Customer Reviews

Byrds

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You'd think I'd be happy. After all these years, finally a reissue of this "lost" reunion album by those fantastic original Byrds. The music has always been under-rated because what could possibly compare to the classics Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn, Turn, Turn and 5th Dimension (I'd also include Younger Than Yesterday, though it was sans Gene Clark)? Those were perfect albums, great time capsules and timeless music. Nineteen seventy-three was NOT 1965, and they had sense enough to know that the magic of that time and place could not be recaptured, so they made the type of music that they thought was "relevant" in 1973. I think they did quite well. The album has always been lambasted by critics and Byrd fans; unfairly so, I now think. However, it's taken a lot of time to come to that conclusion. I was just as disappointed at the time it came out; I wanted the original Byrds to SOUND like the original Byrds. I even eventually gave my LP to the local public library in the 80s; at the time, I never thought I'd want to listen to it again.

But, as time passed, that hole in my collection nagged at me, and I started to want to hear the album again, to see what I'd think of it now. Finally, a couple of years ago I found the original LP, in "fair" condition, for around $[...] and I picked it up. Even through the occasional clicks and pops, it sounded glorious. Therefore, I was so excited when it finally was released domestically. Finally!...no more clicks and pops!...in glorious digital sound!

When I got this CD, however, there was one problem: it WASN'T glorious sound. It was flat and lacked definition. HMMMM...I thought maybe I was having a bad ear day and pulled out my CD recording of my old LP to do an A/B comparison. WOW! I wasn't having a bad ear day. The old LP sounded much brighter, deeper and better. So, another bad digital remaster...not the first one, and probably won't be the last. It's amazing that there have been so many inferior digital remasters. I have an old Phillips CD recorder, 9 years old, that I use to transfer my old LPs to CD. It captures every nuance that is present on the vinyl. How can access to the master tape, with no transfer loss, with all the advances in digital remastering, yeild something inferior to what I captured on an old, scratchy LP? Makes you think, doesn't it?

Also, when a classic of this calibre is finally re-released, I think it fitting that we get some sort of "package" with it. A bit of history, maybe some perspective from the surviving Byrds...SOMETHING!!!...besides a 10" X 5" sheet of paper folded in half that has the original album image, song titles and credits.

I know I seem like a whiner, but this is a really excellent album by one of the greatest musical groups of all time. One would think they (and their fans) would deserve somthing of better quality than this.

This album has caught a lot of bad press over the years because most critics have voiced the opinion that none of the participants were fully engaged in this project. This can safely be called THE David Crosby Byrds album. He's all over the music. Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn back up and audibly let David have his way. Gene Clark and David are in fine voice and the cover songs are great. "See The Sky About To Rain" is awesome and McGuinn's "Rock-n-Roll" is very ragged but very right. Crosby got a great sound on this record. The instruments and vocals are crystal clear. It is one of my all-time favorite Byrds Albums. It's better,in its way, than anything after "Notorious".

From 1969 to 1972, Roger McGuinn was the only original member of the Byrds, taking charge and letting himself and the new members steer the group to a much more country-rock direction. The country-rock period produced several critically hailed classic songs, not to mention the legendary "Untitled" album (praised as the last great Byrds record), and most importantly, this lineup remained a highly important live touring consideration. But, for reasons known and unknown, McGuinn got rid of this version to join the idea for a 1973 "reunion" of the original Byrds lineup of himself, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke. The resulting self-titled album did great on the charts, beating some of the country-rock lineup's positions by far, but it was critically shot down in most corners. Not only that, any Byrd fan expecting the 12-string folk-rock or moog synthesizer space-rock that the original quintet had innovated was in for a disappointment; 1973's "The Byrds" showed the original lineup almost immitating the same country-rock that had been perfected by the previous version of the Byrds. Where is McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker that defined the sound of "Turn! Turn! Turn!"? And where is the spacey studio experimentation of "The Notorious Byrd Brothers?" The last time four of these five Byrds were together in the studio they were making the psychedelic 'Space Odyssey' and sound-effect heavy 'Draft Morning.' Even with David Crosby's assertiveness over McGuinn, it sounds like Clarence White, Gene (and even Gram) Parsons are lingering somewhere in the studio and the songwriting. Of course they weren't, and that means that this album actually does more for the country-rock Byrds than for the original Byrds who made it.
That's not to say the Reunited Five didn't make a great album; their songwriting and performances are top-notch, even if they prove over and over that McGuinn's previous stint was more powerful than it seemed. There are some catchy, flavory songs like Gene Clark's 'Full Circle' and the Chris Hillman/Joe Lala song 'Borrowing Time.' Roger McGuinn's 'Born To Rock and Roll' is featured in a mood and tempo true to the title; it may not compare to the more somber version that was recorded by the previous Byrds (featured as a bonus track on the remastered "Farther Along" CD), but it is still a rollicking joy. But the songs that make this album great are those more melancholy moments, which the album is surprisingly full of. 'Sweet Mary,' co-written by McGuinn, is full of heartbreak and great mandolin work from Hillman, Crosby's languid 'Laughing' is just as stirring, while the three covers are performed with every ounce of emotion you could get from these five men--Joni Mitchell's 'For Free,' and Neil Young's 'Cowgirl in the Sand' and 'See the Sky About To Rain.'
"The Byrds" proved to be a one-time get-together, and the reunion dissolved soon after; it goes without saying that McGuinn chose not to revive the country-rock lineup. While this album may not have done anything for anyone's career, it is still a vivid gem of an album, filled with great songs and great renditions. Finally reissued on the Wounded Bird label after years of being unavailable in the US, this lost album has finally been given a suitable treatment.

David Crosby visited Roger McGuinn one day. Crosby boldly and bluntly assessed the current line up of The Byrds by saying, "you've done some OK stuff but you've also done stuff that is pretty bad. Please stop doing it under the Byrds name". He offered a compromise of sorts. Gather up the original line up and record an album showing where they were today. Such was the genesis of "Byrds" the original quintet's swan song. of the original members only Crosby was experiencing success and that informed this record; he produced it and generally created his version of the band that McGuinn had led. Songwriter/singer Gene Clark was once the band's original front man and most prolific songwriter. This album doesn't capture the grandeur of that original line up. All four songwriters/singers in the original line up contributed two songs with the rest being remakes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell tunes.

Gene Clark's material is the best on the album. "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart" are among the best original songs on the album. Only "Sweet Mary" by McGuinn and Jacques Levy measures up along with Crosby's "Laughing". While Hillman has admitted that the two songs he contributed were second rate material, they're melodic and well written. Clark sings the two Neil Young cover songs "Cowgirl in the Sand" doesn't add anything to the Byrds mythos but his rousing cover of "(See the Sky) About to Rain" with its unusually loud coda pulls it together at the end.

Wounded Bird Records has put out the original album exactly as it appeared in 1973 (albeit adapted for the CD format). I'm happy they licensed this overlooked gem but wish that Rhino (which owns the rights through Warner)had allowed them to dig through the vault for demos, unfinished alternate takes and other material that the group may have tried out in rehearsal for the album only to reject later.

While this isn't the finest album The Byrds ever made, it's a fine country-rock album and a snapshot of the individual members along with the music they were making solo. Although Crosby dominated the sessions (his picture is dead center and the largest on the cover)because of his success with Crosby, Stills and Nash, he doesn't completely dominate the album giving a fair shake to the other songwriter's material.

I'd give it 3 1/2 stars. The solo albums by McGuinn and Clark recorded after this are superior to this album ("Roger McGuinn" and the controversial "No Other" respectively). In fact, the band would reassemble one more time for a track on McGuinn's solo album (that track really belonged on this album)but for that this was the last hurrah for the original Byrds. After this their career as a group would be grounded by lawsuits and drugs.

This album received alot of negative press. I assume the critics were thinking that by reuniting the original Byrds would create a masterpiece of Byrds sounding songs. Instead they got an album of good country rock songs from five very influential musicians. Obviously Crosby,Hillman,McGuinn,Clark and Clarke were at a different stage musically in their careers when this album came out. They had moved on from the more pop oriented sound of the Byrds. Some very solid song writing("Long Live The King","For Free" some good covers(Neil Young's "See The Sky(About To Rain)" and "Cowgirl In The Sand" and most of all some quality musicianship(love the mandolin fills throughout the album) lead to an underappreciated effort. I think most people would be pleasantly surprised by this cd.

I have always been fascinated by Gene Clark, and, having just finished reading his biography called "Mr. Tambourine Man," by John Einarsonfans of the Byrds should know a bit more about the circumstances around this album according to the other Byrds and Gene Clark's biographer. In short order, all the Byrds except for Gene Clark in fact pretty much mailed it in in terms of their material. They were saving their best material for their other music projects. Poor Gene. He was too afraid to tour because of airplanes and stage fright-- there are many who now considered him bi-polar-- and his career had pretty much stalled at this point in his career, not to mention that he was also drinking and drugging. Hence his song contributions and performances generally outshine everyone elses. And there have not been too many singers with the vocal gifts of Gene Clark in terms of emotional presence and depth, here aided greatly by Crosby's harmonies. Of course the well-crafted sound and the competent musicianship covered over much of what the other material itself lacked. I have listened only to the vinyl because, well, I am a big fan of vinyl. Overall the album is a bit melancholic and lacking in sincere energy. It is still worth buying. 2 and a half stars.

Let me first admit that I haven't heard this particular reissue, but I have some comments and then some advice.
This is essentially the third Byrds album: after Gene Clark left, the successive LPs were all cases of diminishing returns, and though I bought the originals (up through Notorious) and still listen to them, it becomes clearer each time I listen that the essential qualities that established The Byrds in the first place took a fatal hit when Gene left.
Cut to 1973 and the small miracle of this reunion LP. It has been said that everyone but Gene held back and recorded their second-rate songs, keeping their best for their own separate projects. That may well be the case, but it hardly matters since the songs that were chosen do justice to their respective authors, right down to the kind of self-indulgence that typified most of what David Crosby did with The Byrds and elsewhere.
But it's the classic Byrds sound that comes through, and that isn't diminished by the material. The care with which they take on Joni Mitchell or Neil Young songs is admirable and on par with their own material. Sure, some of this stuff is lightweight--"Things Will Be Better" and "Borrowing Time" aren't top-drawer Byrds or Chris Hillman, but they're fun, and The Byrds were never averse to a bit of fun anyway--remember "Oh Susannah" and "We'll Meet Again"?
Now to the topic of reissues: I first bought an imported WEA release which originated from the 90s; it was badly flawed, since the first second of "See the Sky About to Rain" was lopped off--but it was all we had at the time, so it had to suffice. Recently, though, Rhino has reissued this album in the UK (and presumably elsewhere), and the sound production is terrific--the lost opening to "Sky" has been restored, and real care has been taken with the rest of the music.
My advice to those who find that the Wounded Bird disc is chintzy: order the imported Rhino disc from Amazon.co.uk--it's relatively cheap and sounds wonderful.

All of the preceeding positive reviews are valid & accurate with one over-site: Chris Hillmans' songs! "Borrowing Time" is indeed a gem , as indicated by another reviewer, but for me the stand-out track is "Things Will Be Better Now". It has a catchy beat ("...and you can dance to it..." ; apologies, American Bandstand)and some nice 12-string guitar work but what works best for me are the lyrics. Nothing profound or too deep , but a good working philosophy that has always seemed to guide my own life. "Things WILL be better now, don't ask me why, don't ask me how...". Somehow if you just keep working at it & persevere it always does! Just don't give up! (A little faith in a higher power doesn't hurt any either. However, even before becoming a Christian, this philosophy always seemed to work for me.)
In fact, when things are down & not looking too promising , this song always pops up in my head and helps (oddly enough) get me back on course again. Good Lord knows we need more positive & upbeat songs that we can hum,whistle or sing along with. All of the other songs are great & for all of the reasons covered by other reviewers but this one tune should not be overlooked. It positively stood out when I 1st heard the album back in '73! Thanks Chris Hillman!

When this reunion album, by the original Byrds, was released, it failed to meet expectations in a number of ways. The Byrds trademark jangly guitar sound and three-part harmony vocals were largely absent; contributions by the Byrds "stars", Roger McGuinn and David Crosby, were considerably less than anticipated; and the overall sound seemed more laid-back and less adventerous than it might have been. Add that to the fact that devoted Clarence White fans couldn't have been too happy about the band just dumping one of the finest guitarists in the world, and the album was a public relations disaster. Byrds fans and critics might have been made more prepared for the Byrds new sound had the single "Full Circle" (preferably backed with "See the Sky About to Rain") been released prior to the album, but, unfortunately, the album was released first.

Expectations aside, Byrds is a very good album. Gene Clark's two original songs are absolutely terrific, as are his two Neil Young covers. "Full Circle" may be the best song on the album, "Changing Heart" the most personal, and "See the Sky About to Rain" the climax, while Clark's cover of Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" (which may be the weakest of the four performances) is an entirely appropriate and thoroughly enjoyable country-rock interpretation. The album is worth having for these four songs alone.

Chris Hillman's two songs may be slight, but highly enjoyable. Not a bad contribution from a guy who was concurrently touring with the latter-day Byrds, and with Stephen Stills' Manassas, and recording an album with Manassas (released the following month). Roger McGuinn's "Born to Rock 'n' Roll" has an absolutely beautiful, semi-autobiographical verse, although the chorus seems to fall a little flat. Maybe the problem is that McGuinn was born to folk-rock, which isn't quite the same thing. McGuinn's "Sweet Mary" is basically a pleasant throw-away, seeming to indicate a preference for a solo career. Crosby's remake of "Laughing" and his Joni Mitchell cover "For Free" are very nice and fit the album flow nicely, but don't represent anything new. Crosby's "Long Live the King" may be the hardest rocking, and weakest, song on the album, but it's not bad at all - sort of his version of "Changing Heart".

The songs are all thematically linked relating to musical reunion, with Gene Clark clearly in favor of making beautiful Byrds music indefinitely, Hillman and Crosby treating the reunion as something intermittent, and McGuinn treating it as temporary.

Overall, a highly enjoyable album and the best batch of original songs recorded under the Byrds banner since 1967.

There were very high hopes for this album prior to its original release. McGuinn had helped to fuel this sense of anticipation some months earlier by telling a jounalist that the new album would "continue where 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers' had left off.". When 'Byrds' finally appeared it seemed as segmented as the latter day Byrds' Columbia albums and had little of that remarkably unified sound that had been the hallmark of the same lineup between 1965 and 1967. I would however urge prospective buyers not to be put off as the reputation of this album has improved during the period since. The two Gene Clark compositions ('Full Circle' and 'Changing Heart') have become classics and are worth the price of admission alone. McGuinn's 'Sweet Mary' is in the style of a traditional folk song and features some excellent mandolin and acoustic guitar. Neil Young's (then unreleased) 'See the Sky About to Rain' sees some stunning 12 string guitar work, great harmony and the kind of Gene Clark vocal that we would hear from him on 'No Other' the following year. David Crosby is very much in his element as a harmony singer - especially on 'Cowgirl in the Sand' and the version of his own composition 'Laughing' contains enough of McGuinn's Rickenbacker raga sound to render its inclusion worthwhile. And don't forget that there is an astonishing outtake from this album -'My New Woman' on McGuinn's self titled solo album from a few months later.