I dunno. Anytime I see McGuinn as a talking head in documentaries he comes out with the same stuff. Understandable after all these years of being asked the same questions, but I'm not sure he would offer a lot in a biography. Hillman's book was...okay. The most interesting parts were about his childhood IMO.
While we're on the subject of books, I have a question. I have Johnny Rogan's Timeless Flight-The Sequel, as well as Requiem For The Timeless Vol 2. I always planned on getting Requiem For The Timeless Vol 1, kept putting it off and of course, it went OOP and now goes for a whole lot of money. How much new info is in Vol 1 that isn't covered in Timeless Flight-The Sequel? Should I bite the bullet and pay up for Vol 1. All input appreciated.
There's a lot of new minutiae and detail in Requiem, but the bones of Timeless Flight Revisited are still present. The same material is all there in the same order, and much of it is unchanged. The new stuff is not trivial (the body text of Requiem is something like 250 pages longer) but it's not a dramatically different experience. My recollection of the differences is that there's a fair bit more stuff with Jim Dickson from in-person interviews, and it is very interesting indeed. In Requiem, the Dickson material really frames the whole epic narrative.
I have read, in various places, that there are unissued versions of “Ding Dang” that last for 15 or 20 minutes, or more! We need to hear that!!
the thread title reminded me of a CBS/Columbia promo sweatshirt they made in 65 while my pop was still the byrds publicist there. on the back it said something like "more byrd shyt" or some such - and my elementary school wouldn't allow me to wear it. then there was the time i nearly drowned while swimming in the middle of the pacific ocean while jim dickson's boat was moored in catalina harbor. i struggled to make it back to the boat and gasping for air now clinging to the sailboats 3 rung deck ladder. my pop, dickson and a couple of byrds. they were all onboard smoking dope etc and never even missed me. such was my early life.
I don’t think I was aware of this 1990 EP release on CBS (CD, vinyl, cassette) which I assume was part of the promo for the first box. Someone posted it on IG today. Who can spot the typo?
The rest is in the same vein as CCD, Merry Christmas, et al. Low fi folk. The covers of Turn Turn Turn, Mr. Tambourine Man and So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star are very.. blah.
I agree. Plenty of great songs from all three of them. Strangely enough, I don't desperately miss the twelve string on the first one. It was an interesting step to divorce themselves from The Byrds' sound but - and I know I'm in the minority on this thread - I think it works. Going back to your previous post, I still haven't picked up a copy of Sweet Memories. What's your impression of the exclusive songs (as opposed to their lofi folk production)?
They are all very samesy. Not a very interesting record to my ears. I just listened once and I skipped a lot however. Just didn't interest me. The Chestnut Mare Xmas was just plain silly.
Cheers! Given that I like the Folk Den stuff and CCD, I'm tempted but it does seem quite expensive for not very much new music.
I really like the Folk Den stuff. I listen to the "22 Timeless Classics" comp all the time. I love Roger McGuinn... I really do. I listened again today. Turn! Turn! Turn!, Mr. Tambourine Man and So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star are just plain re-treads of (at this point) songs who have been re-done and re-worked and drained of their life. Chestnut Mare Christmas actually made me cringe. It is incredibly corny and a really forced copy of the original, but the excitement he feigns at points actually made me feel embarrassed for him haha. The rest is just the same kind of vocal/guitar, tonnes of reverb/echo and the exact same pitch/tone/etc. It gets very bland quickly, as do CCD and Merry Christmas to me. They all sound like they could be from the same release. The song about Friday is... interesting. To paraphrase cuz I'm at work now and cant quite remember: "Its Friday, Its Friday, Time to get down on Friday. Everybody's been waiting for the weekend." Presented in the "CCD style". Again, I love Roger and I always give him a shot... but yikes. The cover is pretty much along the lines of his usual "terrible cover" motif. Looks like something made by a budget record company in the early 90s and found in the Clearance Bin.
I dunno. You may like it. Imagine the CCD/Merry Christmas albums production doing MTM, TTT and SYWBARARS. Then imagine Chestnut Mare in this style but with some Xmas theme thrown in. Then imagine the same song with different lyrics in this same style for the remaining tracks. I personally have a hard time paying attention the whole way. And again, I love the Folk Den. But that's about the last thing of his I can say I enjoyed. (And Limited Edition).
Have you heard "Hillbilly Zen" by Gene Parsons and Julian Dawson? Look at Gene's rapsheet on this album: guest, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, drums, percussion, spoons, bass, harmonica, 12-string guitar, harmony vocals
No, I don't know this one. I'm certainly interested in hearing it though. Just spotted a copy on-line, allegedly like new, for £7. Ordered! That's an impressive array of instruments from Gene, as you point out. Julian Dawson is a real talent too. Don't how familiar you are with his work but he's a fine singer & songwriter so I have high hopes for this one.
I am not familiar but I read up about him a bit. Looks like he has had Iain Matthews, Richard Thompson, etc. on his records. Interesting.
Yeah, played in a Nineties version of Plainsong with Iain Matthews too. I've got a few of his solo records and they are all reasonably strong. Very good live too.
I've got the live album. It's really decent. Nicely recorded and some very good songs. Decent version of The Burritos' Sin City. I don't have Birds Of A Feather though. That's been on my list for a while!
I have Birds of a Feather. It is a nice album. They do a "Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" that I quite like.
