Search - Byrds :: Essential Byrds

The Best Byrds Collection

The Footpath Cowboy | Kingston, NY United States | 10/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THE ESSENTIAL BYRDS is the best collection of Byrds material available. With GREATEST HITS and BEST OF, VOL. 2 not making the most of the space available on CD, and both of the boxed sets containing way too much mediocre material to wade through, this anthology provides the perfect balance between the two extremes. Granted there ARE a few weak spots here and there, but most of this set is pure folk-rock heaven. The surviving members' opposition to Indonesia's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist makes this double-disc set an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience."

If There Is A Season Box Set Is Too Much Try The Essential B

J. Thompson | Essex UK | 02/18/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a UK version which appears to have some different tracks from those shown above.



Really I don't see that as a problem, 44 songs on 2 CDs will do nicely.

The cover shows the early influence of the Beatles, but The Byrds still get my vote as the best band of all time.



If you like 1960s music at it's best, this is a no brainer !



"

Absolutely Essential

Statman | Little Rock, AR USA | 03/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought Greatest Hits when I was a teenager (in the 70s) and it became one of my favorite albums. I followed that up with Best of the Byrds which was a big let down, then Untitled wasn't what I expected. So I didn't buy another Byrds album for about 25 years, when I decided to purchase this album. Fantastic! I quickly began buying up every Byrds album and haven't been disappointed yet. The Byrds have become one of my three favorite bands (historically speaking) along with the Beatles and the Who, and Gene Clark one of my five favorite singer/songwriters along with McCartney, Lennon, Townshend, and Dylan. And Clarence White is among my very favorite guitarists (and my favorite bluegrass guitarist). And McGuinn, Crosby, Hillman, and Parsons are/were pretty awesome as well. The Essential Byrds is an ideal starting place for anyone interested in the Byrds and/or folk-rock in general. Anyone who likes the Beatles and/or Bob Dylan should be blown away by the first disc. The second disc is a less consistent mixture of folk-rock, country-rock, and rock, but is still extremely enjoyable. There are plenty of excellent songs missing, but all the hits are here, and all the Byrds phases/styles/albums (except for their reunion album) are represented. If you enjoy this, and its hard to imagine an excuse for not enjoying it, I would highly recommend following it up with Gene Clark's Flying High and No Other albums, Roger McGuinn's Back From Rio album, the Byrds' Live at the Royal Albert Hall, and the Byrds' individual albums, especially the first five."