Thunderbyrd (Dig) [Import]

Roger McGuinn | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 30, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Repertoire
• ASIN: B0009NDD3Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,298 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. All Night Long

2. It's Gone

3. Dixie Highway

4. American Girl

5. We Can Do It All Over Again

6. Why Baby Why

7. I'm Not Lonely Anymore

8. Golden Loom

9. Russian Hill

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like the car...A Classic!, June 4, 2009

By 

psychedelic surfer (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thunderbyrd (Dig) (Audio CD)

Having released an album just about every year prior, I think that Roger McGuinne set out to "go out on top" before taking a extended leave. He assembled a tight band, had come off the road after having been part of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder revue for two years and had gathered some fine songs that he'd cover in addition to his own songs.

If timing is crucial, 1977 couldn't have been worse. New Wave and Punk music held much of the public's attention. McGuinne's roots extended back before The Byrds he'd honed and into folk music, leaving him branded as not current (or worse).

The lack of air play and attention left this truely fine album without much of an audiance. It opens with a tastier version of Peter Frampton's "All Night Long" and closes with a moody "Russian Hill" that evokes the past much like Led Zeppelin's "Ten Years Gone". In between, there are a mix of country rock songs that are close to Tom Petty's "American Girl", which Roger covers magnificently. If you haven't heard this but are a fan, do yourself a favor and have a listen!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great, March 10, 2006

By 

Jack F. Chavoor "Old Johnny Thunder" (Fresno, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thunderbyrd (Dig) (Audio CD)

Many might like Cardiff Rose or Back from Rio better than Thunderbyrd, and they could make a strong case. But the 9 songs here are good, especially when you consider some of McGuinn's other, much less listenable solo efforts, and there are a few Byrds albums--Farther Along, and the reunion album from '73-- that can't come close to the consistency here. If you're a McGuinn fan you'll like it.

5.0 out of 5 stars McGuinn's best solo album, January 26, 2012

By 

Ricardo Mio - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thunderbyrd (Dig) (Audio CD)

When musicologists get around to sifting through Roger McGuinn's solo albums and the records he made with the Byrds, they're going to place "Thunderbyrd" somewhere near the top. As one of his songs says, "It's not the singer, it's the tune." With this, his fifth solo effort, he finally had a superb list of tunes to record, and sang them like he meant it.

"Thunderbyrd" was recorded at a low ebb in McGuinn's career. The Byrds were long-since disbanded, and his modest solo career was going nowhere. He was still working with lyricist Jacques Levy, and the pair wrote four exceptional tunes: "Dixie Highway", "It's Gone", "I'm Not Lonely Anymore", and "Russian Hill." To these were added five others: "American Girl" by Tom Petty (a long-lost Byrds tune, as McGuinn aptly described it), "All Night Long" (a Peter Frampton tune), "We Can Do it All Over Again", "Why Baby Why" (by George Jones), and Bob Dylan's "Golden Loom" (all of McGuinn's and the Byrds' best albums have at least one Bob Dylan tune).

When recording began McGuinn decided his current band wasn't up to it, so he fired them, and recruited a new band. The new band was up to it, consisting of guitarist Rick Vito, drummer Greg Thompson, and bassist Charlie Harrison. With a strong set of songs to sink his teeth into, and McGuinn re-committed to being a Rock N Roll star, and a solid band behind him, the sessions were magical. Every song sounded right, and "American Girl" made the playlist of McGuinn's most requested songs, beside "Mr Tambourine Man", "Turn! Turn! Turn", "Eight Miles High", "Mr. Spaceman", and "So You Want to be a Rock N Roll Star."

It wasn't long after the release of "Thunderbyrd" that McGuinn began performing again with Gene Clark and Chris Hillman, two of his old bandmates from the Byrds. The results were mixed. While the trio wowed audiences from coast-to-coast, their studio albums were less than stellar and failed to crack the top 40. "Thunderbyrd" would be McGuinn's last important album until "Back From Rio" in 1991. It's good to have it available again.