The Smiley Smile Message Board

As I get more and more into a band it's just a matter of time before I start going for the live albums. What I'm really interested in is the group live doing Younger Than Yesterday and Notorious Byrd Brothers material, but it seems all the live albums available or from after that period. Does anyone know of any recordings of those songs live?

I wish there was more of the Notorious Byrd Brothers material. I was so surprised when I picked that one up, it's a wonderful, wonderful album.

My understanding is the original byrds line-up, with the exception of Jim and Gene (Clark), were terrible live, and it wasn't until gene parsons and clarence white joined that their live shows became listenable. Check out the first record of Untitled to hear that line-up really rock.

Love The Byrds myself - check out these pages ...  
http://users.skynet.be/byrdsflyght/main.htm and http://byrdsflyght.blogspot.com/
Sadly. as you note, full recordings of the live Gene Clark-era are seemingly non-existent and the only full sets ones I'm aware of start from the late '68 period, just after Gram quit. A short recording from Rome 68 is in circulation that Gram appears on but before that ... nada. I'm certain there must be a few out there and I'll keep searching ...

:afro

HOWEVER ...
Check this one out as a starter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S22UjzdY8BQ
Then there IS the short 7-song set on the Monterey Pop Festival (June 1967) CD box-set (forgot I had that one !) featuring the following tracks. No Gene Clark but the Croz is there ...
Renaissance Fair
Have You Seen Her Face
Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
He Was A Friend Of Mine
Lady Friend
Chimes Of Freedom
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

Finally, just found a short live set recorded in Sweden during March 1967 (can be found on the 'net with a bit of searching), plus the "Timeless Flight" biography also lists a 1965 UK recording, but I've never seen or heard that one ...

A live-in-the-studio version of "Roll Over Beethoven" from February 1967 is available on the first Byrds box set.

The whole Swedish radio broadcast can be heard on the Swingin´Pig bootleg "Live In Stockholm 1967".

Hey Joe
My Back Pages
Mr. Tambourine Man
He Was a Friend of Mine
So You Want to Be a Rock'N'Roll Star
Roll Over Beethoven

The Clarence White era Byrds were great live until they tried any pre 'Sweetheart material and then there just always seemed a big void where Crosby's harmonies were absent.

The 'Untitled' Byrds fucking rock your socks off.


Proof!     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9cINH9yob4

Proof also that facial hair never suited Roger McGuinn. I don't understand how after four years of playing with him, Rog suddenly decided that Gene Parsons wasn't a good enough drummer.

My late Father-In-Law told me on a number of occasions that the show he attended by The Byrds in about 1970 was the greatest show he ever saw.

My all time favorite line up of The Byrds was Roger McGuinn, Clerence White, Skipp Batin and Gene Parsons. I know that fans of the "classic" line up would argue with me though.  ;D In my opinion, Skipp Batin and Gene Parsons where one of the most overlooked and underappreciated rhythm sections in rock. There was a CD of this lineup released not to long ago of a show at The Fillmore in 1971. I very highly recommend it. There is a version of Eight Miles High on it with Gene and Skipp "dueling" each other. Clerence and Roger leave the stage, so it's only Gene and Skipp. It blows me away every time I hear it!  ;D I also highly recommend the "Untitled" two CD reissue, called "Untitled(Unreleased)".  I'd love to see a reunion. Unfortunately, Skipp passed on a few years ago.

They defiently struck gold with "Untitled" but the problem they faced afterwards was Roger was not that prolific a songwriter and as a result allowed too many awful Skipp Batin songs to fill out the next two lps. Combine the best songs from "Byrdmainx" and "Farther Along" and you have another cracking album as opposed to two substandard ones. Here we go;

1, Farther Along
2, Glory, Glory
3, Get Down Your Line
4, Lover of the Bayou
5, Buglar
6, Tiffany Queen
7, Pale Blue
8, Antique Sandy
9, Kathleen's Song
10, I Wanna Grow up to be a Policticon
11, Bagfull of Money (which McGuinn sat on for his solo record)
12, Jamaica, Say You Will

The Byrds live 1968 on Playboy After Dark (line up: Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons & John York):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eYN_LwgDSk&feature=youtu.be

Great performance!

Those Playboy After Dark things are so weird!

There is this, which isn't too shabby http://youtu.be/OWlth2csLNw

Citizen Kane and Lazy Waters belong on there as far as i'm concerned

I've never seen anything on 'Playboy After Dark'. That's pretty funny, listening to the Heff talk about The Byrds, while having a swinging party.

I'd certainly go along with Lazy Waters ... but my favourite from those albums has to be "Yesterdays Train" off the Untitled album. Love it. There's certainly some true gems hidden amongst those final years...

Come to think of it, I enjoy America's Great National Pastime as well

At the Filmore was released for the 1st time a few years ago when the catalogue was updated and rereleased.  If you haven't heard it start there.

And in general, there is a boatload of good byrds on two box sets of 4 discs each.

What the hell happened to David Crosby? He looked cute here but within a couple of years had morphed into a fat, balding walrus.

Speaking of the Byrds, I urge anyone who hasn't to check out Gene Clark's solo output. How he never became a star is a mystery.

Gene's solo material is a must hear for any Byrds fan.  As is Chris hillman's solo and Desert Rose work.  And McGuinn's solo work.  And the other configurations of ex byrds lps.                    If you like bluegrassy stuff, check out Hillman and Pederson releases.

And Clarence has been gone for quite a while, also.

Only have Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers, which is like the great lost mid60's Byrds album.

'White Light' is a must. Also check out 'Roadmaster' if for no other reason than the original quintet reunite for two (fantastic) songs and the Flying Burritos are Gene's backup band on another.

I've said it before, if the original lineup had stayed together, The Byrds would have been the American rock group of the 60's.

The BBs and Byrds played a wild show in Virginia in Nov 1971.  The crowd was expecting the two fading groups to play strictly nostalgia and they both redused to give the people what they wanted.  McGuinn's Byrds opened and were tolerated but when the BBs also chose to stick mostly to 1968-1971 material the crowd got very hostile and there were some very mean spirited exchanges betweeen audience and band.  Finally when the BBs got into the second set and played more oldies everyone calmed down.  Shows like that illustrate why the BBs finally changed the set in 74 and intermixed the oldies more with the new stuff.

I have a lot of respect for the Byrds, they've not one of my key faves but I always liked McGuinn and Crosby's voices especially. The early stuff and the Untitled album are favorites of mine. Funny, considering I really like Gram Parson's solo stuff, Sweetheart of the Rodeo (the Dylan covers excepted) is mostly a bore for me.

Get the Byrds albums on vinyl if you can because the songs on the CDs were remixed because the original master tapes were worn out from overuse. Roger's guitar on "Mr. Tamborine Man" is amazing on vinyl along with just the general warmness of all the songs in the original mix.

I cosign with the bathrobe! Notorious Byrd Brothers on vinyl is so warm and lovely.

Need to get that one on vinyl, can't say that Notorious Byrd Brothers recording sessions were so warm and lovely. The album broke the original lineup up.

How could you wear out master tapes by overusing them? Did they pull out the masters for every greatest hits package? Did they have safety dubs?

 According to who remixed it,“ The first four Byrds albums had sold so well, and the master tapes used so much that they were at least two, if not three generations down from the original. In most cases, a first-generation master no longer existed. They were basically played to death; they were worn out, there was nothing left of them.[41] ”

That's true, but a what a way to go. That session tape on the bonus tracks is very telling, but also hilarious.

"Why don't you play right?"  :lol

I wish they would release the whole tapes of that album to show how far they went against each other because that sample of the arguing in the studio is intense. "I don't even like what i'm playing" :o

Back on topic... it's amazing the change between Live at Fillmore and Untitled Live...what, 12 months later?. I never listen to Fillmore because it's pretty bad, but I love the Battin-era Byrds live in concert. They really stretch out and let go. That's what live shows/albums should be about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37kLco5ffvU&feature=related
Check out this live reunion of the original lineup