(Untitled)

The Byrds | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000024W9
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,261 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine set from the Byrds, March 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: (Untitled) (Audio CD)

Originally issued as a two-record set, "Untitled" features both live and studio material. McGuinn once said that the original Byrds were the best in the studio, but that the Clarence White Byrds were the best live lineup. "Untitled" proves him right on both points. The live material is excellent. "Lover of the Bayou" opens the set, followed by Dylan's "Positively 4th Street", both of which spotlight Clarence White's stunning guitar work. The instrumental "Nashville West" is followed by a rather good rendition of "So you Want to be a Rock and Roll Star", but the versions of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Mr. Spaceman" are a bit less spectacular. The all-out effort on "Eight Miles High" shows that this band could jam with the best of them. Despite all the much-deserved criticism of Skip Battin as a songwriter and singer, one must concede that he is an excellent (albeit loud) bass player. The studio material ranges from great to awful. "Chestnut Mare" and "Just a Season" are beautifully done, and Clarence White turns in a typically soulful performance on "Truck Stop Girl", while Gene Parsons is in fine voice on "Yesterday's Train." Much of the rest is forgettable. The low point on the album is Skip Battin's "Well Come Back Home". The apparent intent was to deliver a "heavy" political message, but the lyrics are nonsensical, the track lasts far too long (Battin tacked a lengthy Buddhist chant onto the end of the song), and his voice simply grates upon the ear. Still, the good moments more than compensate for the bad ones, and the album stands as a monument to one of America's great bands.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great album from the later period Byrds, June 3, 1999

By 

Mark Cloud "Musician" (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: (Untitled) (Audio CD)

A fine album that is sadly underrated by most people (including McGuinn himself). With "Untitled" McGuinn and company proved they could put out a record that easily ranks with their best work; the song writing is terrific and the studio performances are subtle and well thought out. The live cuts are light years beyond any done by the original line up.

Skip Battin, whose contributions on later albums ranged from great to grating, really shines on this one. Well Come Back Home (despite the warbling at the end) is a fine addition to the Byrds catalog; it's a bit of a departure for The Byrds, but then wasn't eclecticism what they were all about in the first place? Clarence White's work is reason enough to buy this album...one of the great guitarists of our time and not a bad singer at all. And, of course, there is Chestnut Mare. Why wouldn't you get this record?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Byrds paint a final masterpiece, December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: (Untitled) (Audio CD)

On this recording, the lads halt a downhill slide that I feel started with "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." Although that effort is considered a masterpiece, and justifiably so, it is more of a Gram Parsons masterpiece with the Byrds as a backup band. With the departure of Crosby, Clark, Hillman, and Gram Parsons, this left McGuinn as the sole songwriter in the band. Two albums of mostly covers, (Dr. Byrds & Easy Rider) led one to believe that McGuinn was no longer a creative force, and the Byrds were through as a band with anything to offer. But then "Untitled" hit the stands. This features arguably the two finest songs McGuinn has ever written, "Chestnut Mare" and "Just a Season" as well as jewels from Gene Parsons, "Yesterday's Train" Skip Battin, "Well Come Back Home" and a wonderful interpretation of an old Leadbelly song "Take a Whiff" by Clarence White. One advantage that this incarnation of the Byrds had over all the previous ones was that these guys were great musicians (listen to the live jam of "Eight Miles High") and for this effort they struck a perfect balance between McGuinn's folk leanings and the c&w tendancies of White/Parsons. This recording is essential for any one who claims to enjoy folk rock or country rock. So cast those REM & Alanis CDs into the nearest proper receptacle and listen to the real deal!