Customer Reviews

Roger Mcguinn

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

 

 

Flying solo after the disasterous Byrds reunion album for Asylum Records, Roger McGuinn made one of his best solo albums. At first McGuinn was working with producer Terry Melcher but, after some honest criticism by David Crosby ("Too plastic" was his assessment), McGuinn opted to produce the effort himself and the more "organic sound" (again Crosby via McGuinn)compliments the material. One of the best Byrds solo records along with Gene Clark's "White Light" (aka "Gene Clark"), "Roger McGuinn" focuses on what McGuinn does best; create interesting, layered melodies that are highlighted by his sharp guitar playing and nuanced vocals.

The opening track (featuring Bob Dylan on harmonica)nods to McGuinn's folk roots while the second track is a Byrds reunion in all but name; every member of the original line up plays or sings on the song. It's one of McGuinn's most perfect melodies and the harmony vocals by David Crosby and Gene Clark (which recall, of all things, Brasil 66)along with the jazz inflectecd tenor sax of Charles Lloyd bring the song to life. Another winning composition "Draggin'" nods in the direction of The Beach Boys with its layered harmony vocals and California sun melody. "Lost My Drivin' Wheel" rocks along at a good pace. "Time Cube" is a throw back to 1967 Byrds with its science fiction theme and the contrasting instruments of moog sythesizer and banjo all with a thematic tip of the hat to Arthur C. Clarke. "Bag Full of Money" imagines a past for the enigmatic D. B. Cooper (for those unfamiliar with him, he robbed a plane in mid-flight and then parachuted away never to be heard of or seen again). "Hanoi Hannah" supposedly has nothing to do with Jane Fonda (Jane paid a visit to McGuinn trying to rally him to her cause and visit North Vietnam)but one can imagine McGuinn thinking of her as he penned the song with frequent collaborator Levy. The album closes on a trio of strong songs "Heave Away" (a remake of an Irish sea shanty featuring "Spanky" McFarlane on vocals; "M'Linda" and "The Water is Wide" feature the legendary percussionist Hal Blaine and the latter has Bruce Johnson (of The Beach Boys)and David Crosby on harmony vocals.

The two bonus tracks are nice additions to the album. "John, John" is spare featuring only McGuinn on vocals and guitar while the outtake remake of Jackson Browne's "Jamaica, Say You Will" pulls out all the stops with a full band (again featuring Blaine).

The booklet has a nice summary that discusses what prompted the album and commentary by McGuinn himself. The remastered sound is very good although the album sounds a bit "flat" (probably due to the year it was released 1973--it could have benefited from a remix but, then, that would be disturbing history). Thank God that Sundazed reissued this original Columbia Release. Now if we could only get The Byrds reunion album reissued by Rhino (write them! I did), I'd be a happy fan.

Having survived David Crosby's manipulation of the Byrds reunion, McGuinn wisely decided to retire the franchise and set about sticking to his guns. This self-produced project is a true gem. While duly credited for all that the Byrds accomplished, it was with this unassuming, unpretentious, finely honed and simply crafted release that Roger McGuinn set the record staright as to what he stood for. His subsequent releases were quite good as well, especially JOLLY ROGER, but this one is really a sublime success in every respect.
Stripped of all overproduction tendencies, it virtually pre-dated the punk reaction to the bloated business of rock. It is simple, organic, direct and honest. The opening "I'm so Restless" is as to the point today as it was 30 years ago. The rest of the package is certainly a mix of good natured satire of prevalent rock styles that endure through the present, a few commentaries on the social idiosyncrasies of the day ( "Hanoi Hannah" - particularly amusing when you consider what a money grubbing snob Fonda turned into- and "Bag Full of Money" - a D B Cooper tribute), and some positively extraordinary harmonizing with David Crosby. Crosby never sounded this good and spot on with Nash. You are left wondering what might have been had egos been checked at the door.
Throughout, McGuinn's exquisite guitar playing rings so absolutely true that it is as much today as it was then a refreshing sound altogether. Drummer John Guerin (at the time sharing duties with the L A Express, and more so with Joni Mitchell) lays down a spartan time signature. Spooner Oldham graces several of the tunes with his remarkable skills. But in reality, it is the wonderfully natural and uncomplicated singing of McGuinn and Crsoby that totally sets this apart.
The two supplemental tracks are nice but unnecessary. Although it is a short album, it was in fact complete as is. The reason for its brevity in 73 was to maintain the sonic quality on vinyl. Going back to that after this CD. I feel that vinyl warmth was truly exceptional, and has remained so. Is the CD better? Not really. Just more permanent, and this is a record that should never be lost.
McGuinn toured with this band for quite a while. I remember seeing them in a movie theatre in Devon, PA, with about 60 other people. He was brilliant and the band was fantastic and energetic. I hope there are some tapes of those tours that McGuinn would consider revisting, remastering and releasing. He was a Wilbury before the concept was hatched elsewhere. Pity he had not been called in when Orbison passed. In any case, purchase this. It is wonderful!

For his first solo album, Roger McGuinn captained an engaging trip through his primary musical influences; "I'm so Restless" is a straight folk song (with Bob Dylan on harmonica); "Draggin'" is a Beach Boys tribute featuring drag racing 747 jetliners; "Heavy Away" is a sea chantey; " Bag Full of Money" is catchy country-rock; "Lost my Drivin' Wheel" features a heavier rock sound: and "Water is Wide" ends the original album with a sweet campfire sing-a-long. McGuinn clearly had a lot of sounds he wanted to explore after disbanding the Byrds, and his famous 12-string guitar is used only sparingly on this 1973 effort. The high quality of the songs holds the album together and, for first-time listeners, every new track is a surprise. Even the droning "Time Cube," in which McGuinn revisits his fascination with science fiction topics, is not bad. A very solid disc - I would place it second only to Gene Clark's "No Other" in a ranking of outings by an original member of the Byrds (Gram Parsons was a later addition to the band). The two bonus tracks; the traditional "John, John," and Jackson Browne's "Jamaica Say You Will;" are welcome additions and fit nicely into the overall feel of the album.

This Lp lacks much Rickenbacker-12 work, unfortunately, but the compensation is
that the melodic duties are often passed to fine alto sax player Charles Lloyd. This record's production values are
consistent with a record like the Byrds' "Ballad of Easy Rider"--it is dry and unpretentious. I rate this record as categorically
different from McGuinn's later 1970s output, each example of which has the unfortunate
quality of sounding like producers and engineers insisted on making McGuinn's records sound
like the soup-of-the-day sonically. In 1976, e.g., that was a sad thing--flabby drum sounds,
utterly un-Byrd-like rock-radio guitar. This 1972 record is different. The genre
is hard to name, because it alternates tracks with Lloyd's jazz licks with more folky tunes.
But it is all pleasant, and does still manage to sound like a holiday from McGuinn's other work
in this period.

the track, "i'm so restless" is the one track that sticks out on this album. the rest are genre misfires or else don't do much to add the genres they purport to belong to, not so unusual in a first solo album of a member of an erstwhile popular band. but even "i'm so restless" seems in this day and age to be not as tight as it could be, though it is still worth more than a listen. the rest of the album? a noble experiment that fails to transcend as seems to have been the aim of many works of its period.

Sound not as good as on the edsel label edition issued previously, I don't think. Although it appears to have been "remastered". Not quite up there with the Byrds albums but better than the the next few solo releases.

Great Service on a hard to find album. Thanks so much for the good service.