Search - Byrds :: Byrds

Byrds 101

Gregor von Kallahann | 02/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This whole phenomenon of bargain priced CD compilations by major artists of yesteryear is a fascinating one. You'll forgive my "gumption" for saying so, but you never know quite what your going to get. One or two hits, probably, and a whole lot of obscure, if not downright off-the-wall selections. And that's what I love about them. They're not just the typical "best of" or "greatest hits" packages (those would be full price after all). Actually, these compilations serve to tell the other side of the story. Aside from the obvious hits, just what else were these artists capable of?



In the case of the Byrds, it turns out to be quite a lot, thank you very much. This compilation does NOT contain the megahits, "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "Turn, Turn, Turn." The groundbreaking "Eight Miles High" is absent as well, as are such lesser hits as "So You Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star" or "Lady Friend." The only "hit" single included here is "All I Really Want to Do," their second 45, another Dylan song released on the heels of "Tambourine Man." It's a great song, but unfortunately for the Byrds, Cher released a competing version at the same time--and that turned out to be the bigger hit. Had they not come roaring back (in their unassuming way) a few months later with the magical "Turn,Turn, Turn, the group may have wound up just another footnote in r'n'r history.



But come back they did. Of course, what some of us (and I number myself among the congnoscenti here--for once) realized even in '65-'66 was that the Byrds were actually on the cutting edge. They were among the first groups to produce albums that were well crafted and original, and not just a couple of top 40 smashes and a bunch of filler. Billed as America's answer to the Beatles and the heirs of Bob Dylan, the Byrds became the prime exponents of the emerging "folk rock" sub-genre. If they didn't actually invent it (and these things can be debated ad nauseum), they certainly brought it into the public eye, with style, panache and jangling twelve string guitar.



And they NEVER made a bad album (although the earliest ones, with the original line-up, are IMHO the real gems). So how could the compilers of this sampler go wrong? They couldn't and didn't. Whoever put this set together had tons of great stuff to choose from. Probably almost any random selection of Byrdsongs would have held up quite well. And this one does, not surprisingly.



I gotta admit, I find myself nodding in approval at just about every single track on this album: "Girl With No Name," ah yes; "Renaissance Fair," of course. And what I particularly like is that aside from the inevitable Dylan songs, this is one collection that gives founding member Gene Clark his props. Gene was only there for the first two albums--and for "Eight Miles High" on the third. But his contribution was enormous. "Feel A Whole Lot Better," "Here Without You," "The World Turns All Around Her" are included here as representative samples of his work. Classics all.



Yes, I know when people think about the Byrds, they think of McGuinn and David Crosby. And they were fine musicians even back then. But the best non-Dylan tracks on TAMBOURINE MAN and TURN,TURN,TURN were Gene's. It's signifcant that three of his key tracks featured on this record and a darn shame that his picture doesn't grace the front cove. (He's very nearly cropped out of the back cover shot too. But that's show biz.)



The rest of this sampler is fine too. A taste of their sci-fi stuff here, a few nods to country music there, occasional hints of psychedelia, the beautiful harmonies throughout. You come away realizing that these 10 tracks can barely serve as an adequate sampler. And that's the point. Like all good samplers, it'll leave you wanting more.





"