Part 4! Who says the Byrds aren't popular anymore? Well, I do ( ) but I'm happy to say there's a core group of us keeping it going. Wish I knew what happened to Stateless, the member who started this thread in 2012. He just kind of disappeared one day.
I listen to the Byrds much more now than I did when I first "discovered" them (in the late 80s via Never Before, of all things!). Back then, I figured that the interesting music ended with Notorious Byrd Brothers. However, I play it all now--this week I've been really enjoying the '73 reunion album (and a ton of Gene Clark).
That's Gram with Chris right? Sounds like a proto-Flying Burrito Brothers track doesn't it? I really like that one.
That is what is confusing me. The vocals are different sounding to me. Gram w/ Chris? Chris w/ Gram? Chris & Gram? I also like it a lot.
@Dee Zee Location of Notorious house is 647 Old Topanga Canyon, Topanga, CA. http://www.popspotsnyc.com
I got Never Before also in the late 80's (maybe that's when it came out) but I sure did listen to it a lot. That version of You Won't Have to Cry is better than the one on Tambourine Man, I think.
"You Won't Have to Cry" isn't on Never Before. Are you perchance thinking of In the Beginning instead? I remember how shocked and excited I was to see Never Before appear in the store one day. An LP of new, unreleased Byrds songs? And when I listened to it, I was even even more shocked and puzzled to hear how great most of those songs were. Why were they left in the can? (At the time, I was ignorant of the byzantine inter-band politics that drove their release decisions). And then a couple years later, the CD came out, with seven additional songs not on the record. That CD is what forced me to give in and buy myself a CD player... it was the first CD I ever bought, in fact. I remember poring over the discography in that CD booklet, and finding out to my surprise that Crosby was on half of Notorious, and Mike Clarke was not on half of it, and Gene Clark might be on it. It opened the door to learning about Byrds history, which I was to find out was just as fascinating as their records.
Both In The Beginning and Never Before are essential for me - the former has the best version of The Airport Song and the latter the best versions of The Day Walk and It's All Over Now.
Recently I've grown kind of bored with the Byrds, perhaps due to overfamiliarity, but I have to agree -- among the outtakes and especially among the Preflyte sessions are scattered some of their most exhilarating music. I've been finding the Preflyte sessions a more satisfying listen than either of their first two proper albums recently.
FYI Just watched the 2009 restored Easy Rider on blu-ray. The soundtrack is available in a 5.1 surround and those Byrds and McGuinn songs are in surround. Sweet. The picture quality is outstanding and the film is a counterculture classic. Highly recommended if you have a surround set-up. Oh, and of course, the two main characters are modeled after McGuinn and Crosby. Big Byrds connection.
I met Roger backstage after concert a few years ago. Of course I didn't have anything great to say or ask him but we talked about my guitar which I had him sign and a little bit about Riks too.
The two main characters' personalities are supposedly based on them, and of course Hopper obviously looks like Crosby too, with the bushy moustache and wide-brimmed hat.
Plus , I think Crosby was inclined to use the word "man" in sentences quite a bit, as did Hopper in the movie.. man.
Right! And if I remember correctly, the Hopper character nodded his head and also had that Crosbyish smile.
I think Hopper used the word "man" a lot in his movies. I just watched the biker gang flick The Glory Stompers a few weeks back, he must have used it 100 times. Pretty bad movie, but totally worth watching, man...especially for the debut movie appearance of an unrecognizable Casey Kasem as a tough guy biker.
That alone makes the movie worth seeing. Plus , you make me laugh, in a good way . I like your thought process : What movie do I want to watch ? Let's see. Should I go see Birdman ? Nah. Should I rent Grand Budapest Hotel ? Nope. I know! The Glory Stompers !