Byrds Nyrds: Talk about anything Byrds related here (Part 03)

Isn't this how Brian Wilson recorded in '65/'66: i.e., recorded the instrumental backing onto either 4- or 8-track, then mixed that down to one track, and then recorded a bunch of vocal tracks, and mixed the vocals with the mono backing track that had been pre-mixed?

 

Yes, his comment that "The truth is, I was never the greatest songwriter, musician or singer. I’ve been lucky. I learned. Look at the people I’ve had the privilege to play with!" is pretty refreshing. He has always seemed like a down-to-earth guy, and, of course, he is a pretty darn talented songwriter, musician, and singer.

 

If you do a search, there's been tons of threads about this album. It's an okay album, with some very good tracks, some that are mediocre, and some that are downright lousy. It was viewed as a huge disappointment at the time because people expected a great album, and people expected an album with the classic Byrds sound, and it's neither of those things. If you go into it with sufficiently low expectations you will probably find things to like about it.

 

This is nice, but I'd have liked to see Fair and Tender Ladies...

 

I've played the heck out if it. It's a joy if you don't expect it to sound like mid 60s Byrds. Pick it up.

 

The dirty little secret about the Byrds 1973 set is that it's not a bad album. With a couple exceptions, it's a great collection of songs. The performances are there.

It's just, for a lot of reasons, it ain't a Byrds album.

 

It's not a bad album but it's also not a great album, despite being made at a time when the guys were all still in their prime and should have been capable of a masterpiece. It's a halfass effort by a band talented enough to make a pretty good album even when they weren't trying their best. In the context of its time it's a huge disappointment, but 40 years after the fact it's just nice to have one more Byrds album we wouldn't otherwise have.

 

Definitely not a great album, absolutely a half ass effort. Could have been so, so much more. (For a hint, all one need do was backtrack two years to the single they recorded for Gene Clark that was concurrently rotting in a vault.) No McGuinn 12-string and lax harmonies are pretty unforgivable.

I still think it holds up as an enjoyable listening experience. I got to hear Gene step forward with two solid new tunes, and nail two Neil Young tunes. (Good ones, too.) I love the Joni cover, plus the "Laughing" revival is really great. "Sweet Mary" by Roger is pretty decent, and his "Born to Rock 'n Roll" is in so bad it's good territory to me. (Don't expect to many to agree with me on that count.) I was expecting a flaccid, by-the-numbers record, and it's really not. Maybe they weren't trying too hard (well, all except Gene), but it's not a bad record which is what I was prepared for. I think it's a good record.

 

Yeah, the 2 Gene Clark tunes are great but widely available for decades, give us something truly unique that was recorded in those sessions, not retreads ffs.

 

..........surely prime candidate for a 2CD expanded remix/remaster etc?

IMHO See The Sky is the best thing on the album- maybe the most Byrds?

 

Cowgirl in the Sand is the best thing on this album.

 

Count me in for half-assery if "Byrds" is half-assed.
* Two great Gene Clark tunes
* Two great Neil Young covers by Gene - "Cowgirl" arguably topping Neil's original
* A very fine cover of "For Free" from Crosby
* A version of "Laughing" very similar to the original on If I Could Only Remember My Name. A bit of a strange choice, but it's fine.
* Two enjoyable and catchy Chris Hillman tunes
* A fine McGuinn original, "Sweet Mary"

That leaves "Born To Rock N Roll" - not a stellar song but enjoyable, and Crosby's throwaway "Long Live The King".

 

Byrds now in an Original Album Series box along with GP (Gram Parsons), The Souther*Hillman*Furay Band, No Other (Gene Clark) & - Poco (Inamorata).

 

See the Sky and For Free are great songs.

 

at least 3 of these are must haves for me

 

Hopefully See The Sky has its first few seconds reinstated though. I doubt we will see the expanded version of this we want for some time.

 

What an odd box. No Other is "country rock"?

 

No Other is certainly not "country Rock".

 

I refer to it as cosmic rock.

 

Kozmic Americana...

 

There were also a couple of other songs from those reunion sessions, "My New Woman", which ended up on McGuinn's debut solo LP, and the traditional folk song, "Fair And Tender Ladies" (which might still be unreleased).

 

The scary thing is these days Crosby actually makes sense!

 

I finally got to hear a friends copy of the Byrds 1973 album and I like it a lot ! I actually prefer it to most post Sweetheart albums that Byrds minus Hillman put out. Still looking for a good priced cd will probably pick this up when it comes available .. I can't find it at Amazon,anybody know where to get this ?

 

This was posted to The Byrds list and I don't think the poster will mind me posting it here. Some cool uploads !

The Eight Miles High Analog Recording Project


I thought you guys would be especially interested in a recording project I was hired to play on and co-produce here in Nashville this week for a guy who is working on his thesis at London School of Music. It involved recreating 8MH from scratch, using as much of the same analog gear, and recording environment, that The Byrds did back in 1966. We recorded at Fry Pharmacy Studio, which has a large, high-ceilinged tracking room, onto 8-track analog, and then mixed down to three-track (as opposed to two-track), which is the format Columbia Records used to mix to in the 60's. I got ahold of the original track sheet from the Columbia 8MH/Why session, which cleared up some misconceptions. Some rough edges, the opening is a couple bars too long, vocals are a bit pitchy in places as well -- we didn't have the luxury of unlimited studio time, so we were going for "good enough" rather than "perfect" -- but I think we got pretty close. And, in a case of revisionist history, we also recorded The Beatles' "Rain" as it might have sounded had The Byrds cut it themselves at the same session. The other musicians on the track are drummer Raun Shultz, and Poco bassist Jack Sundrud.

I love my job
Enjoy!

 

Wow! A parallel universe Byrds!