It turns out there was more than a handful of great new songs on this set. Hell, I found out The Byrds were making great music before they were The Byrds. The best of the gems recorded during early sessions aimed at attracting a record label is the David Crosby-sung “The Airport Song.” Crosby and Roger McGuinn co-wrote this breezy, melancholy song while watching planes at LAX.
You get in trouble anytime you anoint a particular artist the inventor of a genre because someone will always find a slightly earlier cut from some obscure outfit who might have made a record that could loosely be fitted in that genre. The Byrds may not have invented either genre, but they are often credited for pioneering two of them. The first, folk-rock, is the sound of the original five-man lineup and takes up the first two discs. The Byrds' version of folk-rock relied heavily on that Rickenbacker guitar and brilliant harmonies.
When "Mr. Tambourine Man," the title cut from The Byrds first album, became a #1 hit, Bob Dylan was still building his legend in the folk realm. The Byrds made Dylan electric before The Man himself did. It is a wonderful contradiction that many of these early songs sound both timeless and dated. I am not old enough to have lived the '60s, so my perceptions of that period are informed through the prism of history. The Byrds' sound is vital to the soundtrack of those years. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones got more of the headlines and damn deservedly so, but "Eight Days a Week" does not echo The '60s the way "Eight Miles High" does.
These first two discs exceeded my expectations but they failed to surprise me. The band found a winning formula and stayed true to it on their early records, often to delightful effect. Disc Three is the curveball. The second genre The Byrds helped pioneer was country-rock. I had no idea. The steel guitar line in the intro of "You Ain't Going Nowhere," another Dylan cover, introduces not only the song but an entirely new sound. The harmonies from the early records have remained, but the sonic landscape is completely different.
By 1968, the Clark(e)s had departed as had David Crosby. Chris Hillman and Roger McGuinn were the last of the originals and at Hillman's suggestion, the legendary Gram Parsons was welcomed into the fold. What followed is either the first or first important country-rock album. Some critics say Sweetheart of the Rodeo was more a Parsons album than a Byrds' album. It seems pointless to debate because regardless of what you call it in terms of genre or who you credit, it is a magnificent record and I loathe country music only slightly less than hip hop rubbish. "Hickory Wind" is the blueprint for bands like The Eagles and America who would later carry the torch for the country-rock movement. It is also one of the best things Parsons ever recorded and one of the highlights on this set.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Glen Boyd
Better late than never DJR.
So I may suggest a next Byrds record for you to run down? The double album "Untitled" is split between studio and live stuff, and includes the latter day hit "Chestnut Mare". I dont know how much live stuff is included on the box as I haven't found it at anywhere nesr the great price you lucked onto. But the side-long live version of "Eight Miles High" showcases just how potent they could be as a live band. "Eight Miles" serves as the launch pad for a very tasty side long jam.
Anyway, good review DJR. And If I'm ever in your neck of the woods, you'll have to invite me over to check out that wall of yours.
-Glen
2 - J. P. Spencer
It's worth noting that the final lineup of the Byrds (with the incomparable Clarence White) was the longest-lasting lineup of the band. One of my favorite Byrds albums is "Ballad Of Easy Rider", and this album tends to get lost in the shuffle.
Welcome to the club.
3 - DJRadiohead
Thanks Glen and JP. You both manage to highlight something I did fail to mention in the review. It was something I intended to address but closed shop before I got to it: the second half of disc three and all of disc.
Glen, there are a number of live cuts included in this region of the set. I'd have to check the liner notes to see if any of it came from that double-set you mention.
I liked some of the post-Sweetheart material but I have to admit my favorite stuff was the early material and Sweetheart. That stuff was just special and I cannot believe how undervalued it seems to me to be. Clarence White should have gotten a mention in my review proper because he was a longtime member and did cut some great guitar work for them while in the band. This box set is great and I do plan on adding to it. I'll keep an eye on that set and plan on collecting a few of the original albums.
Thanks both for the comments.
4 - Vern Halen
How is this set significantly different from the black boox set that came outu a number of years ago? It was 4 CD's with a number of remixed/remastered items. I can't get allmusic to open on my computer this morning.
5 - Vern Halen
Got into allmusic finally - essentially the same as the 1990 box - a few different tracks, nothing special. They actually rate the 1990 box at 5 stars and this new set at 4 1/2.
6 - Mark Saleski
nice review dj. the day you found this collection, you made something positive out of what i think is wrong with best buy's cd offerings: their tendency to stock only the current hits and greatest hits collections.
(ok that, and their annoying environment).
i still haven't decided on this box or perhaps just all of the early cds in their remastered form. i mean, something has to be done, since i only have once Byrds disc: Live at the Filmore.
7 - DJRadiohead
Vern, you're right, there is not a big difference between the two sets. I don't know what caused the first one to go out of print but if you have it, this might be less necessary. Wow, I went on for over 1,000 words and still did not say all that needed to be said. Maybe I should have skipped my Best Buy diatribe.
Saleski, I plan on grabbing their early CDs as well but I think for the price it is worth it to grab this if you can find a copy at Satan Best Buy. I was there last night and saw they had four or five copies and were still selling it for $29.99.
There are lots of things wrong with SBB. I shop there mostly because it is the best local choice and if you can find it there, it will be cheaper there.
8 - El Bicho
Good write-up. It's always a pleasure discovering a band. If if they are old, they are new to you.
"I don't know what caused the first one to go out of print but if you have it"
Could it be different labels?
9 - DJRadiohead
Thanks, El B. I am finding that to be true about the potential for old to be new. Over the past few years I have been listening to blues albums from the '40s, '50s, and '60s. All of that music is old and yet I had not heard any of it and I love it. The same thing happened with The Byrds. It's a great set.
Sony/Columbia has held the rights to most, if not all, The Byrds music. It is possible legal issues could still be at play, not sure.
10 - Mark Saleski
next up on the 'dj radiohead: what's old is new':
Little Feat
The Band
11 - Mat Brewster
I have the old box and I really can't get into it. I don't really know what it is, and I'll definitely give it another listen after this review, but its never really set right.
Sweetheart though, that's one great record.
12 - DJRadiohead
Yes, Sir Brewster, it is. I hate country music but love Sweetheart. I hate country music but I do love certain elements that are characteristic of the genre. For example, Sweetheart, Ryan Adams, etc. In fact, last night I bought Gram Parsons' Complete Reprise Sessions and a Flying Burrito Bros. compilation. I knew Parsons by name before this box but not his music. I am now immersing myself in his back catalog. It's the circle of life, Simba.
13 - Vern Halen
The reissues were all pretty good, but Younger Than Yesterday & Notorious Byrd Bros I thought had excellent bonus tracks. Brothers has the famous studio argument as well.
Mr. Brewster - you didn't like the original box? Actually, in light of all the extras on the reissues, I see why. You need to be in for a penny, in for a pound as it were - like the Beatles, there was just so much going on in the history of this band, you have to have it all there to make sense of it.
14 - JR
Mark Saleski: I still haven't decided on this box or perhaps just all of the early cds in their remastered form. i mean, something has to be done, since i only have once Byrds disc: Live at the Filmore.
My unsolicited advice: just get all the albums. They're available at the mid-line price, which means J&R Music or Tower.com (which apparently is still in business) will eventually have them for $7.99 each, maybe even $6.99 at J&R. At that price you can basically get the entire catalogue for around $100; everything up to and including Sweetheart... would be no more than $56. There should be a sale at least once within the next year, and you're obviously in no hurry.
I bought all the albums more out of musicological interest than anything else, as I'm not a big fan of folk, country rock or Americana in general. I ended up on a Byrds kick for a while there, as I found I really did like some of the songs. And I'd say the level of musicianship was actually higher than that of the Beatles and Stones, especially as you get into the country era with Gram Parsons and Clarence White.
All the CDs have extensive liner notes, multiple bonus tracks and hidden tracks at the end, including that studio out-take argument between the band and the drummer which is worth the price alone - absolutely hilarious and gives you an idea of the musical literacy level of your typical rock band, even a very innovative one. I also liked hearing some of David Crosby's experiments in the psychodelic period. I wouldn't say they're particularly good, but they're interesting. (I didn't know Jefferson Airplane's version of "Triad" was a cover; as a sociological statement it sounds so much bolder when sung by Grace Slick)
15 - El Bicho
Mark, slip in American Beauty while he's not looking.
16 - Mat Brewster
I bought the box solely based on my love for Sweethearts. I expected a whole box full of music just like that, and when it wasn't I think it soured me.
That was many years ago and I've pretty much let the box sit ever since. Like I said I'll break it out again and see if my feelings have changed.
17 - Vern Halen
No doubt you've got all the Gram Parsons/Flying Burritos anthologies out there then.
18 - DJRadiohead
Sir Brewster, do you have the two-disc Legacy edition of Sweetheart? There are some great outtakes on that version not on the single-disc reissue. Very good stuff.
19 - Mark Saleski
Mark, slip in American Beauty while he's not looking.
trouble maker.
20 - DJRadiohead
I am being swarmed by the Deadheads.
21 - Mark Saleski
dude, if you like Sweethearts, but not American Beauty, then...uh...well, i don't know.
but it just seems wrong.
22 - DJRadiohead
I will put that album on my queue to check out but I don't think it is going to have the Guster effect.
23 - Mat Brewster
American Beauty is country in the same way Sweethearts is, but the lyrics are better.
And don't worry we may be surrounding you, but we won't shoot. We might dose you, but never shoot.
24 - DJRadiohead
Being dosed by Deadheads... who knew?
25 - El Bicho
Hold on! We can't dose until Quinn the Eskimo gets here.