Customer Reviews

Younger Than Yesterday

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1967 was a vintage year for pop music and this album, one of the finest Byrds albums, reinforces my belief about just how much great music was released in that year, although all the tracks were actually recorded in 1966.. It was not especially successful at the time of its release, failing to make the top twenty of the American album charts, but it has aged well and may be better appreciated now than in 1967.

The album is notable for the emergence of Chris Hillman as a songwriter as well as great songs written or co-written by Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. The other notable feature is that this was the last album before the group went through a period of high staff turnover. Four of the original five were together for this album, the only absentee being Gene Clark. David Crosby was to depart during the recording of the next album after this and others followed later.

The album opens with So you want to be a rock'n'roll star (about the Monkees, whose music has stood the test of time, confounding their critics) - this song was a top thirty hit in America. It was the only hit although another single (Have you seen her) was released, which is probably why the album was not originally very successful.

Bob Dylan only contributed one song (My back pages) although two versions of it are included here. The other songs were all written or co-written by members of the Byrds. Of the remaining songs, I particularly like Everybody's been burned, Renaissance fair, Time between and Lady friend, but this is a great album from start to finish.

If you enjoy their music enough to want more than just a hits collection, this is a good place to start collecting their original albums.

Recorded in late 1966, released in early 1967 and lost beneath the "Summer Of Love" praise heaped on "Sgt. Pepper" and the first commercially successful albums from the "new wave" of West Coast groups, "Younger Than Yesterday" deserved, and still deserves, much more critical acclaim.

Put simply, this is one of the best and most cohesive records from a period of profound musical change. With the exception of David Crosby's rambling hippy talk on "Mind Gardens" and the bizarre "alien speak" at the end of "CTA 102", every song is tightly structured, superbly played and infused with the sheer enthusiasm of the mid 60's music scene. Driven along by "Roger" McGuinn's innovative use of the 12 string guitar and Chris Hillman's "lead guitar" bass, the group's highly distinctive arrangements provide a solid backdrop for their exquisitely controlled harmonies, and... over 30 years later... "So You Want to be a Rock & Roll Star", "My Back Pages", "Everybody's Been Burned" and "Renaissance Fair" (the ultimate hippy record with its jazz based structure, ecstatic lyrics and superb bass lines) still stand out as quite wonderful music.

And, unlike many "remastered" editions, several of the bonus tracks on this version add genuine value. Crosby's "It Happens Each Day" is equally as good as, and totally compatible with the other tracks on the album and raises the question of why it, rather than his messy "Mind Gardens", wasn't included. "Lady Friend" - arguably the best Crosby/Byrds track ever produced - is rescued from its previous life as a largely forgotten single and "Don't Make Waves", the simple but catchy B side to "Lady Friend", gets a further outing.

As good as anything released in 1967 and a great deal better than most of the records that received considerably more attention at the time, "Younger Than Yesterday" and its flawed but brilliant successor - "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" - capture innovative, harmony based West Coast music at its creative peak.

Get together a group of twenty Byrds fans, chances are you'll have twenty different ideas about which one of their classic albums was the best. Was it the neo-Beatles fresh excitement of Mr. Tambourine Man?? The sci-fi dominant sound of 5D? Or perhaps the country-rock twang of that groundbreaking phenomenon known as Sweetheart of the Rodeo??? If you were to ask my opinion (go ahead, ask!), the Byrds best album is a tossup between two classics: The often-overlooked, always underrated slab of sci-fi fuzztone country hard rock known as Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde, or Younger Than Yesterday, the masterpiece you see before you. By 1967, the Byrds songwriting skills and musical direction were at their peak, even after the loss of such a seminal talent as Gene Clark. Younger is a thoroughly appealing mix of sci-fi, mystic wonder, post-Beatles enthusiasm, and just enough cynicism to give the whole thing some perspective. "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" rolls along at ninety miles a minute and features guest performances by trumpeter Hugh Masekela and percussionist Big Black (not to mention real Byrds-screams from fans lifted from a British concert date!) As David Crosby once said, it comes across as "a little cynical," but also like a lot of fun. "Have You Seen Her Face" features a fresh, Beatlesque feel and super guitar from soon-to-be-fulltime-Byrd Clarence White. "CTA-102" is pure, enjoyably danceable nonsense, complete with space aliens, while "Renaissance Fair" is the Cros at his most positive as he takes in one of those time-flashback-type hippie events. "Time Between" is one of the first (and best) Byrdsongs featuring Chris Hillman (plus more great Clarence White guitar), while "Everybody's Been Burned" is simply Crosby at his introspective best. But where, oh where do you ask, is Roger McGuinn, the heart and soul of this little sewing circle? Why, merely cutting one of the finest Dylan covers ever put to vinyl. "My Back Pages," like much of McGuinn's best work, has a timeless, transcendant feel, courtesy in no small part to his fabulous electric 12-string Rickenbacher guitar. Fantastic!! All this plus five bonus cuts (the standout for me is "Old John Robertson," a wonderful little vignette about an ageing movie cowboy) will be sure to put you in Byrd heaven. So get Younger Than Yesterday ASAP. All of us OTD types (Older Than Dirt, of course) are just waiting for you to put it on so we can all boogie in our walkers together!!!

For rock crititcs and Byrds fanatics, "Younger Than Yesterday" vies with "Notorious Byrd Brothers" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" as the best Byrds album of all time. The reasons are obvious upon listening. The production is one of their finest, and one of the first pop albums recorded in true stereo! The drums and the exceptional bass-playing of Chris Hillman are clearly defined and very vivid in the mix. Hillman's jazz-influenced basslines on "Renaissance Fair" and "Everybody's Been Burned" are still unique in their innovation to this day. The three-part harmonies (David Crosby never sounded better) are seamless and the guitar arrangements are complex and beautifully recorded. The individual songs are amongst the most memorable and eclectic of their career. Each track is different from the last and judiciously placed for maximum impact. It only falters, really, near the end of the original album because, Dylan's "My Back Pages" excepted, the songs are less substantial and very dated. The classics, all written by The Byrds and not missing the recently-departed Gene Clark one bit, are McGuinn and Hillman's "So You Want to Be a Rock n' Roll Star?", Crosby's "Renaissance Fair" and "Everybody's Been Burned", and Hillman's "Have You Seen Her Face?" and "Time Between". The bonus material, the best crop in this series of reissues by Sony, actually enhances the quality of the original album. "Lady Friend" and "It Happens Each Day", both by Crosby, are essential additions to The Byrds' canon. The few dated tracks, "C.T.A.-102", "Mind Gardens", "Girl With No Name" and a weak remake of "Why" keep this, for me, from being a full-fledged masterpiece. As The Byrds had intended this to be their final album, one can understand the very commercial gloss in the bright production by Gary Usher. Thankfully, McGuinn and Hillman didn't give up after Crosby's departure. Although it is a commercial recording, this is one of the group's most musically daring outings. Roger McGuinn's playing is superb throughout: his jazz/raga solo on "Everybody's Been Burned" is a work of great beauty and subtlety. The use of Third World rhythms, jazz harmonies, and bluegrass guitar (future Byrd Clarence White guests on two cuts) are assimilated smoothly into the overall Byrds sound. Even the dated experimentation of "C.T.A-102" and "Mind Gardens" is listenable in a kitschy way. This is an essential CD purchase for all serious fans of American popular music, particularly 1960s rock music. Do yourself a favour and buy it. You will continue to come back to this recording for inspiration as long as you own it.

There are few bands that could put together an album as tuneful and diverse as 'Younger Than Yesterday', but other bands aren't what The Byrds should be measured up against. The Byrds must be compared to themselves, and 'YTY' stands as the one of the twin peaks of the bands first incarnation, along with their previous disc, 'Fifth Dimension'. While comparisons are often made between those two releases, I find the distinctions represent a splitting of hairs. Both discs are revolutionary in their own right, and both possess a wealth of quality composing and musicianship. Both also possess tracks that are obviously of lesser quality than those they are surrounded by.

Probably the biggest distinction between 'Fifth Dimension' and 'YTY' would involve the people penning the tracks chosen for inclusion. David Crosby, who began his ascent within the band on 'Fifth Dimension', comes out in full force on his last dedicated recording with The Byrds, penning seven of the seventeen tracks on this edition of the album. A much bigger surprise was the unpredictable emergence of Chris Hillman as a composer, contributing to seven of the seventeen. Since Crosby and Hillman generally take the lead vocals on these tracks as well, and two of the tracks are versions of Bob Dylan's 'My Back Pages', there wasn't much room for Roger McGuinn to place his stamp on this, The Byrds fourth full-length release. So the album has a different texture to it than all previous Byrd excursions.

'YTY' presents several stunning compositions and performances which must be seated at the top of any Byrd's compendium. Start off with the lead track, 'So You Want To Be a Rock and Roll Star', a rock classic featuring a wicked Hugh Masekela contribution on trumpet. Two of the songs, Hillman's 'Have You Seen Her Face' and 'Thoughts and Words', possess an uncanny resemblance to John-Lennnon and Paul McCartney compositions (when the two were actually composing together), creating sheer delight with their mix of distinct yet complementary melodies and choruses. Crosby's 'Renaissance Fair' and his co-write with McGuinn, 'Why' (featuring a guitar doing a fine impression of a sitar on the bridge) are stand-out numbers as well. Add to this the two versions of Bob Dylan's 'My Back Pages', the alternate version worthy due to its use of organ rather than McGuinn's twelve-string to provide the basic melody, and it's apparent that the disc possesses an array of elite tunes.

Most of the remaining tracks possess worthwhile attributes as well. The 'Mr. Spaceman' redeux, 'C.T.A.-102' features a jaunty rhythm and comical sound FX, especially McGuinn's imitation of an alien over the fade-out. Hillman's 'Time Between' (perhaps the first country-rock outing) features gorgeous melodies, Crosby's 'Everybody's Been Burned' possesses a haunting, melodramatic melody and incisive lyrics, 'Lady Friend' has a great chorus line, and 'The Girl With No Name' and 'It Happens Each Day' are both worthy ballads. The use of guitar recordings played backwards on 'Thoughts and Words' and 'Mind Gardens' adds a revolutionary note to the disc. Unfortunately, 'Mind Gardens' is way over-the-top in it's psychedelic, atonal underpinnings (although the alternate version is done in acoustic-folk mode, making it much more paletable), 'Don't Make Waves' is a fairly undistinguished pop offering, as is 'Old John Robertson', despite a unique sounding bridge, an undistinguished folk ballad. There is also a hidden instrumental track that follows 'Old John...', an unexpected but also undistinguished entry.

As with all The Byrds remastered products, this disc comes complete with a collection of band photo's and displays of rare memorabilia, as well as detailed liner notes from David Fricke. Details on each track are also offered. The only extra a dedicated fan might find missing would be a lyrics sheet, commonly and regretably omitted from most CD's. All in all, 'YTY' would have to be regarded as a milestone in rock history, and a must-listen for anyone interested in enjoying the best in 1960's rock, psychedelia, and popular music.

I personally am a relatively new Byrds fan - I'm pretty sure I don't like most of the stuff after this album (country-rock was never really my thing anyway), but this album is absolutely amazing! While I agree that maybe it wasn't the most radical statement of 1967 by any stretch of the imagination, it was certainly one of the most consistently great albums of the year and the decade, and for that reason I'd also say it's also one of the most underrated.

Personally I've never been a David Crosby, but I actually like all of his songs here, even "Mind Gardens," which is a bit hippy-drippy, but not bad at all. In fact I think the album benefits from its presence - it's weirdness adds diversity to the album, as does "C.T.A.-102," which would otherwise be a good but indistinguishable song without the whooshes and alien voices. "Renaissance Fair" is also a hippy-drippy timepiece lyrically, but it's also a really great song - the guitars manage to be atonal and melodic at the same time, which is a difficult effect to describe.

I like "Why" a lot, too - it highlights the most direct connections between the Byrds and their more punk-influenced power pop followers in the late 70s, 80s and 90s - although I'm interested to hear that there is a better version out there. Is it available anywhere?

To be cliche, the cream of the crop is "So You Want To Be A Rock N' Roll Star," where the verse predicts, strangely, Can and Talking Heads' polyrhythmic textures, world percussion and odd time signature while being a great classic Byrds song, awesome psych sound effects (crowd screaming cutting through the mix) and having a great trumpet part at the same time. Had the whole album had songs as unprecedented as this one, the album might have been a VERY radical statement. Not that any of the songs are slack at all, but it makes me wonder what would have unleashed had they not broken up.

I love "Thoughts and Words," although I question if they couldn't have written a slightly less clashing/forced sounding chorus, which seems awkward next to the haunting, rolling guitars of the verse. The backwards tapes are awesome, by the way. "My Back Pages" is also awesome, especially the alternate take, where the Leslie really fleshes the sound out, making it more expansive where the original feels a slight bit anemic. "Everybody's Been Burned" is haunting, beautiful and wistful in a Nick Drake sort of way - along with "Lady Friend" probably the only two songs by Crosby I can say I really love.

The country rock tracks are my least favorite on the album, but even they are top-notch for the genre. I already mentioned I'm not a huge fan of the genre (at least, not up until No Depression alt-country - but I absolutely loathe the Eagles and am not a big CSN fan either), but I still don't skip these songs, which speaks to their strength.

I haven't purchased the other early albums yet (soon I will) - so I won't pretend to be a Byrds expert enough to say this is their best or not. But I will say it is not only a great introduction to new Byrds fans, as all of the bands eras (folk-rock, psychedelia and country-rock) are present in one album with some of the strongest songwriting and playing in any of these genres. Amazing and underrated.

Of all the classic 60's rock groups, The Byrds are the ones that never seem to get their due these days - representative of their artistic shortchange was a recent VH1 poll (not to impute too much credibility to that) ranking them 95 out of 100 in them most important performers of the rock era.

Why such lack of respect? Well they underwent more personnel changes than any of the classic bands of the era, which led to a fundamental shift in their sound at least three times, and they also lingered around long enough to release a few albums that were truly substandard. (Yes, I own Byrdmaniax, but I'm going to sit here and pretend that you need to as well.) Furthermore, they never lived down the incredible (and to a certain extent deserved) derision which resident paranoid kook David Crosby received from everyone who wasn't a hippie. Finally, perhaps they never beat their early rap (which had taken shape as early as 1965) that all they did was reinterpret Dylan songs and standards, while plunking out mediocre originals.

Nevertheless, in an objective, value-free analysis, it's impossible to label The Byrds as anything but THE most revolutionary American band of the Sixties. (And that's BAND, not artist, as of course the loner Dylan tops everyone else by a country mile.) From my point of view, they were the originators of at least three major revolutions, that of folk-rock begun by the Mr. Tambourine Man single and album (remember, the single predated Dylan's version on Bringing It All Back Home by several months), psychedelia started with Fifth Dimension in early 1966 (prior to Revolver, mind you), and of course country rock with the (overrated) Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.

This album, Younger Than Yesterday, isn't really revolutionary at all - it falls in the middle phase of the psychedelia period, the ripe year of 1967 - but it really is The Byrds' finest moment, moreso now that Columbia/Legacy have done a wonderful job (as with all the Byrds' albums) in reissuing it with bonus tracks, improved sound, and liner notes.

First of all, it completely lays waste to the theory that The Byrds were really only at their best when nicking from Dylan - while "My Back Pages" is an absolutely glorious moment in the band's recorded output (it may condense some of Dylan lyrics, but it's a brilliant and radiant reinterpretation, indeed among the finest covers essayed by anyone thus far in rock history), the real triumphs are in group songwriting. The opening track is the irresistably snide "So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star," their last real hit single and a nicely cynical evaluation of the star-making process, and yet the album only improves from there with Chris Hillman's storming "Have You Seen Her Face" and "C.T.A.-102," a happy novelty song which actually works more than once.

Also, Crosby, for all his annoying behavior onstage at this time (he was prone to stopping the band in mid-song to deliver rants about how the CIA was drugging his water and such, as seen at the Monterey Festival) comes through with some wonderful music, like the ethereally moody "Renaissance Fair" and the absolutely seductive torch-song "Everybody's Been Burned." Nevertheless, he does deliver the only clunker on the album, the self-indulgent "Mind Gardens" (which frankly I don't mind all that much, but everyone else seems to hate - I do think the Hamlet quote is unbearably pretentious, though).

That aside, this album is wonderfully consistent: tuneful, melodic, played with expert grace (especially Chris Hillman's ever-growing skills with the bass) and executed expertly. Furthermore, the reissue has the bonus of including "Lady Friend," a post-album single which is, without exaggeration, the single best thing The Byrds EVER did. I suppose that's personal taste, but nothing so perfectly summarizes the summery rapture of The Byrds' jangle-pop during their golden age as this ecstatic explosion of horns, harmonies, and happiness. If someone asked me to give a 2 1/2-minute description of pure, unbridled joy, I'd just play "Lady Friend." It alone justifies this CD. Go get it and revel in its pleasures, the pleasures of The Byrds at their most dizzyingly aerial height.

The thing that's most impressive about the Byrds' best album - namely "Younger than Yesterday" - is that both Hillman and Crosby are finally afforded a greater opportunity to strut their stuff as up-and-coming singer/songwriters rather than continuing to play reluctant sessionman roles to group leader McGuinn. In other words, a more "democratic" approach is employed on this stellar 1967 document ...

The best cases in point include the irresistable harmonies of Hillman's "Have You Seen Her Face" and his melodic country-rocker "Time Between" as well as Crosby's wistful "Everybody's Been Burned" (this reviewer's favorite Crosby composition, by the way) and HIS dreamy yet up-tempo "Renaissance Fair." Incidentally, two more excellent Crosby tunes are added to the reissue - the ethereal "It Happens Each Day" and the melodically rollicking "Lady Friend." It does seems rather strange that the latter song features a Boyce-and-Hart-style horn section that nonetheless works brillantly - even for a Crosby composition!

As for McGuinn, his satiric opener "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" (which features Good Ol' "Grazin' In The Grass" Himself, Mr. Hugh Masakela on brass) and the hard-rocking "Why?" are first-rate, as is the inclusion of another Dylan classic ("My Back Pages"), also sung by McGuinn. Unfortunately, though, the continuing efforts of each band member to have their own writings included on subsequent albums would eventually trigger the band's legendarily acrimonious break-up (especially on "The Notorious Byrd Brothers"). If all this is too painful to even think about, then stick with Good Ol' YTY - one of The Byrds' (and 1967's) finest pop releases. CIAO ...

..just mean (folk) rock albums. A splendid, almost peerless, quality CD with great well-arranged songs, usually accompanied by the Byrds special 12-string, with among the best vocals and harmonies ever! Yes, I bought this one in the late 60's. Time has not lowered this record's (CD) appeal.The best here are "Thoughts and Words", "Everybody's Been Burned", an outstanding ballad, and "Have You seen her Face?" The rest are all outstanding too, except for "Mind Gardens", maybe an experiment which, thankfully, is the only dud here. The add- ons, "It Happens Each Day", and "Don't Make Waves" tilt toward the cowboy/western sound that came afterwards, and are worth a listen. And "Lady Friend" is a great addition, a song among the Byrds' rarities,before it's inclusion here. In sum, a 34 year old recording that easily compares with the usual names on all the lists!

Even though Fifth Dimension may be the most innovative album of the Byrds' career, Younger than Yesterday may be the most enduring. Showing the influence of Pet Sounds and Revolver with more layered production (including great trumpet playing by Hugh Masakela) and increasingly sophisticated songs, the Byrds hit gold here. Dave Crosby really steps up his songwriting here -- Crosby with the mournful "Everybody's Been Burned" and the beautiful "Renaissance Fair". (He also contributed the experimental "Mind Gardens", which isn't quite as successful.) Roger McGuinn comes up a little short though his 12-string playing on "My Back Pages", one of their last Dylan covers, is unforgettable.

But it is bassist Chris Hillman, a relatively minor composer on the first three Byrds albums, who ends up being the dominant creative force here. In addition to writing or co-writing the infectious folk-rock double-knockout of "Have You Seen Her Face" and "So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star", he ventures into country ("Time Between", "The Girl With No Name") and unsettling psychedelia ("Thoughts and Words"). These songs alone justify buying this CD.

The original album was quite short (about 30 minutes), but this remaster of Younger than Yesterday includes several alternate takes and bonus tracks. The best of these is Crosby's catchy, symphonic "Lady Friend".

Younger than Yesterday is up there with Revolver and the Piper at the Gates of Dawn as one of the highlights of 60s psychedelic rock.