Let's Hear it for the Byrds

[Dave James]

13 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

That book is quite a "tome," as Hardbop used to put it years ago.  So cool that you saw those particular configurations--especially the Clark and Crosby one!

It gets better.  The Byrds opened that night for Jefferson Airplane.  

[ghost of miles]

On 6/6/2009 at 2:30 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

Has anyone read the Gene Clark bio "Mr. Tambourine Man?" It is such a sad story - intense stage fright, distaste for touring and traveling, endless substance abuse. In some ways, he never really got his career into a consistent groove after the Byrds. On the other hand, he made at least 5 really solid albums after the Byrds, created a substantial body of work, and wrote at least 3 tunes that have left a lasting impression, at least on couple of generations of listeners.

 

I have been listening a lot to the 2-disc "Preflyte Sessions" from 1964, most of which consists of Gene Clark songs - many never recorded for Columbia. While McGuinn's 12-string Rick and Crosby's harmonies in many ways define the Byrds sound, I still contend that Clark's songs were the best material they ever did. That said, "Younger Than Yesterday," recorded after Clark left, is a pop/rock masterpiece. IMHO.

I read it a few years ago during one of my periodic Clark binges and had much the same reaction. Ironically enough, TTK, I pulled up this thread to post my alternative version of 5D and saw that you made a similar post at one point about Turn Turn Turn. Here's my stab at what I call 5D Fixed:

Side 1 (unchanged):

5D (Fifth Dimension)

Wild Mountain Thyme

Mr. Spaceman

I See You

What's Happening?!?!

I Come And Stand At Every Door

 

Side 2:

Eight Miles High

John Riley

Psychodrama City

Why (single version)

I Know My Rider

 

Not a radical reworking, just dropping "Hey Joe," "Captain Soul" and "2-4-2 Foxtrot" from the second side and adding "Why", "I Know My Rider" and "Psychodrama City." (The latter of which I think is more b-side worthy, but still better than "Captain Soul" or "Hey Joe," to my tastes.) I suppose my version could also take on retaining "2-4-2 Foxtrot" as a closing novelty number in the manner of the first two LPs, but I'd rather go out with "I Know My Rider." 

5D popped into my mind recently after I revisited disc 2 of the There Is A Season box set and sent the Byrds' version of "Wild Mountain Thyme" to a couple of friends. Then yesterday my partner and I went to see Sinners, which features a hauntingly beautiful performance of the song. 

I know some or perhaps much of it's online, but I'd love to eventually run down a copy of that Sundazed Another Dimension double-LP that gathers a lot of material from the 5D sessions. I've always had a soft spot for the album, which I discovered circa 1984 or 85 after a review of an R.E.M. album cited it. I was a teenager and at that point had only The Byrd's Greatest Hits (on 8-track tape!), which I loved, so 5D was my first Byrds studio album purchase. I had to special-order it through the Karma record store I frequented on Indianapolis' east side, and it took a long time to come in....iirc the clerk thought its availability/in-print status was iffy. Finally, circling back to Gene Clark, I've sometimes wondered how different (and possibly better) 5D would have been if he had still been in the band and contributing songs. On paper it seems a no-brainer, especially when the album as is feels like it like it could use two or three more top or at least upper-shelf songs, and Clark could have provided those, tunes akin to "Tried So Hard" that he recorded in the aftermath of leaving (or getting booted from) the Byrds. But of course it would be a different album with a different vibe, and paper often turns funny upon becoming reality, etc. 

[medjuck]

In the early '80s a music publisher I knew went to see the Byrds at one of their reunion concerts and offered to help them buy back their publishing contracts on the songs they'd written if they put up half the money.  He said they explained that they were all broke from their freewheeling earlier days and couldn't come up with the cash.

He bought the rights himself and a few years later, with the coming of cds and reissues he made a a huge profit.  I would hope that they got something for the reissues but as we old know most of the the money from catalogue sales  and broadcasts goes to the publishers. 

[Teasing the Korean]

19 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

... Finally, circling back to Gene Clark, I've sometimes wondered how different (and possibly better) 5D would have been if he had still been in the band and contributing songs. On paper it seems a no-brainer, especially when the album as is feels like it like it could use two or three more top or at least upper-shelf songs, and Clark could have provided those, tunes akin to "Tried So Hard" that he recorded in the aftermath of leaving (or getting booted from) the Byrds. But of course it would be a different album with a different vibe, and paper often turns funny upon becoming reality, etc. 

I have included "The Day Walk" on my 5D playlists, as it was considered for inclusion and fits there better than on Turn Turn Turn.

But I recently got the mono CD of Gene Clark & the Gosdin Brothers - the stereo is lame -  and I have integrated these tracks into 5D and Younger than Yesterday, along with adding "The Day Walk" and the two 1970 Byrds tracks on Roadmaster.  I primarily mess with 5D , as it needs all the help it can get.  For Y&T, I delete the needless Dylan track and "Why," and add the two Roadmaster tracks and one other.  So I end up with three Byrds albums, where we had two.

Did you ever see my playlist for Notorious in which I add the two Crosby tunes and work out a mildly revised sequence? 

[felser]

19 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

I read it a few years ago during one of my periodic Clark binges and had much the same reaction. Ironically enough, TTK, I pulled up this thread to post my alternative version of 5D and saw that you made a similar post at one point about Turn Turn Turn. Here's my stab at what I call 5D Fixed:

Side 1 (unchanged):

5D (Fifth Dimension)

Wild Mountain Thyme

Mr. Spaceman

I See You

What's Happening?!?!

I Come And Stand At Every Door

 

Side 2:

Eight Miles High

John Riley

Psychodrama City

Why (single version)

I Know My Rider

 

I strongly agree musically with all of your changes, but it would necessitate a rewrite of history for the released 'Younger Than Yesterday' album, which included a (different) version of "Why".  But I'm good with accomplishing that by substituting in "It Happens Each Day" (my preference) or "Lady Friend" (or include them both!) to replace "Why" on 'Younger Than Yesterday'

31 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I have included "The Day Walk" on my 5D playlists, as it was considered for inclusion and fits there better than on Turn Turn Turn.

But I recently got the mono CD of Gene Clark & the Gosdin Brothers - the stereo is lame -  and I have integrated these tracks into 5D and Younger than Yesterday, along with adding "The Day Walk" and the two 1970 Byrds tracks on Roadmaster.  I primarily mess with 5D , as it needs all the help it can get.  For Y&T, I delete the needless Dylan track and "Why," and add the two Roadmaster tracks and one other.  So I end up with three Byrds albums, where we had two.

Did you ever see my playlist for Notorious in which I add the two Crosby tunes and work out a mildly revised sequence? 

TTK, can you included the links to those revised playlists?  I know I saw (and likely responded to) 'Notorius', but I don't recall the 'Turn Turn Turn' post.  All of their classic albums except the first one could have been improved by better song selection of the available material.   How do you leave the utterly gorgeous "She Don't Care About Time" off 'Turn Turn Turn', put out an album with a running time under 30 minutes, and pad it with "Oh Susannah"?  They seemed to want to limit the number of beautiful Gene Clark songs on each album.  I have grabbed all of the affordable Clark solo material I could over the decades, and have rarely been disappointed by it, especially live recordings.  Even when his work is musically rough in spots, it has a spirit that I find compelling, and each of his albums grows on me with repeated listenings, as I learn to appreciate each for what it is rather than criticizing any for what it isn't.  And his cuts were usually my favorites on the first two Byrds albums.  Clark also did good work with Carla Olson later on - she seemed to raise her game considerably from her exposure to him.

[Teasing the Korean]

2 hours ago, felser said:

TTK, can you included the links to those revised playlists?  I know I saw (and likely responded to) 'Notorius', but I don't recall the 'Turn Turn Turn' post.  

Here are my playlists for 5D & YtY integrating the Gene Clark album.  I've tweaked these some, and I may still, but these are the latest versions:

Eight Miles High

1. Is Yours Is Mine 
2. Wild Mountain Thyme
3. Mr. Spaceman
4. The Day Walk (Never Before)
5. What's Happening?!?!
6. Tried So Hard 
7. Eight Miles High
8. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
9. I Found You 
10. John Riley
11. Think I'm Gonna Feel Better 
12. Why [single version]

Fifth Dimension

1. 5D (Fifth Dimension)
2. Needing Someone
3. It Happens Each Day
4. The Girl With No Name
5. The Same One 
6. I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)
7. I See You
8. Elevator Operator 
9. Psychodrama City
10. Couldn't Believe Her 
11. Keep on Pushin' 
12. My Back Pages

Younger than Yesterday

1. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
2. Have You Seen Her Face
3. C.T.A.  102
4. She's the Kind of Girl
5. Time Between
6. Everybody's Been Burned
7. Echoes 
8. Thoughts And Words
9. Mind Gardens
10. So You Say You Lost Your Baby
11. Renaissance Fair
12. One in a Hundred

For Turn Turn Turn, I add "She Don't Care About Time" to side 1 (at the end), and replace "Oh Susannah" with "It's All Over Now Baby Blue."  I also use the superior alternate arrangement of "Times" instead of the LP version.

  

Edited May 26 by Teasing the Korean

[felser]

TTK, those are great albums!  Only change I would make I think would be to find a way to put "Lady Friend" on Younger Than Yesterday, even if I had to delete a good-but-lesser song like "Time Between" or "Mind Gardens" (likely the latter).

[Teasing the Korean]

12 minutes ago, felser said:

TTK, those are great albums!  Only change I would make I think would be to find a way to put "Lady Friend" on Younger Than Yesterday, even if I had to delete a good-but-lesser song like "Time Between" or "Mind Gardens" (likely the latter).

I include both "Lady Friend" and "Triad" on my 13-track Notorious.  It works better in that context, IMO.  I'll find that playlist too. 

Notorious

Side 1:

1. Artificial Energy

2. Tribal Gathering

3. Triad

4. Natural Harmony

5. Draft Morning

6. Wasn’t Born to Follow

7. Get to You

Side 2:

1. Lady Friend

2. Change is Now

3. Old John Robertson

4. Dolphins Smile

5. Goin’ Back

6. Space Odyssey

This playlist has a more-or-less lyrical sequence going from experience to transition to innocence.

[felser]

8 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

I include both "Lady Friend" and "Triad" on my 13-track Notorious.  It works better in that context, IMO.  I'll find that playlist too. 

Notorious

Side 1:

1. Artificial Energy

2. Tribal Gathering

3. Triad

4. Natural Harmony

5. Draft Morning

6. Wasn’t Born to Follow

7. Get to You

Side 2:

1. Lady Friend

2. Change is Now

3. Old John Robertson

4. Dolphins Smile

5. Goin’ Back

6. Space Odyssey

This playlist has a more-or-less lyrical sequence going from experience to transition to innocence.

That works for me.  I like the original song selection/sequencing on Notorious fine, but like yours even better!

[ghost of miles]

I didn't realize that "The Day Walk" had been considered for inclusion on 5D (I've tended to associate it more with the TTT time period, probably because I first heard the track on the 1996 expanded CD reissue). If that's in the mix, then I think I sandwich it in between "John Riley" and "Psychodrama City" for my 5D Fixed:

Side 1 (unchanged):

5D (Fifth Dimension)

Wild Mountain Thyme

Mr. Spaceman

I See You

What's Happening?!?!

I Come And Stand At Every Door

 

Side 2:

Eight Miles High

John Riley

The Day Walk

Psychodrama City

Why (single version)

I Know My Rider

 

... and yes, that rather makes Crosby's "Psychodrama City" (w/its lyrical stab at Clark) sequenced like a response song to Clark's "The Day Walk." I keep "Psychodrama City" *because* of that, maybe, but more so because simply replacing it with "The Day Walk" changes the flow to "Why" in a way that I don't like as much. I kinda want Crosby's voice and snarky little ditty in between those two really strong songs. With 12 songs, it clocks in at 34 minutes. 

Fun talking Byrds with you guys. I'm going to take the Rogan V. 1 bio off the shelf later on (with care--that sucker's heavy!) to peruse at my leisure... it's especially great for dipping into certain periods. Does anybody in this thread have V. 2 and comment on said volume to accompany? I've thought over the years about picking it up as well and may do so sooner rather than later--the Gene Clark section alone is probably enough to get me to bite, but the rest of it also sounds interesting.  

[felser]

I own and have read V.1 of Rogan, but not V.2.  Those things are not only heavy, but also expensive!