-master) in a bargain bin and discovered what I'd been missing.

The band here was able to catch the zeitgeist of the age with their folk-influenced tunes but the rock guitars kept it from sounding as outdated as much of their contemporaries now sound, along with tasty vocal harmonies and interesting arrangements.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: As I still have only the original issue (no $$ to update to the remaster) my comments will focus only on the original 11 tracks. I'll leave it to others to discuss the 20 bit remastered sound, bonus tracks, and liners...

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" is a rock interpretation of Pete Seeger's folk song based on Solomon's ageless wisdom from the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes. The peace anthem is one of the few that still resonates today without sounding hopelessly hokey or naive (Unlike, say, Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance"). Clark's rebuff of a lover that jilted him and has changed her mind ("Set You Free This Time") is as good as much of the material on their later SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO. "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"'s nature ode is the better of 2 Dylan covers. "He was a Friend of Time" reworked a traditional folk song into a political elegy for JFK. "Satisfied Mind" was already a great song for Porter Wagoner. The folk-rock arrangement here brings its message to ears it might otherwise never reach. "If You're Gone" gathers extra emotional weight from the oddly droning background "oohs" that punctuate the verses."Oh Susanna!" takes an ancient Stephen Foster tune and manages to make it sound modern, utilizing shifting time signatures and a martial snare rhythm near the coda.

LOWS:
"The Times They are a-Changin'" just doesn't work as happy, chiming Rickenbacher rock. I can't comment on the alternate, but the official version seems like a mistake to me. "Wait and See" is pretty lightweight lyrically. It could easily have been done by one of the lesser Merseybeat bands (Freddie and the Dreamers?) It's just not their best material.

BOTTOM LINE:
One of the best rock albums made even with its surfeit of cover material. You can trace a straight line back from Tom Petty, Matthew Sweet, and U2 to these guys. (The Edge's guitar is really just McGuinn's jangle sped up and heavily distorted..especially on something like "Where the Streets Have No Name".) Recommended.

4 1/2 stars

Average customer rating:

Couldn't think of a title, so...
the byrds debut, a bona fide classic.
Better than Greatest Hits
A 60s Icon
Play a song for me

Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Turn! Turn! Turn!
Fifth Dimension
Younger Than Yesterday
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Sweetheart of the Rodeo

ASIN: B000002ACO
Release Date: 1996-04-30

Tracks:

Mr. Tambourine Man
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
Spanish Harlem Incident
You Won't Have To Cry
Here Without You
The Bells Of Rhymney
All I Really Want To Do
I Knew I'd Want You
It's No Use
Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe
Chimes Of Freedom
We'll Meet Again
She Has A Way
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Alternate Version)
It's No Use (Alternate Version)
You Won't Have To Cry (Alternate Version)
All I Really Want To Do (Single Version)
You And Me (Instrumental)

Amazon.com essential recording

It's not overstating the case to contend that the Byrds' debut is the font from which all folk-rock spouts. The Bob Dylan-penned title track hit No. 1 two months before the album arrived, in the process heralding a new sound that braided involved lyrics with a driving beat, chiming guitars, and vaguely trippy harmonies. The album (and, indeed, it is an album, rather than a haphazard collection of songs, as was the standard of the day) followed through on the promise of the single. Four of the dozen songs on the original pressing were Dylan compositions, but the originals from Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn nearly matched their appeal, particularly "I Feel a Whole Lot Better," perhaps the quintessential Byrds tune. This 1996 reissue includes a half-dozen previously unreleased tracks. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't think of a title, so..........2007-06-21

The Byrds are another one of those '60s rock bands I've always wanted to get to know better. So I made a good call by adding Mr. Tambourine Man to my collection. I have a few small gripes, mainly that all the songs sound quite alike - mid-tempo, jangly, well-harmonized, mostly lyrics related to love. And some of it is rather bad: I can't stand this dirge-like cover of "Chimes of Freedom" (Dylan's take is so much better!), the treacly self-help song "Don't Doubt Yourself Babe" (thankfully not theirs), and "We'll Meet Again", which simply cannot be taken seriously. So the ratio of good to bad is nine to three - impressive. Half of it is made up of covers, and other than "Don't Doubt Yourself Babe" and "Chimes of Freedom", they're good covers: I assume you've heard their wistful take on the title track (though Dylan's is better). "Spanish Harlem Incident" is another Dylan cover, but it's way better than Dylan's original take; and the more melodic "All I Really Want to Do" comes close to that (for the record, that's three songs from Another Side of alone). The last cover, "The Bells of Rhymney", is a bit on the slow side, but still an excellent song. The originals don't have very impressive lyrics, other than the Dylanesque "I'd Feel a Whole Lot Better" (which is of course the album's highlight), but they're all well-sung: "You Won't Have to Cry" is one great song, I can tell you that, and the minor-key "Here Without You" is another. Actually, all the originals are: "I Knew I'd Want You" jangles along nicely, and "It's No Use" mixes being threatening and friendly. So there you go. A good debut with a few fundamental flaws.

the byrds debut, a bona fide classic........2007-03-12

right out of the chute the byds created this masterpiece in 1965. that 12 string rickenbacker sound and those gorgeous harmonies are as distinctive and beautiful a calling card as any group, then or now, could wish for. four bob dylan songs ("mr tambourine man," "spanish harlem incident," "all i really want to do," and "chimes of freedom") are covered in terrific pop tones that are stunning reinventions rather than pale imitations. "i'll feel a whole lot better," is as catchy a melody as anything the byrds ever did, and "the bells of rhymney," is a harmony made for heaven. pure perfection rides upon the whole jangling sound of this record. a must-have for all music collections.

Better than Greatest Hits.......2006-12-27

Get this album and maybe an early greatest hits. This is the folk-rock Byrds, the one that competed with The Beatles on their level. If you think of the Byrds as a country rock band (Sweetheart of the Rodeo), then this early stuff is not for you. Maybe only 2 duds on the album (Don't Doubt Yourself Babe) and (We'll Meet Again), but even these are inspired tougue & cheek entries....and the bonus tracks don't count, remember, think of this album as just 12 tracks. This is in my top 10 albums of all time, would rate it just below The Beatles Rubber Soul but higher than Love's Forever Changes. (yes, I'm dropping names so you know I've listened to a lot of this stuff)

A 60s Icon.......2006-03-15

In no particular order, here's what you need to know:
* Mr. Tambourine Man was the first and best song the Byrds ever recorded. That's no slight, because it's one of the best rock and roll songs ever, period. The combination of the chiming Rickenbacker guitar and Roger McGuinn's haunting delivery of the lines "Take me for a trip upon your magic swirling ship..." is riveting. This song hugely influenced the Beatles and Bob Dylan (who wrote it). That means this song singlehandedly influenced the course of rock and roll. I've seen footage of the Byrds doing this song on the Ed Sullivan show. As if the song itself wasn't enough, seeing Roger McGuinn perform it in those square sunglasses was the embodiment of cool. Somehow you need to have this song in your collection.
* There are six truly classic songs here: Mr. Tambourine Man, I'll Feel A Whole Let Better, Here Without You, The Bells Of Rhymney, All I Really Want To Do, and Chimes Of Freedom. However, five of those six (apart from "You Won't Have To Cry") are available on both Byrd's Greatest Hits and Very Best Of The Byrds. None of the remaining material is bad, but it does sound somewhat dated. If you're making your first Byrds purchase, I'd go for one of the hits collections.
* The remastering of this CD is sensational. If you owned the old vinyl version, this is sure to be a revelation. The clarity and richness of the tracks jumps out of your speakers.
* The bonus tracks, as usual, are a mixed bag. But I can't get enough of the instrumental track of "You And Me". A Primo example of surf guitar, whether intentional or not.

Play a song for me.......2006-01-05

This is certainly the greatest Byrd album ever made, & only the first Airplane album (the only of theirs that I categorize as folk-rock, the others being psychedelic), & The Beatles' 'Rubber Soul' & 'Revolver' rival it as the greatest folk-rock album ever. The record is built upon Dylan songs as well as the band's own & other covers, but you never feel as if these songs were not The Byrds' own. Also, all the non-Dylan songs are about as strong as the singles, especially 'I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better' (a timeless classic). The bonus tracks heave the album into the heavens, making it a must-have for anybody with the slightest interest in either the sixties, peace'n'love, folk, rock, or acoustic or electric guitars. Anybody who cares about sound...

Average customer rating:

Best of the last of the "old" Byrds
This is a true pyschedelic classic!
psychedelic byrds. great music.
Flying High in the Friendly Sky
Last Of The Greatest

The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classic Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Pop | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Rock | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Younger Than Yesterday
Fifth Dimension
Mr. Tambourine Man
Turn! Turn! Turn!
Ballad of Easy Rider

ASIN: B000002AHC
Release Date: 1997-03-25

Tracks:

Artificial Energy
Goin' Back
Natural Harmony
Draft Morning
Wasn't Born To Follow
Get To You
Change Is Now
Old John Robertson
Tribal Gathering
Dolphin's Smile
Space Odyssey
Moog Raga (Intrumental)
Bound To Fall (Intrumental)
Triad
Goin' Back (Version One)
Draft Morning (Alternative Take)
Universal Mind Decoder (Intrumental)

Amazon.com

The Notorious Byrd Brothers captures the Byrds between the seminal folk-rock glories of their better-known mid-'60s triumphs and the equally influential country-rock that would soon follow, but the album is no holding action: with onetime Beach Boy associate Gary Usher producing and Roy Halee engineering, the band weaves its signature vocal harmonies and chiming guitars through a lusher, more impressionistic art-pop tapestry that stops just short of post-Sgt. Pepper cliché, employing phased vocals, sound effects, Moog synthesizer, and horns. Thematically, the project pits utopian innocence ("Tribal Gathering," "Dolphins Smile") against a new wariness ("Artificial Energy," a cautionary look at amphetamines, and the Vietnam vignette of "Draft Morning"). In a field of well-paced, inventive songs, the zenith is the silken, wistful "Goin' Back," Carole King's poignant meditation on childhood and innocence. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

Best of the last of the "old" Byrds.......2007-05-24

Replaces a worn out LP. Actually a 4.25 on the star scale but there is not that choice!

This is a true pyschedelic classic!.......2007-03-16

THis is the sound of the Byrds imploding while at the same time throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix. Hints of their eventual country turn sit inside burbling moogs and mellotrons- (Yes spacey keyboards)- backwards phrasing- flanged guitars and vocals - swirling inside the classic Byrds sound. The guitars still chime but this is very much a pyschedelic and one of the most unique i might add records from the era. Dont be fooled by the negative reviews this is right up there with piper-sgts peppers-( beatlesque horns at times) and for my money it may not be the best Byrds record(though i think it is)most interesting and rewarding listen. It also doesnt sound as dated as most pyschedelia. SOme of the bonus material is good (triad a crosby penned tune is very good and should have made the album originally). Crosby was booted during the recording but despite the problems internally this is a stunning album. And for the price you cant beat it.

psychedelic byrds. great music........2007-03-12

though mr tambourine man, younger than yesterday, and sweetheart of the rodeo are usually regarded as the best byrds albums, it is the notorious byrd brothers that i find myself returning to most often. i never tire of this great album. it's spacey psychedelicism is mesmerizing. the songs abound with wonderful floating melodies and stunning harmonics. horn and string arrangements are added to the byrd arsenal of sound here, and the rythmic shifts, abrupt tempo-changes, and various psych touches leave one wondering what sonic surprise might happen next. two slow numbers, "goin' back," and "draft morning," are particularly gorgeous, while "old john robertson" and "change is now" foreshadow the country leanings their music would later acquire. this is a great album, beginning to end. the bonus tracks on the cd do not, however, add anything worthy of the original recording, and would have been best left off. anyway, the remastered version from 1997 (which contains the six bonus tracks) is a big improvement in sound over the first cd version, so if you get this, make sure you get the '97 remastered disc.

Flying High in the Friendly Sky.......2006-07-01

The Byrds, as a working unit, were beginning to disintegrate at the time this album was released; with their main songwriter Gene Clark quitting the band because of the fact that he was terrified of plane-travel, and David Crosby feeling increasingly neglected. And yet they managed to piece together some of their finest pop music to date, but this time with a little more edge than on their previous albums.

Their main inspiration, it seems, was a healthy competitive streak with their old Liverpudlian sparring partners, and Roger Mcguinn's occasional acid-buddies, The Beatles. Sgt Peppers fever was everywhere at the time- with everyone from psychedelic jazz artists (David Axelrod) to folkies like The Incredible String Band trying to ride the wave. And the Byrds were no exeption; they hardly even tried to hide the influence. I can think of three Sgt Pepperisms off-hand: the Lovely Rita-style heavy breathing in Get to You, the horns that come in near the end of Draft Morning, and then there's the fact that each song segues into the next. However, the Byrds were always more than mere Beatles wannabes, they were wonderful melody makers too.

The opening track, Artificial Energy, sounds like Beck thirty years before the fact- the driving horns and Mguinn's laid-back vocals make for what is probably the best opener on a Byrds' album. The rest of the album doesn't disappoint; from Carole King's Goin' Back (try and check out Nils Lofgren's brilliant piano-driven version if you can too) to Space Oddyssey, which continued the Byrds' obsession with alien contact. It could be said that the latter is some, dipsy, love-child era claptrap, but, writing this review in the year when Neil Young has released a State of the Union address/album called Living With War, I could do with a little more of this kind of music. What is arguably the best song on the album didn't even make the cut on the original release, which is a very Byrdsian trend (see axed songs like Psychodrama City and She Don't Care About Time). Triad's basically Crosby asking two lovers to go take part in a menage a trois, and I wouldn't be surprised if they went with it considering he delivered the idea so beautifully. However, I also think the song is about adopting a free-living, hippie aesthetic, and in that way I think of it as a sort of sister-song to his simliar sounding Almost Cut My Hair, which he released with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Whether or not this is their best album depends on your tastes. Personally I'd give that award to Sweetheart of the Rodeo or maybe even Fifth Dimension, but I do know it's a wonderful album of catchy, sometimes inspiring, songs.

Last Of The Greatest.......2006-06-05

For me, this album will always represent the last of the great, classic 'Byrds' albums, even if 'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo' might have some claim for thuis title. But I am just in love with psychedelia, and even though the album cover here indicates a country album, that style first entered the Byrd repetoire on their next outing. This is just simply one of the most brilliant recordings of the psychedelic era.

'Goin' Back' and 'Natural Harmony' are pleasant, soft, psychedelic songs, well-crafted, well-played and well-sung. But with 'Draft Morning' and 'Wasn't Born To Follow' the real classics kick in, before the surprisingly powerful 'Get To You' ends side 1.

'Change Is Now' is a true gem, even if the beginning sounds somewhat dull. The chorus revives all this and brings a wonderful Byrd song, easily a contender for the same status as earlier songs like 'Turn, Turn, Turn'. 'Old John Robertson' is arguably even better, though quality then drops a little bit for 'Tribal Gathering', though it is, nonetheless, a good song.

But then comes 'Dolphin's Smile' and 'Space Odyssey', two of their most marvellous psychedelic gems, as just the titles indicate.

All these songs are, however, nothing, compared to the first track. 'Artificial Energy' is simply one of the best psychedelic songs ever. It may be outshined by Steppenwolf's 'Magic Carpet Ride', but put it up against 'Magical Mystery Tour' or 'Pinball Wizard', and it, and I hope I don't offend anyone here, for all these titles have been chosen, because they are great monuments of psychedelia, but I think 'Artificial Energy' would beat them both!

This album is not better than 'Younger Than Yesterday', but it is neither worse, and both are very very valuable creations, and it is unbelievable, how underrated they have become...

Average customer rating:

Great Byrds Period
Roger McGuinn's SMILE...
My Favorite Byrds albulm
oodles of kudos
Not a fan of this one

The Byrds Untitled
The Byrds
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Country Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Ballad of Easy Rider
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Younger Than Yesterday
Fifth Dimension

ASIN: B00004OCEN
Release Date: 2000-02-22

Tracks:

Lover Of The Bayou
Positively 4th Street
Nashville West
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N Roll Star
Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Spaceman
Eight Miles High
Chestnut Mare
Truck Stop Girl
All The Things
Yesterday's Train
Hungry Planet
Just A Season
Take A Whiff On Me
You All Look Alike
Well Come Back Home

Tracks:

All The Things - (alternate take)
Yesterday's Train - (alternate take)
Lover Of The Bayou - (alternate take)
Kathleen's Song - (alternate take)
White's Lightning Pt. 2
Willin'
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - (live)
Old Blue - (live)It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - (live)
It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - (live)
Ballad Of Easy Rider - (live)
My Back Pages - (live)
Take A Whiff On Me - (live)
Jesus Is Just Alright - (live)
Wheels On Fire - (live)

Amazon.com

Arguably the last truly great album from the Byrds, this was a double vinyl set when it appeared in 1970. The 16-minute "Eight Miles High" took up an entire side--allowing for plenty of the free-flowing guitar, bass, and drum solos that were in vogue at the time. The live portion of the program opens with a gritty "Lover of the Bayou" and an inspired take on Bob Dylan's "Positively 4th Street." The studio set centers around the group's biggest latter-day hit, "Chestnut Mare," as well as Roger McGuinn's haunting "Just a Season." Here, Untitled is supplemented by Unissued, a whole bonus disc of rare and unreleased material. There are storming concert versions of Dylan's "You Ain't Going Nowhere," "My Back Pages," and "This Wheel's on Fire." Studio highlights include "Lover of the Bayou" and an undubbed "Kathleen's Song." Complete with detailed sleeve notes, recording details, and bonus tracks, Untitled/Unissued perfectly illustrates how archive recordings should be packaged. --Patrick Humphries

Customer Reviews:

Great Byrds Period.......2007-02-19

This was the period when I saw the Byrds most often. The concert material sounds great, and I do wish Clarence White got the props he still deserves. The studio material was the great bonus here. Who would have thought that so much great material was left unreleased for so long. Simply the Byrds at a great period in their history.

Roger McGuinn's SMILE..........2006-03-19

Along with Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson,Roger McGuinn comprises the third in the trinity/pantheon of American pop music masters. Like Brian Wilson's current peerless,touring band THE WONDERMINTS,The McGuinn/Clarence White formation of The Byrds was this superb American band's best touring troop.UNTITLED...originally to be named PHOENIX by Byrdmaster McGuinn...was an excellent album when released in 1970. Songs such as CHESTNUT MARE and JUST A SEASON became classics in their own right along with Tambourine Man;So You Want to Be A Rock'N'Roll Star; and Eight Miles High(reprised here "live" with a blazing 16 minute Coltrane-strain virtuoso performance of the latter).The rest of Untitled was complemented by socko concert versions of LOVER of the BAYOU and Dylan's acid rebuke of pseudo-hippies-NOW-boomer yuppies,POSITIVELY 4TH STREET.

What makes this offering Roger McGuinn's SMILE is the entirely UNISSUED second CD which is comprise of alternate"live"takes on latter-day Byrd classics(Ballad of Easy Rider; You ain't goin' Nowhere;This Wheels on Fire)making it a stellar musical leaf of MY BACK PAGES. Roger McGuinn continues touring and producing Rickenbacker-riffed LEGACY music, but this package of reincarnated Byrds is best of their studio/concert flights and unique summary of what was Sometimes(next to Wilson's Beach Boys)America's best pop music band(8 Miles High Stars).

My Favorite Byrds albulm.......2005-12-01

First of all, I have all of the Byrds albulms and this is my favorite. The live albulm is decent but nothing too spectacular apart from "Lover of the Bayou" and "Positively 4th Street". The studio part is the real deal. Here we have my favorite Byrd's lineup with Clarence White on guitar and some lovely original Roger McGuinn compositions that were missing on the previous 2 albulms. This reissue is now doubled in length with extensive alternate takes and extra live tracks as if the original LP wasn't enough. Most casual listeners know the Byrds from the mid 60s lineup with David Crosby but to me this is the Byrd's albulm to get. If you are not familiar with this lineup (and you wouldn't be if you listen to contemporary FM radio), prepare yourself for a more mellow sounding Byrds with Country influences blended with McGuinn's twelve string guitar and harmonies a little more ragged then what you hear on "Turn, Turn, Turn". To me this takes "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" Byrds and combines it with "Notorious Byrd Brothers" Byrds but gives you the best of both. If you like this albulm check out "Ballad of the Easy Rider" as well. Essential.

oodles of kudos.......2005-11-20

As I have already written a full review of the first disc in this two CD set (the first disc encompassing the original double vinyl album released as 'Untitled' in 1970), this review will primarily be devoted to the 14 track second disc, titled 'Unissued', consisting entirely of previously unreleased studio and live tracks. It should be stated however, since I have lived a period of time with both recordings, that the remastered version of 'Untitled' stands in bold contrast to the original CD version. There are moments where the superior fidelity of the remastering becomes clear, such as in the opening bars of 'Nashville West', which on the original CD sounded as though a mixing problem had completely skewed and lost most everything save the bass and drums. A similar observation can be made in comparing Clarence White's innovative guitar lines on 'Mr. Tambourine Man', which sounded muddled on the original CD, but sound fully integrated into the mix on the remaster.

As if these improvements were not reason enough to invest in the remastered version, a full complement of studio and live recordings have been added to the package on a bonus disc. This second disc reverses the sequence of 'Untitled', first offering alternate and unreleased studio tracks, and then a series of live recordings drawn from the same concerts that provided the live tracks for 'Untitled'. While 'Untitled' failed to reveal the source of these live recordings, thanks to the extensive liner notes offered in 'Unissued' we now know they were made in early 1970 at the Felt Forum in New York, and at the Fillmore East.

The second disc opens with four alternate versions of three songs found on 'Untitled', and they are worthy of inclusion. 'All the Things' and 'Yesterday's Train' are also found on 'Untitled', but I actually find the alternate takes to be superior, sounding more genuine and accessible. 'Lover of the Bayou' appears on 'Untitled' as a live track, so the studio version, with it's echo-chambered vocal and harmonica is a completely different experience. The final alternate is a version of 'Kathleen's Song', a worthy ballad that made its first debut on 'Byrdmaniax', released as the follow-up to 'Untitled' in 1971. Two previously unreleased recordings follow, an energized instrumental titled 'White's Lightning Pt. 2', and a faithful and sincere version of George Lowell's 'Willin', which along with the two opening live tracks form the sequence most devoted to The Byrds version of country music.

To my ear the real treats are yet to come in the form of the live tracks, which open with a version of the finest number from 1968's 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' disc, 'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere', followed by 'Old Blue' from 1969's 'Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde', and completing the country segment of the show. The final segment, consisting of more pop and rock oriented fare, leads off with a cover of Bob Dylan's 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding') from 1965's 'Bringing It All Back Home', although a Roger McGuinn studio version also appears on the 1969 soundtrack of the 'Ballad of Easy Rider' flick. 'Ballad of Easy Rider' follows, also from the flick, and from The Byrds 1969 disc entitled 'Easy Rider'. The opening bars to this memorable song are deservedly well-received by the audience.

The remaining tracks are collected from diverse sources. 'My Back Pages' is of course a throwback to the original Byrds last studio album, 'Younger Than Yesterday', from 1967. Many believe this to be one of their finest recordings, and the live version here certainly does it justice. A live version of 'Take a Whiff' is next, the original appearing on 'Untitled'. McGuinn himself once stated that there were a few too many whiffs in the song for himself, so offering two versions of the same track in this package probably overdoes it. The last two recordings are gems, however. 'Jesus Is Just Alright' appeared first on 1969's 'Easy Rider', and although the song was immortalized by The Doobie Brothers, The Byrds take on it is thoroughly enjoyable as well. The closing track, 'This Wheel's On Fire', was offered by The Byrds as a studio track on 'Dr. Byrds...', and this fleet version provides a crescendo, and lends an exclamation point to the live set. As if all of this were not enough, there is a 'hidden track' offered on disc two, a brief and vibrant a capella version of 'Amazing Grace'.

This double-disc set serves as the textbook on how to expand and repackage decades old material. 'Untitled' was a fine double disc in its first manifestation, but the inclusion of additional live and studio tracks, as well as detailed liner notes, really gives the work a sense of completeness, even if more material may lie in the vault. The only noticable way this could have been expanded further would have been through inclusion of printed lyrics, but given the number of tracks offered here, that may have proved too cumbersome. Columbia is to be commended for it's efforts, and rewarded by fans of The Byrds through their purchase of this outstanding production.

Not a fan of this one.......2005-06-29

After the great "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", The Byrds tumbled downhill with a series of mediocre albums. While this isn't the worst I'm sure, it's such a far cry from classic Byrds. It is, quite frankly, overblown and boring. The group was always adventurous and experimental, but seriously - did we need a sixteen minute version of "Eight Miles High". They just aimed for too much on this one. The only good song contained here is "Chestnut Mare", and even that is below par when compared to "5D" or "My Back Pages". It is hard to critique this without those comparisions, but even when those are ignored, it's simply a below-par rock album. Still, I'd rather listen to this than The Eagles anyday. The latter-day Byrds isn't really worth your money.

Average customer rating:

1. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better
2. All I Really Want to Do
3. Here Without You
4. World Turns All Around Her
5. It Won't Be Wrong
6. C.T.A. - 102
7. Renaissance Fair
8. Girl With No Name
9. Wasn't Born to Follow
10. This Wheel's on Fire