The Byrds

[meltedwhiskeyinmyhand]

Wolfgang's vault has some Roger/Gene acoustic shows from the 70's that are pretty damn amazing!

Wolfgangs Vault is probably my favorite app. I love Sweetheart of the Rodeo but I am a Gram Parsons mark

[Heysaboda]

so i just left the music store and bought ballad of easy rider...dr. byrds & mr. hyde..and untitled ..well worth the $30 bucks!

Newguy, I assume you bought the untitled/unissued CD, which is Untitled remastered with an entire bonus CD.  You are in for a treat.  The bonus CD will cause your jaw to drop!  Totally drop out.  Check the alternate "All the Things".  Mind blown!  Then listen to the live "This Wheel's on Fire".  !!!!!!!!!!!  Clarence's solo will blast the enamel from your teeth!  (It's a good thing!)

 

[Newguy562]

so i just left the music store and bought ballad of easy rider...dr. byrds & mr. hyde..and untitled ..well worth the $30 bucks!

Newguy, I assume you bought the untitled/unissued CD, which is Untitled remastered with an entire bonus CD.  You are in for a treat.  The bonus CD will cause your jaw to drop!  Totally drop out.  Check the alternate "All the Things".  Mind blown!  Then listen to the live "This Wheel's on Fire".  !!!!!!!!!!!  Clarence's solo will blast the enamel from your teeth!  (It's a good thing!)

 

i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...chestnut marie is a fuckin beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

[Heysaboda]

i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...Chestnut Mare is a f***in beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

And by the way, did you know that the studio version of "All the Things" features Gram Parsons on backup vocals?

[Newguy562]

i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...Chestnut Mare is a f***in beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

And by the way, did you know that the studio version of "All the Things" features Gram Parsons on backup vocals?

really? i thought gram was done with the byrds by that time..lol

[Outtasight!]

so i just left the music store and bought ballad of easy rider...dr. byrds & mr. hyde..and untitled ..well worth the $30 bucks!

Newguy, I assume you bought the untitled/unissued CD, which is Untitled remastered with an entire bonus CD.  You are in for a treat.  The bonus CD will cause your jaw to drop!  Totally drop out.  Check the alternate "All the Things".  Mind blown!  Then listen to the live "This Wheel's on Fire".  !!!!!!!!!!!  Clarence's solo will blast the enamel from your teeth!  (It's a good thing!)

 

The lyrics fit with the musical they were written for but are weird taken out of context as they were on Untitled. Good album, brilliant reissue!
i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...chestnut marie is a f***in beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

[Heysaboda]

i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...Chestnut Mare is a f***in beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

And by the way, did you know that the studio version of "All the Things" features Gram Parsons on backup vocals?

really? i thought gram was done with the byrds by that time..lol

Yes, he was.  It was just a guest appearance.

You are right about Chestnut Mare, great song, great playing by Clarence White!

[Newguy562]

i actually love both versions of "all the things" i don't know which one i prefer lol..actually i love that whole album i'm suprised it's so good i thought they lost it by the 70's i wish people brought up this era more and stop making it seem like they lost it after the 60's!...Chestnut Mare is a f***in beautiful song (the subject is kind of strange but the harmonies are so sweet and catchy)

And by the way, did you know that the studio version of "All the Things" features Gram Parsons on backup vocals?

really? i thought gram was done with the byrds by that time..lol

Yes, he was.  It was just a guest appearance.

You are right about Chestnut Mare, great song, great playing by Clarence White!

gram was such an essential character in the byrds seriously
and yes it's a gorgeous piece it's so slept on though i wish it was a huge hit

[Dunderhead]

The guitar work on NBB is really outstanding. Seriously, try and count the number of guitar parts on some of those songs. The finger picking part on the chorus of Goin' Back is absolutely spectacular. There's too much focus in popular music on outlandish solo spectacle when it comes to guitar playing. It's a shame because I think NBB is really one of, if not the best guitar albums ever.

Simply one of the best albums ever. Add Triad and Lady Friend and it is in SMiLE territory quality wise.

There is one song, one particular song that I really earnestly wish would have been on NBB. "Glass" from Usher's Sagittarius LP.
I don't really get why Gary Usher is so marginalized in discussion of The Byrds, he really made those albums shine. I love 5D, don't get me wrong, but the improvement in sound that Usher brought along with him on Younger Than Yesterday is truly breathtaking.

Usher doesn't usually get pegged for doing "Wall of Sound" type recordings, but that's exactly the style he excelled at. If you listen carefully to YTY you can start to hear the sort of textures that his productions contributed, guitar parts being augmented by pianos and the like. The blending is really wonderful, and it's clear that Usher was paying close attention to what Brian was doing in terms of sound design.

Glass is, in my opinion, one of the zeniths of wall of sound recording. I would kill to hear the multitracks of that song, I could swear I hear a Chamberlin on there, but the blending is just so nuanced that it's impossible to pick out any particular sound from the whole. I see Glass as really the general maxim of Usher's style, ultra-delicate, crystalline guitar parts gleaming like points of light over clear vocal streams. The song would have been perfect for NBB I think.

The problem with Usher is his collaborators. He was a top flight producer, one of the highest rank, but the song writing, vocal work, and arrangements on Present Tense leave too much to be desired. The material was unfortunately on the mediocre side, but the production was some of the best done during that era. There are persistent rumors that Brian Wilson became annoyed with Usher over My World Fell Down, but I don't think it was just that song. Usher understood the techniques that Brian was using, and to be honest, if I were Brian Wilson, I would have been jealous of Glass.

[Outtasight!]

I have not heard Glass, I'll seek it out. Usher was by a far the best producer the Byrds had. He perfectly complimented the material they recorded with him.

[Heysaboda]

The thing is with the Byrds that you can get lost checking out the myriad side projects - for the last few months, been listening mostly to Gene Clark's stuff. The two Dillard & Clark records are really great, as well as his solo stuff.

You have good taste!    Gene Clark is worth anybody's time.  My favorite album of his is White Light.  I should spend more time with the Dillard and Clark ones though.

[Heysaboda]

Does anybody here like Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde? I think that album is pretty underrated, especially This Wheel's on Fire and Bad Night at the Whiskey.

I like Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde a whole heckuva lot, and it's one that I return to fairly often, that and the Ballad of Easy Rider.  (The only two albums w/ John York as bassist.)

Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde was yet another left turn after Sweetheart of the Rodeo.  King Apathy III, Candy, Child of the Universe, all glorious.  The combination of Clarence's and Roger's guitar playing was quite a treat.  It's a fairly dark album, but the guitars.... MAN!

The album came out in 1969 (I'm an old guy) and I remember at the time wondering what became of Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, but around that same time I picked up the Flying Burrito Brothers first album.

Anyway, yeah, Clarence White had a great ride in the latter-day Byrds.

[Newguy562]

out of all the byrds 60's albums i have to say dr. byrds is the weakest..my two favorites are notorious byrd brothers (their pet sounds) & sweetheart of the rodeo (their smile)

[Dunderhead]

The thing is with the Byrds that you can get lost checking out the myriad side projects - for the last few months, been listening mostly to Gene Clark's stuff. The two Dillard & Clark records are really great, as well as his solo stuff.

You have good taste!    Gene Clark is worth anybody's time.  My favorite album of his is White Light.  I should spend more time with the Dillard and Clark ones though.

I've been listening to Roadmaster a lot recently, there's some real gems on that.

[Mike's Beard]

out of all the byrds 60's albums i have to say dr. byrds is the weakest..my two favorites are notorious byrd brothers (their pet sounds) & sweetheart of the rodeo (their smile)

Putting aside the utter garbage McGuinn allowed Skip to stink up latter albums with, I'd agree that Dr Byrds as a whole is the weakest record the Byrds made. The production is just so limp and the mix especially on King Apathy III is awful. Drums too far back in the mix, bass far too loud and 'clean' sounding, FAR too much separation between McGuinn's Rickenbacker and the rest of the music. Weak, reedy vocals - the list goes on.
Bringing back Terry Melcher as producer was a wise choice.

[Outtasight!]

I listened to all the post Sweetheart albums today, including the re-union album and am now on to McGuinn's first solo album. I reckon the reunion album is better than any of them except Untitled and McGuinn's album is better again, that's a great record. Anyone got a view on the reunion album? The production is very poor but still I prefer it to the Battin/Fowley era. That rhythm section just doesn't work for me. I know few will agree but sometimes White's guitar playing for me is hit and miss, technically superb but overdone at times and generally too prominent in the mix. 

[Russ_B66]

I got a really nice price on "The Complete Columbia Albums Collection" a few months ago. All of the albums with bonus track for about $34. Lots of nice listening.

[Mike's Beard]

I listened to all the post Sweetheart albums today, including the re-union album and am now on to McGuinn's first solo album. I reckon the reunion album is better than any of them except Untitled and McGuinn's album is better again, that's a great record. Anyone got a view on the reunion album? The production is very poor but still I prefer it to the Battin/Fowley era. That rhythm section just doesn't work for me. I know few will agree but sometimes White's guitar playing for me is hit and miss, technically superb but overdone at times and generally too prominent in the mix. 

McGuinn's first solo album was the best thing he had done for years, I just love that album.

[Dunderhead]

I listened to all the post Sweetheart albums today, including the re-union album and am now on to McGuinn's first solo album. I reckon the reunion album is better than any of them except Untitled and McGuinn's album is better again, that's a great record. Anyone got a view on the reunion album? The production is very poor but still I prefer it to the Battin/Fowley era. That rhythm section just doesn't work for me. I know few will agree but sometimes White's guitar playing for me is hit and miss, technically superb but overdone at times and generally too prominent in the mix. 

McGuinn's first solo album was the best thing he had done for years, I just love that album.

I've looked up a few of his solo tracks on youtube but haven't really been grabbed by any of them. Where should I start with his solo work?

[GuyO]

I think general consensus is that Roger McGuinn's eponymous solo debut, Cardiff Rose and Back from Rio are his best.

[Outtasight!]

I think general consensus is that Roger McGuinn's eponymous solo debut, Cardiff Rose and Back from Rio are his best.

Yes start with his first solo album. Cardiff Rose is good too, it uses Dylan's Rolling Thunder musicians. Back from Rio is good but very AOR. It's his attempt to update the Byrds 12 string trademark guitar sound. It comes off a bit Tom Petty, who is a co-writer of one of the songs. The cover of Costello's You Bowed Down is excellent.

[Mike's Beard]

I listened to all the post Sweetheart albums today, including the re-union album and am now on to McGuinn's first solo album. I reckon the reunion album is better than any of them except Untitled and McGuinn's album is better again, that's a great record. Anyone got a view on the reunion album? The production is very poor but still I prefer it to the Battin/Fowley era. That rhythm section just doesn't work for me. I know few will agree but sometimes White's guitar playing for me is hit and miss, technically superb but overdone at times and generally too prominent in the mix. 

McGuinn's first solo album was the best thing he had done for years, I just love that album.

I've looked up a few of his solo tracks on youtube but haven't really been grabbed by any of them. Where should I start with his solo work?

Start with his debut. It's worth mentioning that a certain Mr B Johnston pops up on a couple of tracks.

[Outtasight!]

As do Mr Dylan, Crosby, Hillman, Clarke and Clark.

[Newguy562]

Sweetheart of the Rodeo is what made me interested in gram parsons and country music. but to be honest besides The Byrds,Flying Burrito Brothers and Rolling Stones I'm sure I won't tap into any more country music.(not even The Eagles)

[hypehat]

Sweetheart of the Rodeo is what made me interested in gram parsons and country music. but to be honest besides The Byrds,Flying Burrito Brothers and Rolling Stones I'm sure I won't tap into any more country music.(not even The Eagles)

The artists Gram Parsons covered (for one, the absolutely amazing Louvin Brothers) are a good reader into decent country - part of what Gram was about was blurring those distinctions anyway, which is why on SOTH and the first Burritos album he covers soul tunes as country records - there's little difference between soul music and country music on a nuts and bolts level.
Although I knew you'd get into Sweetheart and Gram eventually  What's your favourite Gram tune, btw?