| Byrds Debut So Much More Than The Title Track. (review from amazon.com) |
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The Byrds seemed to have come out of nowhere.
This was'nt the case as all the band members had either performed in other groups or as solo performers.
In 1965 Bob Dylan had been recording folk music for 2-3 years, the Beatles and The Rolling Stones along with many others of the British Invasion had reinvented rock/pop.
Jim (later Roger) McGuinn and the other band members were influenced by the film A Hard Days Night and Dylan's songs.
The above is hardly news to Byrds fans, however I think another Merseyside band, The Searchers, deserve some credit for their melodic guitar sounds which McGuinn honed into the trademark jingle jangle tones on this and subsequent releases.
Dylan has 4 songs and I love Mr Tambourine Man, it's similar in that I never get tired of hearing The Animals' 1964 House Of The Rising Sun, Dylan's 1965 Like A Rolling Stone and Jimi Hendrix's Hey Joe.
All I Really Want To Do is another a super song, although a bit on the short side.
Gene Clark contributes several songs and co-writes with McGuinn.
I think the best are I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better , Here Without You, I Knew I'd Want You and to top them all, a bonus track She Has A Way.
I must mention that this comes in stereo as not all albums did in 1965.
This album can be enjoyed again and again.
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| "Jingle Jangle Morning" (review from amazon.com) |
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I remember getting this album and FIFTH DIMENSION for Christmas when I was 13 years old. No, Santa wasn't all that hip: I had specifically asked for them. On the basis of their singles, I had just declared the Byrds as my favorite group. Hey, in my early adolescent crowd, simply being a Beatlemaniac was just too obvious: you pretty much had to find someone else to idolize. Some of my friends went with the Stones (also too obvious, in my book), the Kinks, or even the Animals. I don't think it was an anti-British Invasion thing, cuz I liked the notion of Swinging London and all that. But I liked it pretty much the way the Byrds themselves expressed it in "Eight Miles High"--from afar, and in my imagination.
And I liked the whole folk-rock thing. There was something magical about "Mr. Tambourine Man": McGuinn's twelve-string echoed the "jingle jangle morning" of the lyrics perfectly. It was a trademark sound, unique in rock history (and remaining so for a good decade and a half before Tom Petty would incorporate itinto his sound). And those harmonies! These former folkies knew how to SING. Dylan fans complained even then that they not only edited the song to death, but tarted it up in the process. Bushwah! The re-contextualized the Dylan classic, made it hit-worthy and help bring rock's foremost poet to the attention of a whole new audience. Quite a feat.
I won't go on at length about the fact that the record company insisted that they use studio musicians on that first track. As a die-hard fan, I gotta admit it was a little embarrassing to learn that McGuinn was in fact the sole group member playing on the instrumental track for the title cut of that record. But record companies did that kind of thing back in those days. As far as I know the rest of the album, cut a bit after the single, was the actural band in toto. And no one could fake those harmonies. So it really WASN'T the Monkees with more intelligent lyrics, IMHO. This was an American original.
Well, American ANGLOPHILES, that is. The Byrds sound was, from the get-go, an amalgam of American folk (and even surf) harmonies and British Invasion spiritedness. So it's only appropriate, I guess, that a couple of the songs, "Bells of Rhymney" and "We'll Meet Again" evoke the British Isles rather than the Byrds' own SoCal hometurf. Borders were crumbling: genres bending. It was all good. If Cher hadn't stolen their thunder with her single of "All I Really Want to Do," the group would likely have gone on to have a few more solid hits from their debut album. (In the end, they recovered nicely a few months later with the release of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" but the competition w/ Ms. Bono's version did rob them of some of their initial steam.)
Gene Clark was the matinee idol of the group back then. His tunes, less overtly "poetic" than the Dylan covers, still had a powerful romanticism that more than offset the occasional awkward turn of phrase. Columbia wasn't about to release the Clark ballads "I Knew I'd Want You" and "Here Without You" as A-sides back then, but if they had, those tunes could have become close dancing classics in the manner of the Association's "Cherish" (released significantly later). He had the stuff, as his rockers like "Feel A Whole Lot Better" also displayed, and it was too bad that his fear of flying (or whatever it really was) sidetracked his career so early and in a way that neither his solo career or his subsquent return to the fold (of flock) could make up for.
Clark's presence is so strong on the album that you might forget that even then, McGuinn was considered the group leader. Well, he WAS mainly responsible for shaping the band's distinctive instrumental sound--and you could argue that it was actually David Crosby's high harmony line that lent the Byrds' their unique vocal sound. Yeah, there was a lot of talent in the earliest incarnation of the band. Chris Hillman would go on to become recognized as a fine bassist and a strong songwriter in the C&W vein, and, of course, there was Michael Clarke too, who had the LOOK if not the licks. The Byrds were everything a stylish and musically accomplished rock band needed to be in 1965/'66. And the effect remains timeless.
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| The first is the best (review from amazon.com) |
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Mr. Tambourine Man is The Byrds debut album and is 31 minutes and 35 seconds long and was released on June 21, 1965. Mr. Tambourine Man reached #6 on the US Billboard Album 200 charts. It charted to singles from that album. They are: Mr. Tambourine Man #1 and All I Really Want to Do #40. This was The Byrds most successful album and the only one to peak under the top ten list. Also included are songs like I Knew I Want You, I Feel A Whole Lot Better, and Chimes of Freedom. This is a must to add to your Byrds collection.
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| Byrds in the Belfry - Metamorpho Uses Every Trick! (review from amazon.com) |
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As all my fans probably know by now, the campaign trail has been very hard on your beloved Seer. First of all, it was that interview on nationwide T.V., you know the one, where I was debating at a townhall and they tried (purposely) to trip me up with my own words. I tell you people, the press in this country is so slanted. And definitely not Metamorpho friendly. I chuckled, I gaffawed, and smiled at the cameras in any given opportunity. You see, it doesn't matter what I say- as long as I look good. I didn't take a course in the advertising industry for nothing you know! Look where it's gotten me thus far. A reknown reviewer on Amazon for free! Hmmmmmmm..... I must see if I can change that soon.
In any event, the press said I had birds in the belfry, which is partially correct. Actually it's Byrds (don't forget the y for the i - most important!). Yes. They flew into my mind with folk-rock harmonies, a 12 string Rickenbacker and, thank God, no other substance which would stress me out! Believe me folks, we must be grateful for small favors.
In any event, now that I have some short time from the campaign, I can finally relate to you this excellent first attempt by the Byrds called "Mr. Tambourine Man". In order to appreciate it fully, you have to tune your mind back to 1965. It was then that Bob Dylan really made his appearance known in the pop-folk-rock arena with the astounding "Like a Rolling Stone". Yes. Everything was changing at this point. America finally had an artist with credibility enough to stand equal to The Beatles. In some ways, even moreso.
So what happens? The Byrds get enamored with the Dylan songs and decide to give a lot of his previous efforts a folk-rock appeal - electric guitars and all, and what we wind up with is a quite considerable classic debut album. What really set it apart was the 12 string guitar sound and those great harmonies. Somehow, it was a different sound and totally unique for the time. Sort of like my bid for President. which, believe me, this country needs now!
Included herein, are generous amount of Dylan's compositions done in only the way the Byrds could do them. A new look. Incredibly pop friendly. Not only do you get "Mr. Tambourine Man" but more new looks at his music such as "Spanish Harlem Incident", "The Bells of Rymney", "All I Really Want to Do" and "Chimes of Freedom". A revelation and all so accessible.
But, added to this, is the incredible artistry of Gene Clark. So many good songs penned by this amazing artist. Listen to "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" (covered by other artists such as Tom Petty), "You Won't Have to Cry", "She Has a Way" and "I Knew I'd Want You". This is very different mid-sixties pop - pleasing and a joy to listen to then, as well as now.
As with anything in the sixties, we were examining more emotions in a love relationship. Yes, those themes are here (along with important Dylan messages), but the thing that stands out, to me, is a magikal energy that runs like a thread throughout all these songs. It is a miraculous debut album, and one that is essential to the pop enthusiast. Lush harmonies, folk-pop chord changes, and relevent, youth oriented concerns in musical form. You just can't get a mid-sixties sound better than this. Take my word. I am Metamorpho, and I have spoken! I expect you all now to flock to the nearest download. You won't be disappointed.
Now, let me get back to the campaign trail. Current polls have your beloved Seer coming in a distant third! This will not do. I will be in Pennsylvania and then hopping over to Ohio tomorrow. Come out and meet me. (And vote for me- even more important!). I need these States to fly into the White House, sort of like a Byrd, you know?
Vote for Me- I'll set you free --
Metamorpho ;)
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| Mr. Tambourine Man -- What A Debut! (review from amazon.com) |
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| What a debut! The Byrds only released two albums and a handful of singles with Gene Clark--until a rather abysmal reunion in the early 1970's--but what a couple of albums they are! "Mr. Tambourine Man," their first release, would of course be hailed as one of the penultimate folk-rock records, with the group so aptly adapting the songs of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to a radio-friendly audience. Yet, for me, it's not how the group performs the title track, "The Bells of Rhymney," "Spanish Harlem Incident" or even "Chimes of Freedom," but the quality of their original material, the bulk of which was penned by Gene Clark! Clark's amazing "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" has become a rock and roll classic, and "Here Without You" beautifully exemplifies its composer's darker, poetic side. Clark and McGuinn, the team that penned The Turtles' "You Showed Me," would co-write "You Won't Have to Cry" (not to be confused with "You Don't Have to Cry" by Crosby, Stills and Nash) and the lesser known "It's No Use." With the success of their first LP under their belts, the group would appear to offer more of the same with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" but Clark would emerge as an even more powerful force with compositions "Set You Free This Time," "She Don't Care About Time" and the hauntingly brilliant "The World Turns All Around Her!" Lesser known track "If You're Gone" would precede Clark's last songwriting credit on a Byrds recording with "Eight Miles High" on their "Fifth Dimension" LP. With Clark's departure, group members David Crosby and Roger McGuinn would be allowed to spread their wings and soar as celebrities and songwriters in their own right, and Crosby's ultimate departure would likewise permit bassist Chris Hillman to step forward before leaving to form The Flying Burrito Brothers, Souther, Hillman and Furay and the Desert Rose Band, then completing a musical full-circle by again reuniting with Clark and McGuinn for two releases and a brief tour. It having been common practice in the early to mid 1960's for session musicians to play on the company predicted hits, such would be the case with much of "Mr. Tambourine Man," but The Byrds would prove themselves to be competent enough musicians and capable performers that this would not be the case with subsequent releases. I love every line-up that's existed of The Byrds, from Gene Clark to Gram Parsons and John York to Clarence White and Skip Battin, with drummer Gene Parsons himself providing exceptional all-around musicianship and serving as a steadying force while the group forged its way into country-rock after a brief dalliance with psychedlic music. But again coming full-circle, it would be this cornerstone from the folk-rock years and the group's debut that holds the dearest place in my heart and serves as the best starting point for future Byrds fans.
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