Customer Reviews

Byrdmaniax (Exp)

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3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ahhh! The much maligned BYRDMANIAX, recently likened by a UK journalist to what the Byrds would sound like if Richard Carpenter was producing. Background story: The Byrds' previous album (UNTITLED) is a (relative) critical/commercial success which provides the band with a much needed upswing in fortunes. By the time of the recording of this, the follow-up, they're having personal problems and are out on the road a lot. Producer Terry Melcher plasters results in orchestrations (Phil Spector LET IT BE-style) to help disguise sub-standard performances (he says), band know nothing until record released (they say).

Results? Pretty good, on the whole. "Kathleen's Song" (held over from UNTITLED) is all the better for Melcher's overdubs - it's achingly beautiful - as is the not-dissimilar "Pale Blue". Other highlights include Skip Battin's "Absolute Happiness" and the Clarence White sung "Jamaica (Say you Will)". Other tracks ain't so wonderful, but the album's far from being the dog it's been rumoured to be for so long.

The bonus tracks consist of another UNTITLED-era recording ("Just Like a Woman"), an alternate version ("Pale Blue") and an out-take - a version of Gene Clark's "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better"*. What we don't get is the rumoured alternate take of "Jamaica" which Clarence White always said to be vastly superior to the album version.

* At least I think it's the Gene Clark song, I haven't heard it yet!

"Byrdmaniax" is a marvelous late-period Byrds album, with some stellar songs and affecting performances. In fact, there are several all- time Byrds classics to be found: 'Pale Blue', 'I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician' and 'Glory, Glory'. The very best tracks, though, are better than anything The Byrds had ever come up with to that time. McGuinn's amazing 'I Trust' and Skip Battin's strange ode to old Hollywood, 'Citizen Kane' (the guitars on that track, along with the raw attack of Gene Parson's drumming, seems to predict grunge...I'm just babbling now). Then there's Skip's pastoral 'Absolute Happiness' which is not at all bad. Actually, all of the material in "Byrdmaniax" is downright great; the only flaw--and this is a big one-- is the overproduction. The Byrds were at their height at this point, with the McGuinn-Battin-Parsons-White lineup; and yet they're buried underneith tons of ridiculous strings. That pretty much destroyed the wonderful 'Kathleen's Song' (without the kitchen sink it is included on the 1990 Byrds box set) and vastly diminishes the power of 'Pale Blue' and 'My Destiny'. It should be noted that The Byrds were not responsible for this and were incensed tremendously that their producer would screw them so badly; as a direct result the band itself produced the next lp, "Farther Along". That album has the edge over "Byrdmaniax" due to it's amazingly quiet and clean simplicity of both material and production. But don't pass up "Byrdmaniax". There are several great cuts that didn't make the box set (why in the world was 'Citizen Kane' not included in the box? ) and that are necessary for anyone wishing to gain a complete understanding of one of America's greatest and most influential country-rock bands. While "Byrdmaniax" is not currently in print in the US, it should be reissued soon.

Upon first hearing this recording in '71, having already been a fan of the early and middle Byrd line-ups and a recent devotee to the then newest "Untitled" line-up, I admit I was challenged by the eclectic, richly produced, and varied song repertoire of "Byrdmaniax"... but not for long. This wonderful recording soon became and has long been one of my favorite Byrds albums... not for its traditional, predictable or comfortable nature... but because of the depth of material, spirit of adventure, and the overwhelmingly beautiful, haunting and spiritual quality of almost every song on the album. "Tunnel of Love" and "My Destiny" are soulfully disturbing tracks... "Tunnel of Love" utilizing a healthy dose of tongue in cheek, but when the organ and horns kick in at fever pitch at song's end atop the incessant, lumbering piano riff... you know you've died and gone to carnival heaven. And if I have Terry Melcher to thank for the rich arrangements, so be it... "My Destiny" is the Byrds answer to Ray Charles' "Goin' Down Slow" from the "Cryin Time" sessions... "I Trust" is a wonderful gospel number that never fails to lift the spirits... "Kathleen's Song", "Pale Blue" and their version of "Jamaica Say You Will" engulf the senses like a rich tapestry... these songs are simply beautiful. "Citizen Kane" is offbeat and infectious... Overall, the album works on the strength of its rich and varied content... This re-release is true to the original.. the sound quality is exceptional... and the extra tracks are a special bonus. I encourage those of you with a wide palette and ear for the uniquely beautiful to indulge yourself the opportunity to discover a grossly under appreciated recording that saturates the senses with a thick dose of soulful melancholy, pastoral space cowboy, and playful acerbic wit... And hey, if you don't like it, you've got all of those other great Byrds, Burrito and Parsons albums to listen to.

By now, we've all heard the legend of Byrdmaniax. The Byrds have restored their critical and commercial standing with Ballad of Easy Rider and (Untitled), they record their next album, then leave the mixing to producer Terry Melcher so they can begin on a 200 city tour. Melcher then goes and ruins the album by pouring on the commercial cheese in the form of strings, woodwinds, a choir of female backup singers, etc. This is all factually accurate. Furthermore, the reports are correct, this is indeed the Byrds' worst LP. However, "the Byrds' worst LP" is like saying you only found $40 laying on the ground when you're used to finding $75. For most bands, this album is pretty-damn-good to outright-great.

It may be unfair to look at it this way, but if it weren't for Terry Melcher's production, Byrdmaniax could have ended up as one of the best later-period Byrds records. I view Byrdmaniax as the Byrds' Smiley Smile. Both were done by bands who got into a mellow space and did an album to reflect that. Both albums were also released to scathing reviews and backlash from fans at the time of their release. Time, however, has restored Smiley Smile's critical standing and public acceptance. This is not the case with Byrdmaniax, and unfairly so.

One of the things that has always stood out to me about Byrdmaniax, bad production aside, is that it actually contains some of the best songs that the individual band members ever contributed to a Byrds record. In my opinion, the only two mis-steps in terms of songwriting are Skip Battin's "Tunnel of Love" (which has charm in and of itself) and Roger McGuinn's "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician".

McGuinn provided three gems for this record. "Pale Blue" is without question the record's highlight and one of the highlights of his entire songwriting career. The "hominess" of that song is its real strength. "Kathleen's Song" is almost certainly my favorite McGuinn lead vocal on the album and is an absolutely gorgeous song. If you don't dig the Byrdmaniax mix, check out the alternate mix on the 1990 box set without Melcher's syrup. That'll give you your facts all you need. His other gem on this album, "I Trust", has a killer melody and great lyrics.

Gene Parsons and Clarence White turn in their best collaboration on a Byrds LP with "Green Apple Quick Step", an awesome bluegrass number that features some great banjo picking courtesy of White. It's cool to listen behind the banjo and hear McGuinn playing his acoustic guitar, trying to keep up with Clarence White. Gene Parsons provides some great harmonica fills and fiddler Byron Berline was brought in to seal the deal. If you can listen to this without helplessly tapping your foot in time, you're a far better person than I.

Skip Battin' shines with "Citizen Kane", a song about 1930s Hollywood megalomania, complete with a vintage Vaudeville sound that compliments the lyrics perfectly. Battin also delivered in spades with "Absolute Happiness", hands down the best song he ever wrote for a Byrds album, and possibly the best song he ever wrote period.

Of the album's three covers, "Glory, Glory" and the traditional tune "My Destiny" are both very nicely done, but they don't hold a candle to the reading of Jackson Browne's "Jamaica Say You Will" which closes the album. Clarence White delivers a vocal performance that will leave you feeling dirty, used and wanting more. The raw emotion in his delivery makes it a classic moment in the Byrds' cannon. The man's guitar playing always spoke for itself, but he was also a far better singer than a lot of people give him credit for.

In closing, I urge everyone to go back and listen to Byrdmaniax again, but when you do, check any pre-conceived notions at the door. Enjoy what it has to offer the listener. It's a mellow, reflective album that contains many delicate and beautiful songs. It's not perfect, but few albums are. And as David Fricke correctly pointed out in the liner notes on the CD reissue in 2000, "Byrdmaniax isn't just for Byrd maniacs".

I remember purchasing my vinyl copy of "Byrdmaniax" thirty years ago, this month. I probably listened to it more often than any record I had in my collection at the time.

Let me say that the first quality I seek in any body of music is melody. Without it, ennui supersedes any listening pleasure and the work is soon forgotten. The tasteful and balanced offering of songs, be they ballads, rockers, novelty numbers, or instrumentals, is unforgettably mellifluous--from beginning to end--on "Byrdmaniax."

Each member of the Byrds plays and sings like a virtuoso in their field. Yes, the bard is at work in the lyricism, however, with the manner in which each piece on "Byrdmaniax" is performed, there is a profound musing that transcends mere doggerel. I was galvanized into asking myself philosophically exploratory questions about the world, people and life itself after hearing this wondrous album a few times.

The songs on "Byrdmaniax" are all exquisitely arranged and complemented, wherever necessary, with strings, horns, reeds, keyboards and girl choruses. Critical opinion has been mordant over this, however, let the incredulous aficionados ask themselves what they would have thought of "Byrdmaniax" if it was the first and only time they ever heard a Byrds album. Then again, perhaps I just got inured to the group's vivacious eclecticism.

My favourite tunes on the "Byrdmaniax" CD are: "Kathleen's Song," "Pale Blue" (two of my most cherished nuggets in the vast Byrds' canon) and "Absolute Happiness." I would really love to hear David Crosby, with his ethereal voice, sing those three chestnuts.

All in all, "Byrdmaniax" is a thoughtfully produced and garnished, gospel and jazz tinged, country/folk-rock masterpiece that belongs in any comprehensive record collection. Remember, "Notorious Byrd Brothers," with its unique, multifarious sound mosaic that reflected a slice of Americana, was elaborately arranged, too (though "Byrdmaniax" was bereft of any tinctures of space-rock/psychedelia), like the album I am reviewing. If, in my mind, "Notorious Byrd Brothers" is the quintessential, artistic rock statement, by the greatest and most influential band in rock history, then "Byrdmaniax" is, unequivocally, the most undervalued gem of the rock age.

Quick, name all the great songs written, or for that matter performed, after Chesnutt Mare by Roger McGuinn. While many are quick to blame the late Skip Battin, and Gene Parsons for this album, the blame falls squarly on the shoulders of Roger McGuinn in my opinion. How would this album rate if McGuinn could have come up with some strong material, and the album only contained one song by Battin, and one sung by Clarence White ?

McGuinn was always the backbone of the Byrds. Other members would contribute a song or two (Crosby,Clark), but the Byrds sound was ultimately the result of McGuinn's guitar and vocals. On "Farther Along" the trio of Battin,Parsons,White were able to bail him out. On this record the results were not so great. There are some decent songs, and any record in which the late great Clarence White plays guitar cant be all bad, but McGuinn simply had little left to offer at this point.

If Battin,White,Parsons had been members of the Byrds when McGuinn was writing and performing strong material, the records would have been masterpieces.As it is they were left to carry the very impossible task of reproducing the classic Byrds sound with very little help from McGuinn.The only person with the skills to pull this off was Gram Parsons,and he only was successful to a certain extent.

I'm pretty die-hard when it comes to the Byrds. My favorite eras of this band (or should I say "these bands?") are the first 2 records with Gene Clark and the last few records with Clarence, Gene Parsons, and Skip.
On Byrdmaniax, there are some flaws, to be sure. Some of the writing, particularly Battin's, is overly campy. And I've read that most of the band hated the strings that Terry Melcher soaked some of these pieces in. But honestly, I never thought about the strings as hampering things- I think they're gorgeous on "Pale Blue" and totally compliment Parson's harp playing.
My favorite things on this disc: "GLORY GLORY" "I TRUST" and "MY DESTINY". This era of the Byrds shows McGuinn & Co at the top of their game as virtuoso players. Followers of the band might agree that the writing was never as good as the Gene Clark era Byrds, but the playing was never better than the "UNTITLED" era.
When Roger McGuinn closed this version down and reunited all 5 original Byrds under Crosby's production, the line up didn't live up to their TURN TURN TURN glory nor did it hold a candle to the latter day Byrds. It was clearly Crosby's triumph and last laugh, but at the price of the music. In terms of The Byrds being a great band, the Byrdmaniax quartet is unparalleled.

The repackaging and remastering of the byrds catalog has been done superbly. This is how it should be done. Great sound, additional tracks that are not throwaways, and individual song explanations.
First of all I am not a huge fan of the psychodelic Byrds era (first four albums). The first byrds cd I purchased was the 20 Essential tracks (from the byrds box) followed quickly by the classic Gram Parson's led Sweethearts of the Rodeo. Then came Farther Along, Live at the Fillmore, Untitled/Unissued/ NOtorious Byrd Bros., and Ballad of Easy Rider. All great, GREAT, cd's with countrified, rock, folk textures. The guitar work of the much underrated, and sadly missed, Clarence White. I stayed away from Byrdmanix at first due to reviews that seemed to downgrade it as overly produced, missguided fluff. Thank goodness I do not listen for long to all reviewers. This is good Byrds stuff. It doesn't match Sweethearts, Ballad, Untitled, or Farther Along, but it does surpass Notorious and Live. In other words, instead of getting an 'A', it only recieves a 'B+'! If you like the later day Byrds sound, this cd will complete your collection. And no true music fan should be without a little Byrds.
Glory, Glory, Pale Blue, I Trust, Tunnel of Love, Citizen KAne, Absolute HAppiness, My Destiny, Jamaica Say You Will, Just Like a Woman are all top line Byrds songs. The other few songs not included in that list are B level songs, meaning, better than most artists A list songs of today. This is great music.
Rediscover the Byrds and soar into muscial paradise!

I grew up listening to The Byrds, so I went along with all the changes. I loved all the different sounds they provided. My favorite is "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo", but I never disliked Byrdmaniax or even read the reviews when it was released. I never paid too much attention to that stuff, as most critics usually didn't have a clue, and I was too much the collector to listen to them anyway. :]
My favorite tunes from this LP have always been, "I Want To Grow Up..." and "Glory, Glory". But really, there is not a bad song on it. I never tried to compare one Byrds LP with another. They're all Great, some better than others, that's all!
I'd rate any Byrds LP anywhere from an A+ to a B+.

You can't lose.

Almost universally acknowledged as the Byrds worst album, Byrmaniax suffers from a weak title, an awful album cover, terrible overproduction, and mediocre material. However, Roger McGuinn's "I Trust" is an excellent expression of his personal vision, and "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician" is witty and enjoyable. McGuinn's "Pale Blue" and "Kathleen's Song" are pleasant enough, and the Parsons/White "Green Apple Quick Step" is excellent, original bluegrass. The rest of the original album is pretty dull. Apparently, some of the over-production problems were corrected when the album was remastered for CD, and the three new bonus songs are all exceptional. Still the Byrds' worst album, but this CD version is worthwhile.