Customer Reviews

Fifth Dimension

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

Reading the other reviews, you get a concensus that Younger Than Yesterday and Notorious Byrd Brothers are finer Byrd albums, but 5th Dimension is the band's most seminal. That pretty much sums it up.

The Beatles may well be the greatest group of all time, but for a few months...... in early '66......the Byrds were ahead of even the Fab Four. This album demonstrated so many possibilities for rock music that it should be considered the first truly "experimental" rock record. Not only did it open many doors, it encouraged doors to be opened......any doors. So, while their next two records can be considered better "Byrd" albums, 5th Dimension is the Byrds greatest contribution to music in general terms. It changed the landscape of what rock music could be.

I was glad to see 5th Dimension finally remastered. The original stereo version of the album was poorly mastered and in bad need of an overhaul. Although the remastering is not perfect, it is definately an improvement over what had been previously available for the last 30 years, both on LP and CD. The mono version is far superior, so I hope some day a remastered mono mix will be available on CD. If you love this album and still have a turntable, I recommend seeking the mono version on the LP.

And the songs? Well, there's not much else to add that hasn't already been said. There are a couple of observations I'd like to share:

I will put in my vote for What's Happening being a fine song. McGuinn's guitar sounds more like Irish bagpipes than a sitar.

Crosby guitar work on the Columbia version of Eight Miles High is brilliant. If you listen to any latter-day versions performed by McGuinn without Crosby, you'll find it lacking that punch during the solo. It just doesn't hit the bell without that chunky, yet well conceived rhythum. Ironically, I wonder why Crosby prefers the RCA version, where his presence is much more sedate and less a factor.

The Columbia single of Why is not only the best of the available three versions, it also presents the most awesome tone I ever heard out of McGuinn's guitar. It simply proves that if God plays a guitar, its a 370-12 Rickenbacker!

"Fifth Dimension" is a truly beautiful album that should've been the greatest album ever. Intelligent and masterful songs such as "5D", "I Come and Stand at Every Door", and "Eight Miles High" are some of the best ever recorded - "5D" is second only to "Sweet Jane" as my favorite song. If only the R&B throaway insturmental "Captain Soul" and "The Lear Jet Song" had been excused. "Captain Soul" isn't bad, but it doesn't mesh well with the other songs on the album. It is a totally different sound that sticks out like a missing tooth. "The Lear Jet Song" is nice and cleaver, but ultimately pointless. Both songs should have been repalced with another songs, or they shoud've just kept it at eight songs. If the Byrds had done this, "Fifth Dimension" would be perfect, the sequencing and sound of all the songs would've been similar to "Velvet Underground & Nico" (a truly great album).

That being said, every other song on this album is a masterpeice. They are perfectly arranged and with thought-provoking lyrics, being extremly influential on psychadelic rock. "5D" is an incredible tribute to the human imagination and psyche. As another reviewer noted, this isn't the most consistant work by the Byrds, but is probably their greatest.

The Byrds third album was recorded after Gene Clarke abruptly quit the group, with the exception of "Eight Miles High". "Eight Miles High" is the most famous song on this album, and it is an undeniably great song. But there are many other fine songs on this album. There are the singles "5D" and "Mr. Spaceman". Neither one was a very big hit, but they both should have been. "I Come and Stand at Every Door" and "John Riley" are fine examples of the folk-rock that the Byrds did so well. "Hey Joe" may not be the best version of that song, but it is still good. "Captain Soul" was a big departure for the group, being a funky instrumental, but it works. "2-4-2 Fox Trot" is so strange that it seems like a joke, but apparently it wasn't. There are six listed bonus tracks here, all of which are at least somewhat interesting. But there is another unlisted bonus here that is worth mentioning. That track is "The 5D Interview". This was a record that was sent to radio stations to promote the album. It consists of Jim McGuinn and David Crosby answering unasked questions about the album. The way it worked was, a deejay at the radio station would read a question from a script provided by the record company, and then he would play the "response" to the question off of the record. That way the station got to pretend that they had the Byrds in their studio for a live interview, and the record company got free promotion for the Byrds new album.

The Byrds have been known as an underated Super Group who have influenced Tom Petty & REM! "Fifth Dimension" was an important major work in 1966. It launched the Psychedelic Movement in Rock. Sgt Pepper owes "5D" a great debt. "Eight Miles High" is one of the Greatest All-Time Rock Anthems who influence comes from John Coltrane's "India." The album is however flawed with weak tracks such as David Crosby's dull and disappointing version of "Hey Joe." "Wild Mountain Thyme" illustrates the Byrds heavenly harmonies that echo from their earlier albums. "I See You" is a psychedelic companion to "5D" & "Eight Miles High." The brillant and powerful "I Come And Stand At Every Door" is a haunting nightmare from the aftermath of Hiroshima that reflected the Anti-Vietnam mood in the 60's. The bonus tracks are a treat to the CD version especially "I Know My Rider" which is the Byrds' take of "Paperback Writer." In summary, "5D" is not The Byrds best overall work, but it's an important departure from "Turn, Turn, Turn" into unchartered territory! It's a defining historically important work of 60's Rock!

1966's "Fifth Dimension" album by The Byrds is, along with their subsequent 1968 foray into country music on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", the most radical and least commercial album of their career. It is also, next to 1969's "Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde", the hardest-rocking album they ever made. With the departure of Gene Clark, McGuinn and David Crosby had to scramble to fill the songwriting void. Fortunately, the breathtaking and historic single "Eight Miles High", largely composed by Clark, was there to anchor the album and jumpstart the psychedelic movement. Its modal, free-jazz style guitar solo by McGuinn and the sheer heaviness of the arrangement and production made it an intimidating purchase for teenagers weaned on The Beatles' concurrent "Rubber Soul" album. Of course, the kiddies loved McGuinn's early attempt at countrified rock, "Mr. Spaceman" and this helped sell the album. Other acid-rock gems here include the frenzied "I See You", McGuinn's metaphysical "5D" and Crosby's pointed "Why". Of course, there are mellower moments for those who enjoy the folk roots of The Byrds: "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley" are lovely, orchestrated traditional songs, and "I Come and Stand At Every Door" is a moving song about a child killed in Hiroshima. Unfortunately, the album filler hurts the overall impact of the album. Crosby's melodramatic take on "Hey Joe", an ill-advised attempt at rhythm and blues called "Captain Soul", Crosby's hippie philosophizing on "What's Happening! " and the sound-effect laden "2-4-2 Fox Trot" are embarassingly dated. However, the bonus tracks on this well-remastered CD are fascinating alternate takes of "Eight Miles High" and "Why" recorded at RCA that give insight into the development of these classics. This adventurous album will not be to everyone's taste, but it is an essential purchase for not only Byrds fanatics, but pop musicologists, fans of 1960s rock, and those interested in alternative rock.

This album would be worth it for "Eight Miles High" alone; not many bands can claim to have pioneered psychedelia, but The Byrds did it here. Although it is by far the most powerful track, the album also offers other delights; some of their strongest folk-rock efforts ("I Come And Stand At Every Door", "John Riley") sit side-by-side with more experimental cuts like "I See You" that explore the jazz-fusion, raga-rock and electronic-psych that "Eight Miles High" pioneered. McGuinn's guitar playing grew by leaps and bounds here, and Crosby receives his first full songwriting credits. Lyrically, the album covers a wide range of then-unusual topics with wit ("Mr.Spaceman"), reverence ("5D") and surrealism ("Eight Miles High"). The harmonies, of course, are brilliant. Not every experiment works--filler pops up in the form of a standard blues instrumental ("Captain Soul") and the interesting-but-slight jet noises of "2-4-2 Fox Trot", but overall "Fifth Dimension" is one of those albums that made 1966 such a magical, groundbreaking year in pop music.

I know I could get shot for saying this but I enjoy the "5D" album more than the "Mr. Tambourine Man" album. True, some tracks, especially the Lear Jet song really stick out as just plain weird. I first heard this on my parents' extremely deteriorated vinyl LP, and I could never get enough of side one, but the rare occasions that I listened to side two, I would listen to 8 miles high, and then try to move the needle to John Riley, and that would be it. Perhaps for this reason it plays better on vinyl- a record ends when the side ends unless you get up and flip it, but when you listen to it on CD it brings more attention to the weak tracks towards the end.
But this is the album where the Byrds really are their own band. On their first two albums, they're still a great band, but the shadows of Dylan and the Beatles hang over them. On 5D, they can no longer be described as a "Dylan-Beatles hybrid," they can only be described as The Byrds, and that's the beauty of it. On this one, not only do the Byrds do things they hadn't done before, and neither had anyone else (except maybe the Velvet Underground or the Yardbirds, but the similarities are few) they also are at their best on more typical songs- Mr Spaceman(this is the song that convinced me Tom Petty owes his vocal style to Roger McGuinn), Wild Mountain Thyme(yet another folk rock masterpiece up there with "Turn Turn Turn"), I See You(similar to 8 miles high) John Riley(not as good as Wild Mountatin Thyme, but another good piece of folk rock) and I Come and Stand (I don't know what to call it, it's one of the most haunting and moving songs I've ever heard) Whats Happening, though it's much hated, and David Crosby was a crazy hippie then, even for a hippie- it's an interesting enough song.
The rest of the tracks on the original album aren't horrible, but they would be worthless if they weren't on this album. You get the idea that after recording the good songs, the Byrds just decided to goof off in the studio.
As for the stereo mix, it's not as bad as some have said, it actually does a good job spreading out the different instruments- it opens up the sound rather than just separating it into two channels. Eight Miles High may sound a little better in mono, but not so much so that it's not still a great song in stereo. Relative to other Byrds' albums, it's better than Notorious, but not quite as good as "Younger than Yesterday," though with the bonus tracks, (if "Why" and "Psychodrama City" had been on the original album, it would have been a far greater album) it equals it.
However, 5D does have one quality that "Younger" doesn't- all of the tracks have a similar feel to them. Whereas "Younger" takes you on a confusing journey through very different styles such as country, folk, and psychedelia, 5D manages to keep up a consistent style- even though the consistent style is not consistently good.
It's harder to compare it to the first two albums, since Gene Clark was such a distinct presence on them, and on this he is only a sideman (the harmonica solo which is probably the best part of Captain Soul) and a co-writer and vocalist on Eight Miles High(the real highlight of that song is the instrumentation). The hidden bonus track, the interview after the instrumental John Riley, makes the album even more worth it.
So, the bottom line: the original album had a weak second half, but the CD bonus tracks make up for that. If you like the Byrds, or any music from the 1960s, then this is a must-have.

Personally this has always been my favorite Byrds album and I've heard them all. Each album of theirs, of course, sounds completely different from any of their others (excluding maybe the first two, which combined seem similar), but it's the sound they vent on this album that I've always found their most effective and most unique. Where else can you hear a guitarist (i.e., McGuinn) be ever mindful of a Coltrane influence throughout the context of an album? These, to me, are the most exciting recordings from a band that's typically not known for this inherent quality (which, for me, explains the lifetime of mixed reviews from Byrds fans concerning this album). True, the original LP only possessed the first 11 tracks on this CD, and of the 2nd side of the original LP, only "Eight Miles High" and "John Riley" stood out as the Byrds at their best. Nevertheless, I've always enjoyed the drumming and further McGuinn guitar dynamics on Hey Joe (as well as Crosby's subtle Cagney imitation) and though the novelty of "the Lear Jet Song" is thin, it captures for me the sense of technological advancements of the era. At any rate, the bonus tracks of the CD more than make up for any shortcomings of the original release. Most of these bonuses, if not all, are spectacular. So, if your intention, then, is in hearing the Byrds trying to excite as well as practice their typical medium of presenting meaningful music, I suggest putting this CD on auto pilot and soaring to its unique sound (and still unique to this day!). If you like it, I suggest for you to also try the other most often underrated Byrds album: "Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde." It excites, as well (though, of the latter, I prefer the CD release without the bonus tracks, which don't seem to quite cohere with the original release's aural theme).

This is a hard one to grade. It is an unusually great album with some unusually chipped edges. This is the perch in the sixties (1966) from which the greatest psychedelia emerged, when groups were still using the conventions of the pop song for conveying their drugged stirred consciousness. "Eight Miles High" is perhaps the greatest example of that, a tight three and half minute channeling of John Coltrane and Ravi Shankar. Even today, after a million listens, I get a sense of leaping into uncharted space everytime I hear this song. And despite the Beatle's fiddling with Indian music this is really the supreme monument of "raga rock". The Byrds achieve their infusion of Indian music without hauling in Ravi Shankar himself, for McGuinn manages to ring majestic Indian style riffs out of his famed Rickenbacker guitar. The Byrds have managed to absorb Indian music into their own vocabularly rather than merely aping it ala George Harrison. This is the Byrd's hardest hitting pyschedelic album, McGuinn's guitar punching out raga licks in a manner that he will never again quite equal.

Some of the more neglected of Byrds classics appear on "Fifth Dimension". "I See You" for instance is dreamy, slightly haunted psych at its best with some fine slightly unhinged guitar licks. "What's Happening? " manages to imbue confusion with a certain grandeur, McGuinn's guitar giving Crosby's musings an almost metaphysical dimension . The acid folk of "John Riley" (in particular) and "Wild Mountain Thyme" similiarly shimmer with a certain agreeable unworldliness.

On the debit side there are obscenities like "Captain Soul", the weaker version of "Why", and the must have been a lot more interesting when they were stoned "Lear Jet Song". Fortunately the cd bonus tracks has the essential original version of "Why", another of the great raga-rock tracks. And for those who haven't heard them to death the slightly twee "Mr Spaceman" and "Fifth Dimension".

From the "warm slanting sun through the cave of your hair" in "I See You" to McGuinn's guitar volleys in "What's Happening? " the best of this album is simply the best in rock music.