tracks on LP: Mr. Tambourine Man / I Knew I’d Want You / All I Really Want To Do / I Feel A Whole Lot Better / Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is A Season) / She Don’t Care About Time / Set You Free This Time / It Won’t Be Wrong / Eight Miles High / Why / 5D (Fifth Dimension) / Captain Soul / Mr. Spacemen / What’s Happening?!?! / So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star / Everybody’s Been Burned
Record Label: CBS 31851
Producer: Terry Melcher | Allen Stanton | Gary Usher
Released: 1980
Purchased: 28/10/82
*** I sold my vinyl LP copy many years ago, probably soon after I’d replaced it with a copy of CD. Hence the photo image! ***
When the Byrds burst onto the rock scene in the summer of 1965, they were immediately acclaimed as “America’s Answer To The Beatles”. They successfully combined the lyrical genius of Dylan with the melodic expertise of The Fab Four, in order to create one of the greatest singles ever released in the history of rock music:“Mr. Tambourine Man’: The single, which topped the charts in the U.S., England and almost every other country in the world, brought the Byrds immediate international stardom.
In the wake of the single’s success, the Byrds were even credited as the pioneers of a new musical form — “folk-rock”. In retrospect, it may seem extraordinary that one single should produce so much acclaim for a group who had yet to release their debut album. In the mid-sixties, however, success was measured almost entirely by the sales of singles and, for most groups, albums were a secondary consideration.
The Byrds, in common with such contemporaries as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, produced consistently excellent singles, all of which serve as landmarks in the turbulent history of the group.
This album presents, in chronological sequence, the first eight singles released by the Byrds during their golden era of 1965-1967. Unlike any previous Byrds compilation, this record is no mere hazardous selection of past “hits” but provides a revealing insight into the gradual development of a group whose effect upon rock music during the late sixties remains incalculable.
The Byrds | The Original Singles 1965-1967 | CBS | 1980
As well as providing a most comprehensive introduction to the early work of the Byrds, this compilation will also be of particular interest to the hard-core collector, since it contains several items never previously available in album form.
The million-selling “Mr. Tambourine Man”, undoubtedly the most famous of all Byrds songs, is a fitting opening number to this album because it not only launched the Byrds’ career but also spearheaded a new age of American rock music.
While “Mr. Tambourine Man” showed the Byrds’ ability to electrify Dylan songs, the flip-side, “I Knew I’d Want You”, ably displayed the talents of Gene Clark as a singer-songwriter. The worldwide success of “Mr. Tambourine Man” encouraged the group to cut another Dylan song for their second single.
Unfortunately, “All I Really Want To Do” was also covered by Cher, who had seen the Byrds perform the song at the Ciro’s night club in Hollywood. The split sales seriously affected the success of the single in the States, though it was an enormous hit in Britain. The original single version that appears on this compilation has never previously been issued on any album and has long been a much sought rarity among collectors. The B-side, “Feel A Whole Lot Better”, was destined to become one of the Byrds’ most popular live numbers and was subsequently recorded by several other artistes.
The Byrds hibernated during the winter of 1965, spending months in the studio in order to perfect their next single, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” Their efforts were rewarded with a second number one hit and million seller. Gene Clark’s “She Don’t Care About Time” provided another powerful flip-side, though it was surprisingly omitted from the Byrds’ second album.
By early 1966, rumours had filtered through from the States that the Byrds were incorporating hard rock and jazz items into their live sets. The first single of the New Year, however, seemed to indicate that they were still thinking in terms of “folk-rock” experimentation. “Set You Free This Time” revealed a new Gene Clark, anxious and willing to extend the lyrical simplicity of his earlier work in order to express more complex feelings.
The Byrds | The Original Singles 1965-1967 | CBS | 1980
The song should have provided the Byrds with another number one, but initial press reaction indicated a preference for the flip-side. As a result, CBS reversed the sides and “It Won’t Be Wrong” became the new A-side. The confusion caused by this unusual state of affairs was sufficient to affect radio play and “It Won’t Be Wrong”, an excellent rock number in its own right, was equally ignored, though it still reached the Top 40.
While “folk-rock” continued to saturate the rock market, the Byrds had already moved on to new musical horizons. A press conference was called by the group in order to introduce their new single to the world. “Eight Miles High”, which effectively elevated the Byrds to the stature of the Beatles and the Stones, is still regarded by many critics as the finest quality single ever issued.
Unfortunately, its release coincided with an unprecedented drugs purge in America, and “Eight Miles High” was banned from the air-waves in several U.S. states. The Byrds pleaded innocence and insisted that the song was nothing more than a vivid account of their plane trip to London. Their pleas remained unheard, however, and although the single provided them with another Top 20 hit, its full impact was severely qualified.
The flip-side, “Why”, was almost equally intriguing, and provided the rock world with another new term: “raga-rock”. The single version included two sitar-like guitar breaks, but when the Byrds re-recorded the song for their next album, they unwisely omitted the raga elements. The original single version included on this compilation has never previously appeared on any album.
The controversy surrounding the banning of “Eight Miles High” was immediately forgotten when news of a greater crisis was released — Gene Clark had left the Byrds.
The group decided to continue as a quartet, and re-appeared four months later with a new single, “5D (Fifth Dimension)” Unfortunately, the single was once more misinterpreted as a drug-song, even though group leader McGuinn insisted that it was a musical adaptation of Einstein’s theory of relativity! The flip-side, “Captain Soul”, was another surprise move from the Byrds, who had never previously attempted a blues instrumental.
The Byrds | The Original Singles 1965-1967 | CBS | 1980
In spite of their continued success, the Byrds temporarily retired from live appearances in late 1966. “Mr. Spaceman” / “What’s Happening” (taken from the Fifth Dimension album) provided another Top 40 hit, but this was not sufficient to quell the rumours that the Byrds were on the verge of splitting.
The Byrds answered these rumours with a stunning new single, “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”, which was released in February 1967. The song, a cynical comment on the manufacturing of hit groups such as the Monkees, remains one of the Byrds’ most famous numbers. The B-side, “Everybody’s Been Burned”, was nothing short of superb, and established David Crosby‘s reputation as a major singer-songwriter.
With Hillman’s bass-work and McGuinn’s lead reaching unforeseen heights, it was clear that the Byrds were working at white heat. The release of “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star”/”Everybody’s Been Burned” was quickly followed by the celebrated album Younger Than Yesterday, which fully established the Byrds’ reputation as a major force in the rock world.
The eight singles contained on this album show precisely how that reputation was achieved. For these 16 tracks are nothing less than the finest work that the Byrds produced between the years 1965-1967. (JOHN ROGAN)
THE BYRDS The Original Singles 1965-’67 (CBS) IN WHICH CBS finally gets its finger out and begins to do justice to the embarrassment of riches that The Byrds deposited in their back catalogue during the halcyon ’60s. Sixteen tracks are herein gathered — the first eight singles with B-side following A run together in chronological order, from ‘Mr. Tambourine Man‘s incandescent chime right through to the elegant melancholia of ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’.
Retailing at a snip under three quid, the lucky consumer gets — in glorious mono — untampered with ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’, ‘I Knew I’d Want You’, ‘All I Really Want To Do’, ‘Feel A Whole Lot Better’, ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’, ‘She Don’t Care About Time’, ‘Set You Free This Time’, ‘It Won’t Be Wrong’, ‘Eight Miles High’, Why’, ‘5D’, ‘Captain Soul’, ‘Mr. Spaceman’. ‘What’s Happening?!?’, ‘So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n ‘Roll Star?’, ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’.
Byrds fans should rejoice in the fact that this compilation includes the original recording of ‘All I Really.. ‘, heretofore unavailable in album form, and ‘She Don’t Care About Time’ only attainable via an early ’70s double album compilation ‘History Of. . ‘
Most essential however is the version of ‘Why?’ that graces the space immediately preceded by ‘Eight Miles High‘. Better known in the wretchedly tame stripped-down form that concluded the ‘Younger Than Yesterday’ album, this original version buzzes with the same manic ringing jolt that typifies ‘Eight Miles High’s stupendous dynamic, with absurdly dextrous bass playing pummelling the grid-iron drumming whilst McGuinn’s raga-rock guitar excursions make for a breath-taking collation.
It’s only sad that the powers-that-be couldn’t somehow squeeze on the two subsequent releases — ‘My Back Pages’ and, in particular, ‘Lady Friend’, David Crosby’s most immaculate conception and Byrds swansong — so as to truly complete the era herein celebrated.
I don’t wish to wax over-ecstatic regarding the music packaged within as it would simply draw me to a rapt belching-forth of superlatives. The work that the Byrds released between 1965 and 67 remains quite adamantly the most exhilaratingly beautiful music I’ve heard — certainly in the rock idiom — and although nagging considerations regarding nostalgia cannot be dismissed, the overall lustre of ‘Tambourine Man’ and ‘Turn! Turn Turn!’ or the cataclysmic thrill of ‘Eight Miles High’ and ‘Why?’ have never sounded anything less than absolute perfection — a magic too mercurial to be analysed.
But enough of this hyperbole. This release finally demonstrates that CBS are on the case regarding the legacy that The Byrds deposited before the human chemistry was smashed by Crosby’s firing in late ’67. The fact remains however that the group’s two finest albums — ‘5D’ and ‘Younger Than Yesterday’ —have been long deleted from the European catalogue, being available solely on import, and this criminal state of affairs needs to be put to rights as soon as possible.
Also there exist a number of tapes from the period of ’66-’67 that have yet to see the light of day, and amongst these recorded-but-unreleased jewels is a magnificent interpretation of Miles Davis’ ‘Milestones’. Further investigation please, with tangible results for all interested parties to scarf up.
Meanwhile ‘The Original Singles’ is the first CBS repackage of the Byrds’ music that actually does justice to its contents. Buy it whatever the reason — you’ll believe a group can fly! (NME, 20/09/80)
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