Customer Reviews

The Byrds' Notorious Byrd Brothers (33 1/3)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This heartfelt little book by professional musician Ric Menck is part personal reminiscence, but mostly analysis and history of the 1968 album "Notorious Byrds Brothers".

Menck belongs to a later generation and seems to have discovered the album about 10 years after its release. It was, he says, "a profound listening experience."

Roughly, his book is divided into three parts which sometimes intermingle. First is a reminiscence of his discovery of the Byrds and their influence on him. This includes some personal experiences in a band, offered as insight into the forces that can tear a group apart.

Next is a history of the Byrds from 1964 through the firing of Crosby during the "Notorious" sessions in 1967. This material seems mostly drawn from secondary (published) sources but is probably necessary for sake of completeness.

Finally, there is a track by track analysis of the album with date, personnel, producer, and engineers for each track. This often includes new anecdotes about what was going on between members of the group at a given session. While not exhaustive, what is here is very good and much seems new to me. This is the real heart of the book, and here it earns its purchase price.

The sincerity of this modest little paperback made it hard for this Byrds fan to resist.

HISTORICAL COMMENT:

Ric Menck wonders (as do quite a few Amazon reviewers) why albums of this period like "5D" and "Notorious" have only 11 tracks even though more good material from the sessions was available.

As a record buyer from back then I can offer at least a partial answer. Through 1965 the standard content of vinyl LPs was 14 tracks in the U.K. and 12 tracks in the U.S.A. This was not a physical capacity of vinyl disks, but rather a formula for the number of song royalties a label would have to pay per album sale.

Around 1965, U.S. labels attempted to increase profitability by reducing the number of tracks from 12 to 10. I recall RCA reissuing its country catalogue ("Hank Snow's Greatest Hits," etc) as 10 track albums. These were identical to the original releases except for omission of one song from each side.

Buyer resistance proved severe. Rather than abandon the idea, labels compromised with an 11 song standard. The Byrds first album fell under the old formula with 12 tracks, but subsequent releases have 11 tracks. ("Dr. Byrds" has 10 but the medley pays at least two royalties). Capitol records made a fortune on pre-"Sgt. Pepper" Beatles by releasing 14 track U.K. albums as 11 track U.S. versions. The excess tracks (including 7 bonus songs on "Help!") were repackaged as "bogus" albums nonexistent in the U.K., and sold as well as any other U.S. Beatles album.

Most Fans of the Byrds won't learn a lot new about this album or the band from "331/3". But it is an enthusiastic, short read about one of the great rock albums.

The author - Ric Menck - gets it and took this reader back almost 40 to the excitement I felt upon finding the Notorious Byrd Brothers and giving it the first of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of listens.

While there is not a lot of NEW information here, the book does bring back lost memories and spotlights this fine album in the way it deserves. It would be a great introduction to those new to the Byrds.

There are more detailed books about the Byrds, but "331/3" is perfect for those with more age than time/energy to read longer works. Read and listen - the book and album are a pleasant way to spend an evening or two. I'm glad I bought/read it.

this book offers some background detail about the formation of the byrds, as well as track-by-track commentary about the album. very good introduction to the byrds at a cheap price.

My best friend gave me this book, and it's quite different than anything I would usually read. What I genuinely appreciated, and is something that another reviewer of this book didn't, is that it is a real achievement to move beyond the "fan" realm (which can be mostly self-indulgent) into a space in which an author successfully re-creates in prose the extreme excitement about potent music that he shares with other Byrd fans, and which can be enabled for new Byrd fans. No small feat--persuasively rendering in text the passionate aesthetic experience--and I applaud anyone who can really do that. He does that. Yes, there are too many typos. In the modern publishing age, it's tough to figure out where to point a finger for all such errors.

Thank you Ric Menck for your outstanding new contribution to the literature on The Byrds. Menck's book focuses on The Byrds' masterpiece album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, which was recorded in 1967 as the original group composed of Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, and Chris Hillman was in the process of disintegrating (even Gene Clark, who had left the year previously, made a brief, mysterious return during this period). The author does an excellent job of providing the historical context for the Byrds: the different personalities, how the group came into being, and their artistic and commercial fate from 1964 to 1967. It is a story that has been told many times (particularly in great detail by John Rogan in "Timeless Flight Revisited"), but Menck manages to bring some fresh details and insights. From my perspective the highlight of the book is Menck's track by track analysis of "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" album. He provides detailed information on the musical performers, as well as notes on the perfomances. Although I have listened to, and loved, this album since it was originally issued in January 1968, Menck opened up new perspectives on it for me. His account of how he became interested in the album is also worthwhile, but the real value of the book is in his careful, well-written essay on the Byrds and their wonderful record from a very troubled time. Let us hope that Menck or some other equally gifted writer can do a similar account of "The Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album!

Good and breezy book, which could be very enjoyable when you lower your expectations of learning anything really substantial about the album - the author doesn't do any new interviews, and seems to rely mostly on guesswork for any detail about studio work or the participants motivations. More of a critical appreciation than in-depth history, and more of a fan's-eye-view than a critical appreciation.

Still, the Byrds are a criminally underrated and underrepresented band in the canon of rock literature, so the mere existence of this book is semi-miraculous: a book dedicated to a lesser-known album - one without a hit single to its credit - by a band so far out of critical and commercial favor that they didn't even get into the R&R Hall of Fame's Top 200 Definitive Albums.

Take it for what it is - a fellow Byrds fan sharing his feelings about the band - and you'll enjoy.

...and by that I mean slight and a disappointment.

I came to this book expecting not a rehash of the Byrds history--I'm pretty familiar with that already--but an in-depth analysis of the recording. It was one of my favorites from the time I first heard it (I had just graduated from eighth grade when it came out). I was hoping for behind the scenes insight, but would have settled for a subjective analysis, as long as it was in-depth and interesting. I mean, this album is captivating, it's full of sounds I had never heard before, and was the first time I was knocked out by stereo separation. I also know how much disarray that Byrds found themselves in at this time, so I expected some anecdotes regarding the climate in which this album was made.

But we don't get any of that. The so-called "analysis" doesn't begin until the last third of the book. The balance of the book is made up of personal reminiscences from the author, and a digest-sized history of the Byrds. Neither is particularly noteworthy.

If you aren't that familiar with the Byrds, the short history is probably useful. But the point here is that most people reading this book will likely be familiar with the Byrds, as "Notorious," while not particularly obscure, is not as well-known as the four previous albums and tends to be appreciated by knowledgeable fans who have been exposed to this information already. Still, the history would have worked if it were more integrated into the makings of the album itself, you know, cause and effect. There is some effort to do that, but it is minimal, and does not justify the number of pages devoted to this rehash. You aren't getting the fruits or original research here. So what's the point?

As for the reminiscences of the author, they are by far the weakest part of the book. They are not particularly colorful or inisghtful or, frankly, compellingly written. Again, if parallels were drawn between this personal experience and the album itself, if you could see how they influenced the author's perspective regarding his evaluation of the album, they might have worked better. But in a lot of cases they are just reminiscences--cul-de-sacs of information that go nowhere. Unfortunately, in this day and age, I can get all the personal reminiscences I want (far more, actually) by reading the thousands of blog entries that now infect the Internet. And I can do that for free.

If you are a die-hard fan, if this album affected you in a way that few other albums have--which is the case with me, you'll probably still pick this up. But I had a hard time getting through it...until the subject of the book--finally--became the album itself.

Let me start by noting that Notorious Byrd Brothers is in my top three (more likely two) of all albums ever made. It is the Byrds masterpiece, and can stand shoulder to shoulder with any rock album ever made. Thus, I bought this book with great anticipation. At a very basic level, I am glad I read it. It provided some context for the record, and I appreciate that. However, in all other aspects this was a major disappointment. For one thing, as at least one other reviewer has noted, this book reads like a first draft, with more errors and typos than I have EVER seen in a book. In fact, I am of the opinion that it was not even edited, or, if it was, the editor was perhaps testing out ARTIFICIAL ENERGY! It contains several contradictions about whether David Crosby played on a particular track, and it provides no continuity on the various name changes of the group that finally became the Byrds. Maybe a future edition will take a serious look at these problems, and correct them. In the meantime, please listen to the Byrds in place of purchasing this mess.

It's much easier to listen to music than it is to write about it...
In this book Ric Menck documents his passions for one of his favorite albums, The Byrds 1968 recording entitled: "The Notorious Byrd Brothers." This fifth album by The Byrds is considered by many to be their greatest record. This volume documents the band's history from early 1964 up to December 1967. The record and it's contents are discussed in great detail, as are Ric's personal accounts of his band, finding this great record, a meeting with Chris Hillman, and group of guys that got into the recording studio while the band was still working on this album.

Recorded between April and December of 1967, "Notorious" was produced as the band was self-destructing and imploding. Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Michael Clarke & Chris Hillman were The Byrds in April 1967 and by January of 1968 only Roger and Chris remained as Crosby was fired in October, and Michael walked away from the band in December of 1967. Under such Turmoil and strife it is indeed a miracle that this record is the result of of these troubled times for America's greatest sixties rock band.

The style in which Ric uses to tell this tale is very personal and he has uncovered a wealth of information about this timeless recording and the details surrounding it's evolution from start to finish. You'll find out why the tracks that don't feature David Crosby still sound as though he sang on them. You will learn of Roger's plan to release a double record of the history of music from folk through to space ragas. You will learn the details of Gene Clark's short return to The Byrds and why he flew away once again. This is rock history as the pioneers of folk-rock explode like a super-nova during the making of this album.

This is a book for Byrd-Freaks, and if you are not a fan of their music or rock bios in general, stay away from all of this. But, if this record still means something to you and you remember the thrill of first hearing this wonderful music, this document shows how you can explain and entertain a reader about a piece of music over the span of 144 pages. Some of these 33 & 1/3 books miss the point of just what the subject matter is all about, this one hit's the nail right on the head.
Great lil' book for Byrds fans.
Three and a half stars!

It can be difficult to review a piece of music or the circumstances surrounding it, ten years after the fact. "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" is, at once, a brilliant production, and a pandering to the trends of its time. McGuinn was a master at manipulation, and the group was far removed from the rigidity of Terry Melcher, when their sound was based on McGuinn's 12-string and the voices of he, Crosby and Gene Clark. There has been much mudslinging by the principals in this lifetime, as Clark is dead and Michael Clark was in prison. Hillman, like Crosby, is a musical chameleon. For those who want to know, Gene Clark is playing a Fender 12-string on an early video for "Mr. Tambourine Man". The skinny on this is that Clark had a hard time singing and playing at the same time, as did Crosby playing the bass, so they hired Hillman. Hillman has been quoted as saying "if you want to discourage kids from doing drugs, just have David come in on show-and-tell day and show himself". But, the winds of discontent had sown themselves on the previous album, "Younger Than Yesterday", which was also a satisfying record. Crosby had expressed his dissatisfaction with the choice of "My Back Pages" as he had with "Goin' Back". This was also the first appearances of Gary Usher as producer, Clarence White as lead guitar on several cuts, and Hugh Masekela on trumpet on "So You Wanna Be A Rock-n-roll Star". One more thing, the window in which the horse appears on the album cover was originally occupied by one David Crosby.