1964 through to 1966 : Folk Rock and Beatle haircuts. In the case of Chris Hillman, his usual mess of rich curls actually physically ironed to give him the suitable look. Roger/Jim McGuinn's 'granny glasses' were a focal point along with the dashing Gene Clark bashing his tambourine, center stage.
1967 through to 1968 : Kind of cool, semi-psychedelic, as if they knew something you didn't. The Beatles look was gone, although circa 1968, The Byrds themselves were very nearly gone - reduced to a duo of Roger and Chris.
1968 through to 1973 : A country feel circa 1968/1969 morphing into a very hairy large beards, proper roots 'rock' feel by the time of 'Farther Along' in 1972.
A Common Misconception
That by the time the original line-up had all left, bar McGuinn, that the band was effectively over as an artistic force. One listen to the likes of 'Untitled' or even 'Ballad Of Easy Rider' or 'Dr Byrd Vs My Hyde' - should tell the open-minded listener otherwise.
How To Buy
The Byrds created such a lasting and distinctive artistic impact through their early sound, as typified by Mr Tambourine Man and Turn Turn Turn that not to have one of those two albums in your Byrds collection would be little short of criminal. Mr Tambourine Man contains arguably the better material and wins out over Turn Turn Turn for me, although both are great records in their own right.
By the time of Notorious Byrd Brothers 'factions' and tension within The Byrds camp effectively destroyed the original line-up forever, baring a poorly received reunion in 1973. Well, Gene Clark had already left after Turn Turn Turn taking his writing talents with him, but even without Gene, the remaining original members were still coming up with innovative and striking material. For those who want to know why The Byrds are hailed as innovative, I suggest to pick up Fifth Dimension, which although suffered from the loss of Gene, contains the likes of 'I See You' and the almighty 'Eight Miles High', so it's hardly a weak effort, all told. But, I've chosen Notorious Byrd Brothers over Younger Than Yesterday and Fifth Dimension because it's just such a beautiful record, the sound of Younger Than Yesterday but without such abominations as 'Mind Gardens' to ruin the flow. Notorious Byrd Brothers is arguably the groups most consistent work, but also one of their most overlooked. Still, highly recommended it is.
Of the groups later work, Sweetheart Of The Rodeo which saw Gram Parsons forever change the way country music was perceived for the average rock song isn't an album i'd recommened to The Byrds beginner, given that no other Byrds album sounds remotely like it. A similar thing can be said for 'Dr Byrd Vs Mr Hyde' which shares some of the country sounds of Sweetheart Of The Rodeo but also mixes in Rhythm and Blues. It's a nice album - but certainly not at all typical of The Byrds. I've chosen Untitled over the previously mentioned two albums and over the likes of Ballad Of Easy Rider because it really is the most assured and confident sounding record the latter day Byrds ever wrote. It also contains a couple of genuine Byrd classics from the pen of Mcguinn, namely 'Chestnut Mare' and 'Just A Season'. How Untitled ranks compared to the groups first five LPs is open for debate, but it was a huge seller, one of the best selling albums the group ever enjoyed. It's a fine, quality album deserving of reappraisal by rock critics in general.
Download The Byrds
A selection of The Byrds songs to download from the web, also forming a nifty 53 minute CD compilation.
1) Ballad Of Easy Rider
2) Old Blue
3) Antique Sandy
4) Eight Miles High
5) Mr Tambourine Man
6) I'll Fell A Whole Lot Better
7) Bells Of Rhymney
8) Goin Back
9) Wasn't Born To Follow
10) Draft Morning
11) You Don't Miss Your Water
12) Turn Turn Turn
13) Set You Fee This Time
14) She Don't Care About Time
15) Chestnut Mare
16) Just A Season
17) So You Want To Be A Rock n Roll Star
18) Have You Seen Her Face
19) Renaissance Fair
20) My Back Pages
21) Lady Friend
adriandenning.co.uk
Message Board
