Byrds (album)
Encyclopedia
Byrds is the twelfth album
by the American
rock
band
The Byrds
and was released in March 1973 on Asylum Records
(see 1973 in music
). It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion between the five original members of The Byrds: Roger McGuinn
, Gene Clark
, David Crosby
, Chris Hillman
, and Michael Clarke
. The last time that all five members had worked together as The Byrds was in 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day line-up of the band continued to make live
appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.
Upon its release, Byrds received generally poor reviews, with many critics bemoaning a lack of sonic unity and the absence of The Byrds' signature jangly guitar sound among the album's shortcomings. Nonetheless, the album reached #20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
chart and was also moderately successful in the United Kingdom, where it reached #31. In the U.S., Byrds was the band's highest charting album of new material since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!
, which had also been the last Byrds' album to feature Clark as a full member. Three of the album's songs, "Full Circle
", "Things Will Be Better", and "Cowgirl in the Sand", were released as singles
during 1973 but none of these releases became hits
. Byrds is notable for being the last studio album to be recorded by the band to date.
and leader, Roger McGuinn, had grown dissatisfied with the current version of the group. As the only member to have remained consistent since the band's inception in 1964, McGuinn had steered The Byrds through a dizzying array of line-up changes during the late 1960s. The band's membership had finally stabilized in 1970 but by early 1972 dissension was brewing due to disagreements over band members' pay. As a result of this, Gene Parsons
(the band's drummer
since 1968) was fired by McGuinn in July 1972 and replaced by stand-in session musician
John Guerin
. The Byrds continued to tour and record
sporadically throughout 1972, but no new single or album was forthcoming.
Concurrently, the four ex-members of The Byrds who, along with McGuinn, had comprised the original mid-1960s line-up of the band were, to an extent, at loose ends: David Crosby had completed his recording and touring obligations for the Graham Nash/David Crosby
album; Chris Hillman's work with the Stephen Stills
' helmed band Manassas
was winding down; Gene Clark's critically lauded but financially unrewarding solo career was in need of a boost; and Michael Clarke had been without a band since the demise of The Flying Burrito Brothers
in 1971. Furthermore, none of the careers of the five original band members—with the exception of Crosby—had been as financially rewarding as during the mid-1960s heyday of The Byrds.
Tentative discussions between the five original members of the band, regarding a possible reunion, had taken place as early as July 1971, around the time that the then current line-up of The Byrds were recording their final album, Farther Along. News of these discussions was leaked to the British music press
and in late January 1972, one week after the UK release of Farther Along, the front page of Disc and Music Echo
proclaimed "Original Byrds To Reform?" The attendant article suggested that the reunion album would be a one-off project and that the current line-up of The Byrds would continue to tour and record, with no question of disbanding.
Meanwhile, with the successful supergroup
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on indefinite hiatus, while the individual members worked on other projects, managers
David Geffen
and Elliot Roberts
had seen their attempts to bring a new CSNY album to the marketplace thwarted. In the absence of any new Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young product, Geffen became acutely aware that a historic reunion of the original Byrds could prove to be highly lucrative for all concerned. Thus, in mid-1972, Geffen weighed in with a substantial offer to the five original members to record a reunion album for his Asylum label
.
The reunion actually took place in early October 1972, beginning with a rehearsal at McGuinn's house, where the band initially worked on one of the guitarist's new songs. Significantly, the group played none of their old material during this first rehearsal but instead concentrated on selecting suitable songs for a new project. All five musicians were encouraged by the rehearsal and felt sure that they could recreate the magic of The Byrds' golden era. Consequently, they agreed to commence the recording of their first album together in seven years, with the last time that all five had worked together as The Byrds being early 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. However, the reunited group were determined that the internal conflict that tore them apart during the 1960s would not be allowed to rear its head again and so, it was agreed that they would not be a band in the traditional sense, but rather a loose arrangement of solo artists, akin to the modus operandi of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With considerable leverage from David Geffen, McGuinn managed to secure permission from Columbia Records
—to which he was still contracted
—to record a one-off album for Asylum. As part of the deal, Clive Davis
, the president of Columbia Records, specified that McGuinn and Crosby would be required to record a joint album together for Columbia, to be released in 1973. However, this planned Crosby/McGuinn album failed to materialize, due to Davis being fired from Columbia shortly after the exchange deal was struck. While the original quintet prepared to record the reunion album, the existing Columbia line-up of The Byrds, featuring McGuinn, Clarence White
, Skip Battin
, and John Guerin, continued to make concert
appearances in the United States.
for the reunion album began on October 16, 1972 in studio #4 of Wally Heider Studios
in Los Angeles and continued until at least November 15, 1972. During these sessions, the band recorded all eleven of the songs that would appear on the finished album and at least two outtake
s: the McGuinn and Jacques Levy
penned "My New Woman" and the traditional
folk song
"Fair and Tender Ladies
". Although it was not included on the reunion album, The Byrds' recording of "My New Woman" was later released on McGuinn's 1973 solo album, Roger McGuinn
. The tracks that would make up the finished album included two from each of the four songwriter
s in the band, as well as a Joni Mitchell
cover
and two songs written by Neil Young
. At the time of the album's release, much was made in the music press over the lack of any Bob Dylan
songs, since The Byrds had covered Dylan's material frequently during the 1960s. This criticism prompted David Crosby to contend that Neil Young was the great songwriter of the 1970s, just as Dylan had been for the 1960s, and therefore it was entirely appropriate that The Byrds should be covering Young rather than Dylan.
The opening track on the album, Clark's "Full Circle
", had initially given the album its working title
, but Clark was concerned that the public might mistakenly assume that the song had been written specifically for The Byrds' reunion. The song's wheel of fortune motif certainly seemed applicable but the song actually predated the reunion, as Clark explained during a 1979 interview: "I'd already recorded that song a couple of years earlier and it wasn't really written about anything specific. It was just an idea I had." Not only had the song been written by Clark prior to The Byrds' reunion, but by the time that Byrds was released, it had also recently been issued under the alternate title of "Full Circle Song" on Clark's Roadmaster
album. The Byrds' reunion album also included a second Clark original, "Changing Heart", which served as a meditation on the pitfalls of stardom. Clark was also featured singing lead vocals
on the album's pair of Neil Young covers. The decision to cover Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "(See the Sky) About to Rain" was made by Clark, who had long admired the Canadian singer–songwriter
, and not by Young's CSNY bandmate David Crosby, as was assumed by the press at the time. "Cowgirl in the Sand" made striking use of the band's crystal clear harmonies
, while Clark's harmonica
playing lent the song a distinctive country
flavor, perfectly in keeping with the song's subject matter. "(See the Sky) About to Rain", on the other hand, featured some attractive mandolin
playing from the band's bassist
Chris Hillman and climaxed with a chiming finalé, featuring The Byrds' signature jangling Rickenbacker
guitars
.
"Sweet Mary", co-written by McGuinn and Jacques Levy, saw the Byrds' lead guitar
ist reverting to a folkier
style of songwriting than he had exhibited of late, with Hillman again contributing some prominent mandolin to the song. McGuinn's other songwriting contribution to the album was "Born to Rock 'n' Roll", a semi-serious, autobiographical contemplation of the guitarist
's career as a professional musician. The song had initially been recorded by the latter-day line-up of The Byrds in July 1972 for possible release as a single, but ultimately that version had been shelved and remained unreleased at the time. McGuinn decided to make another attempt at producing a definitive recording of the song during the reunion sessions, resulting in a lackluster rendition that the guitarist himself was dissatisfied with. McGuinn would later record the song for a third time on his 1975 solo album Roger McGuinn & Band
, but yet again he was unhappy with the end result, leading him to pointedly conclude in a later interview that "'Born to Rock 'n' Roll' was a dog." Chris Hillman contributed two songs to the album, both co-authored with ex-Manassas bandmates: "Things Will Be Better", co-written with drummer Dallas Taylor
, and "Borrowing Time", co-written with percussionist
Joe Lala
. The former song deals with the unpredictable nature of fame and stardom, a theme that was echoed in Clark's "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart".
Crosby contributed the song "Long Live the King", a cynical commentary on the star-making mechanics of the music business, which was ironic, since it was precisely those same materialistic business practices that had enabled The Byrds' reunion to transpire in the first place. Crosby also chose to revisit the song "Laughing", which had already been released on his first solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name
, in 1971. Crosby's rationale for re-recording the song was that he had originally written "Laughing" in 1967, during his last days as a member of The Byrds and as such, it had initially been intended for inclusion on a Byrds' album. The version of "Laughing" featured on Byrds saw the return of McGuinn's raga rock
style of guitar playing, which had last been utilized on the band's Fifth Dimension
and Younger Than Yesterday
albums. Crosby also sang the lead vocal on the album's Joni Mitchell cover, "For Free".
Following completion of the album's recording sessions, Crosby reached an agreement with McGuinn to dissolve the latter-day line-up of The Byrds, who were at that time still working as a touring band. Crosby had long been vocal about his displeasure over McGuinn's decision to recruit new members following his dismissal from the band in 1967 and had publicly stated his opinion that "There were only ever five Byrds." In the new spirit of reconciliation fostered by the reunion, and as a result of his own growing dissatisfaction with the current incarnation of the band, McGuinn acquiesced and permanently disbanded the latter-day line-up of The Byrds in February 1973.
commercially, there are mono
promo
copies of the LP
known to exist. The album's sleeve
was adorned with photographs taken by Henry Diltz
, which fittingly pictured the band in the L.A. folk club The Troubadour, where McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby had first formed the nucleus of The Byrds in 1964. The album peaked at #20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
chart, during a chart stay of seventeen weeks, making it the band's highest charting album of new material in the U.S. since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!
album. In the UK, the album reached #31 but only remained on the UK Albums Chart
for one week. A total of four singles were taken from the album, beginning with "Full Circle" b/w "Long Live the King", which was released on April 11, 1973 and reached #109 on the Billboard
chart. Two further singles were taken from the album during 1973, "Things Will Be Better" b/w "For Free" (which was issued exclusively in the UK and Europe), and "Cowgirl in the Sand" b/w "Long Live the King", but neither of these singles charted. Finally, a fourth single, "Full Circle" b/w "Things Will Be Better", was released in the UK in August 1975, almost two-and-a-half years after the album had first appeared, but this too failed to chart.
Upon its release, the album suffered from generally poor reviews, with Jon Landau
, in the April 1973 edition of Rolling Stone
magazine, criticizing it as "one of the dullest albums of the year." Landau went on to note the disunity evident on the album: "It is a different band for each of the four lead singers and while they make complementary music, it is never a continuous piece, which is what the Byrds were once all about." In fact, the consensus of most reviewers was that there was a lack of unity throughout the album and that the band's trademark jingle-jangle guitar sound was largely absent from the record
. However, there were some positive reviews of the album, with Danny Halloway enthusiastically praising it in the March 31, 1973 edition of the NME
: "The Byrds have overcome the novelty of reforming and really do cut it here. The band's direction is no-nonsense, straight-ahead music. There's not any cultural preaching or sloppy outtakes as intros ... I'm glad to report that The Byrds make it on the strength of the music alone."
"In all honesty, we didn't have enough time on the album. They gave us one-and-a-half months to do that album, expecting guys to regroup after a five to six year absence." Hillman also cited the band's eagerness to avoid conflict as a contributing factor to the album's artistic failure: "everybody was so afraid of stepping on the other person's feet because of the tension that had gone down six years prior to that, that it became a bland album. Everybody was being too nice to each other." McGuinn blamed the reunion album's lack of success, at least partly, on the hedonism exhibited by members of the band during the recording process: "David had this incredibly strong pot
. Half a joint
and you couldn't do anything. We were stoned out of our minds the whole time. I don't remember much recording."
In addition, none of the parties, save for perhaps Gene Clark, seemed willing to contribute their best material to the album, instead holding back their finest songs for their own individual solo projects. This has been confirmed by Hillman, who told author John Einarson "I'll be honest, I contributed my worst material because I was getting ready to do a solo record, Slipping Away, and I was saving all my good stuff and contributed this throwaway stuff that was awful. Crosby's stuff was sketchy and Roger had 'Born To Rock & Roll', which was terrible, yuck." McGuinn also supported the suggestion that some band members had held back their best material, although he added "I don't think I was guilty of that. I gave them my best stuff at the time."
The timing of the album, between Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunions, the fact that it was produced
by David Crosby, and the presence of the individual band members' names on the album cover has led to the suggestion that the album was something of a substitute for CSNY. For his part, Crosby's motivation for taking over production duties on the album may have been an attempt to finally exert dominance over the rest of the band, as he had tried to do during his earlier tenure with The Byrds. McGuinn certainly supported this viewpoint, as he revealed in a 1977 interview: "Crosby was calling the shots. It was his coup d'état. He wanted to minimize my importance in the group, and maximize his, and other people's." In Crosby's defense, it is worth noting that both McGuinn and Hillman were actively touring between recording sessions for the album, the former with the Columbia version of The Byrds and the latter with Manassas. With only sporadic availability of two of the band's four creative parties, the brunt of assembling the album was left to the otherwise unengaged Crosby and Clark, which could account for the preponderance of Clark vocals and the CSNY-esque production on the album.
Byrds has been reissued on CD
a number of times: first by Elektra Records
in 1990; then again in 1998 by WEA
; then in 2004 as a remastered edition on Wounded Bird Records
; and most recently by Rhino Records
in 2005 and 2008. None of these CD issues have included bonus track
s and in 2000, Roger McGuinn went on record as stating that any available outtakes from the recording sessions ended up on his first solo album. However, McGuinn's claim has proven to be false, since a cache of multitrack tapes
dating from The Byrds' reunion sessions and featuring a number of alternate versions and at least one outtake were discovered in late 2009. The tapes include work-in-progress versions and alternate take
s of the songs "Laughing", "(See the Sky) About to Rain", and "Long Live the King" (listed on the tape box under its working title of "The King is Dead"). In addition, the tapes also contained three different versions of a previously undocumented outtake, the traditional song "Fair and Tender Ladies". Reportedly, one of these versions of "Fair and Tender Ladies" features David Crosby singing lead vocals, while the other two feature Gene Clark. Also included among the recordings is a track with the title "The Circle Song", but it is not known whether this refers to the Gene Clark penned "Full Circle" or to another previously undocumented outtake.
The Byrds
Additional Personnel
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and was released in March 1973 on Asylum Records
Asylum Records
Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell...
(see 1973 in music
1973 in music
-January–April:*January 9 – Mick Jagger's request for a Japanese visa is rejected on account of a 1969 drug conviction, putting an abrupt end to The Rolling Stones' plans to perform in Japan during their forthcoming tour.*January 14...
). It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion between the five original members of The Byrds: Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
, Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
, David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, Chris Hillman
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
, and Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (musician)
Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
. The last time that all five members had worked together as The Byrds was in 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day line-up of the band continued to make live
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.
Upon its release, Byrds received generally poor reviews, with many critics bemoaning a lack of sonic unity and the absence of The Byrds' signature jangly guitar sound among the album's shortcomings. Nonetheless, the album reached #20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and was also moderately successful in the United Kingdom, where it reached #31. In the U.S., Byrds was the band's highest charting album of new material since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!
Turn! Turn! Turn! (album)
Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk rock band The Byrds and was released in December 1965 on Columbia Records . Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string...
, which had also been the last Byrds' album to feature Clark as a full member. Three of the album's songs, "Full Circle
Full Circle Song
"Full Circle Song" is a song written by Gene Clark in 1972 that utilizes an allegorical wheel of fortune motif to comment on the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. The song originally appeared in January 1973 on Clark's Roadmaster album, which was initially released exclusively in Holland...
", "Things Will Be Better", and "Cowgirl in the Sand", were released as singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
during 1973 but none of these releases became hits
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
. Byrds is notable for being the last studio album to be recorded by the band to date.
Background
By 1972, The Byrds' guitaristGuitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and leader, Roger McGuinn, had grown dissatisfied with the current version of the group. As the only member to have remained consistent since the band's inception in 1964, McGuinn had steered The Byrds through a dizzying array of line-up changes during the late 1960s. The band's membership had finally stabilized in 1970 but by early 1972 dissension was brewing due to disagreements over band members' pay. As a result of this, Gene Parsons
Gene Parsons
Gene Victor Parsons is an American drummer, banjo player, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and innovative engineer, best known for his work with The Byrds from 1968 to 1972. Parsons has also released solo albums and played in bands including Nashville West, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Parsons Green...
(the band's drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
since 1968) was fired by McGuinn in July 1972 and replaced by stand-in session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
John Guerin
John Guerin
John Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
. The Byrds continued to tour and record
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
sporadically throughout 1972, but no new single or album was forthcoming.
Concurrently, the four ex-members of The Byrds who, along with McGuinn, had comprised the original mid-1960s line-up of the band were, to an extent, at loose ends: David Crosby had completed his recording and touring obligations for the Graham Nash/David Crosby
Graham Nash David Crosby
Graham Nash/David Crosby is the first album by the partnership of David Crosby and Graham Nash, released on Atlantic Records in 1972, catalogue SD 7220. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, and a single taken from the album, "Immigration Man," peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot...
album; Chris Hillman's work with the Stephen Stills
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
' helmed band Manassas
Manassas (band)
Manassas was an American rock band, formed by Stephen Stills in 1971. The nucleus of the band had already backed Stills on his July 1971 album, Stephen Stills 2, and in May 1972, the double album, Manassas, was released. Down The Road was released in 1973, but in October of that year the band split...
was winding down; Gene Clark's critically lauded but financially unrewarding solo career was in need of a boost; and Michael Clarke had been without a band since the demise of The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
in 1971. Furthermore, none of the careers of the five original band members—with the exception of Crosby—had been as financially rewarding as during the mid-1960s heyday of The Byrds.
Tentative discussions between the five original members of the band, regarding a possible reunion, had taken place as early as July 1971, around the time that the then current line-up of The Byrds were recording their final album, Farther Along. News of these discussions was leaked to the British music press
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
and in late January 1972, one week after the UK release of Farther Along, the front page of Disc and Music Echo
Disc (magazine)
Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into Record Mirror. It was also known for periods as Disc Weekly and Disc and Music Echo ....
proclaimed "Original Byrds To Reform?" The attendant article suggested that the reunion album would be a one-off project and that the current line-up of The Byrds would continue to tour and record, with no question of disbanding.
Meanwhile, with the successful supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on indefinite hiatus, while the individual members worked on other projects, managers
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
and Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts is an American music manager, record executive, and philanthropist, best known for helping start the careers of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell....
had seen their attempts to bring a new CSNY album to the marketplace thwarted. In the absence of any new Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young product, Geffen became acutely aware that a historic reunion of the original Byrds could prove to be highly lucrative for all concerned. Thus, in mid-1972, Geffen weighed in with a substantial offer to the five original members to record a reunion album for his Asylum label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
The reunion actually took place in early October 1972, beginning with a rehearsal at McGuinn's house, where the band initially worked on one of the guitarist's new songs. Significantly, the group played none of their old material during this first rehearsal but instead concentrated on selecting suitable songs for a new project. All five musicians were encouraged by the rehearsal and felt sure that they could recreate the magic of The Byrds' golden era. Consequently, they agreed to commence the recording of their first album together in seven years, with the last time that all five had worked together as The Byrds being early 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. However, the reunited group were determined that the internal conflict that tore them apart during the 1960s would not be allowed to rear its head again and so, it was agreed that they would not be a band in the traditional sense, but rather a loose arrangement of solo artists, akin to the modus operandi of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With considerable leverage from David Geffen, McGuinn managed to secure permission from Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
—to which he was still contracted
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
—to record a one-off album for Asylum. As part of the deal, Clive Davis
Clive Davis
Clive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
, the president of Columbia Records, specified that McGuinn and Crosby would be required to record a joint album together for Columbia, to be released in 1973. However, this planned Crosby/McGuinn album failed to materialize, due to Davis being fired from Columbia shortly after the exchange deal was struck. While the original quintet prepared to record the reunion album, the existing Columbia line-up of The Byrds, featuring McGuinn, Clarence White
Clarence White
Clarence White was a guitar player for Nashville West, The Byrds, Muleskinner, and the Kentucky Colonels. His parents were Acadians from New Brunswick, Canada...
, Skip Battin
Skip Battin
Clyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, and John Guerin, continued to make concert
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
appearances in the United States.
Music
Recording sessionsStudio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
for the reunion album began on October 16, 1972 in studio #4 of Wally Heider Studios
Wally Heider Studios
Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio in San Francisco, California between 1969 and 1980, started by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider.-History:...
in Los Angeles and continued until at least November 15, 1972. During these sessions, the band recorded all eleven of the songs that would appear on the finished album and at least two outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s: the McGuinn and Jacques Levy
Jacques Levy
Jacques Levy was an American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist.Levy was born in New York City in 1935, and attended its City College. He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute...
penned "My New Woman" and the traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
"Fair and Tender Ladies
Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies
"Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" is an American folk music ballad, originating from the Appalachian region. It has been recorded under either of its two title variations by numerous artists, including The Carter Family, Joan Baez, Odetta, Peter, Paul and Mary, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton...
". Although it was not included on the reunion album, The Byrds' recording of "My New Woman" was later released on McGuinn's 1973 solo album, Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn (album)
Roger McGuinn was Roger McGuinn's first full-length solo album, released in 1973.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Roger McGuinn and Jacques Levy, except where otherwise noted.-Side one:# "I'm So Restless" – 3:05# "My New Woman" – 3:10...
. The tracks that would make up the finished album included two from each of the four songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s in the band, as well as a Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
and two songs written by Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
. At the time of the album's release, much was made in the music press over the lack of any Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
songs, since The Byrds had covered Dylan's material frequently during the 1960s. This criticism prompted David Crosby to contend that Neil Young was the great songwriter of the 1970s, just as Dylan had been for the 1960s, and therefore it was entirely appropriate that The Byrds should be covering Young rather than Dylan.
The opening track on the album, Clark's "Full Circle
Full Circle Song
"Full Circle Song" is a song written by Gene Clark in 1972 that utilizes an allegorical wheel of fortune motif to comment on the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. The song originally appeared in January 1973 on Clark's Roadmaster album, which was initially released exclusively in Holland...
", had initially given the album its working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
, but Clark was concerned that the public might mistakenly assume that the song had been written specifically for The Byrds' reunion. The song's wheel of fortune motif certainly seemed applicable but the song actually predated the reunion, as Clark explained during a 1979 interview: "I'd already recorded that song a couple of years earlier and it wasn't really written about anything specific. It was just an idea I had." Not only had the song been written by Clark prior to The Byrds' reunion, but by the time that Byrds was released, it had also recently been issued under the alternate title of "Full Circle Song" on Clark's Roadmaster
Roadmaster (album)
Roadmaster is a country rock album by Gene Clark from 1973. The album was compiled from various unreleased recordings for A&M Records made in 1970 through 1972, eight tracks yielded from an April 1972 recording session featuring Clarence White, Spooner Oldham, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Byron Berline and...
album. The Byrds' reunion album also included a second Clark original, "Changing Heart", which served as a meditation on the pitfalls of stardom. Clark was also featured singing lead vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
on the album's pair of Neil Young covers. The decision to cover Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "(See the Sky) About to Rain" was made by Clark, who had long admired the Canadian singer–songwriter
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, and not by Young's CSNY bandmate David Crosby, as was assumed by the press at the time. "Cowgirl in the Sand" made striking use of the band's crystal clear harmonies
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
, while Clark's harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
playing lent the song a distinctive country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
flavor, perfectly in keeping with the song's subject matter. "(See the Sky) About to Rain", on the other hand, featured some attractive mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
playing from the band's bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Chris Hillman and climaxed with a chiming finalé, featuring The Byrds' signature jangling Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
guitars
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
.
"Sweet Mary", co-written by McGuinn and Jacques Levy, saw the Byrds' lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist reverting to a folkier
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
style of songwriting than he had exhibited of late, with Hillman again contributing some prominent mandolin to the song. McGuinn's other songwriting contribution to the album was "Born to Rock 'n' Roll", a semi-serious, autobiographical contemplation of the guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
's career as a professional musician. The song had initially been recorded by the latter-day line-up of The Byrds in July 1972 for possible release as a single, but ultimately that version had been shelved and remained unreleased at the time. McGuinn decided to make another attempt at producing a definitive recording of the song during the reunion sessions, resulting in a lackluster rendition that the guitarist himself was dissatisfied with. McGuinn would later record the song for a third time on his 1975 solo album Roger McGuinn & Band
Roger McGuinn & Band
Roger McGuinn & Band was Roger McGuinn's third full-length solo album and was released in 1975. Recorded in Los Angeles, CA, the album was McGuinn's third attempt to re-establish himself as a significant musical force without the Byrds. As well as McGuinn, the album featured musical contributions...
, but yet again he was unhappy with the end result, leading him to pointedly conclude in a later interview that "'Born to Rock 'n' Roll' was a dog." Chris Hillman contributed two songs to the album, both co-authored with ex-Manassas bandmates: "Things Will Be Better", co-written with drummer Dallas Taylor
Dallas Taylor (drummer)
Dallas Woodrow Taylor Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado, 7 April 1948. He is a session drummer who has played on several rock records of the 1960s and 1970s...
, and "Borrowing Time", co-written with percussionist
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Joe Lala
Joe Lala
Joe Lala is an actor and voice actor, notable for his dubbing of Kun Lan of the video-game Killer7.He also played drums and percussion on 32 gold and 28 platinum albums. His credits include Blues Image, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Manassas, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, and many...
. The former song deals with the unpredictable nature of fame and stardom, a theme that was echoed in Clark's "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart".
Crosby contributed the song "Long Live the King", a cynical commentary on the star-making mechanics of the music business, which was ironic, since it was precisely those same materialistic business practices that had enabled The Byrds' reunion to transpire in the first place. Crosby also chose to revisit the song "Laughing", which had already been released on his first solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name
If I Could Only Remember My Name
-External links:*...
, in 1971. Crosby's rationale for re-recording the song was that he had originally written "Laughing" in 1967, during his last days as a member of The Byrds and as such, it had initially been intended for inclusion on a Byrds' album. The version of "Laughing" featured on Byrds saw the return of McGuinn's raga rock
Raga rock
Raga rock is a term used to describe rock or pop music with a heavy Indian influence, either in its construction, its timbre, or its use of instrumentation, such as the sitar and tabla...
style of guitar playing, which had last been utilized on the band's Fifth Dimension
Fifth Dimension (album)
Fifth Dimension is the third album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records . Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter Gene Clark...
and Younger Than Yesterday
Younger Than Yesterday
Younger Than Yesterday is the fourth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in February 1967 on Columbia Records . The album saw the band continuing to integrate elements of psychedelic rock into their music, a process they had begun on their previous LP...
albums. Crosby also sang the lead vocal on the album's Joni Mitchell cover, "For Free".
Following completion of the album's recording sessions, Crosby reached an agreement with McGuinn to dissolve the latter-day line-up of The Byrds, who were at that time still working as a touring band. Crosby had long been vocal about his displeasure over McGuinn's decision to recruit new members following his dismissal from the band in 1967 and had publicly stated his opinion that "There were only ever five Byrds." In the new spirit of reconciliation fostered by the reunion, and as a result of his own growing dissatisfaction with the current incarnation of the band, McGuinn acquiesced and permanently disbanded the latter-day line-up of The Byrds in February 1973.
Release and reception
Byrds was released on March 7, 1973 in the United States (catalogue item SD 5058) and March 24, 1973 in the United Kingdom (catalogue item SYLA 8754). Although the album was issued in stereoStereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
commercially, there are mono
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
promo
Promotional recording
A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available...
copies of the LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
known to exist. The album's sleeve
Record sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is...
was adorned with photographs taken by Henry Diltz
Henry Diltz
Henry Stanford Diltz is a folk musician and photographer, who has been active since the 1960s....
, which fittingly pictured the band in the L.A. folk club The Troubadour, where McGuinn, Clark, and Crosby had first formed the nucleus of The Byrds in 1964. The album peaked at #20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, during a chart stay of seventeen weeks, making it the band's highest charting album of new material in the U.S. since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!
Turn! Turn! Turn! (album)
Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk rock band The Byrds and was released in December 1965 on Columbia Records . Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string...
album. In the UK, the album reached #31 but only remained on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
for one week. A total of four singles were taken from the album, beginning with "Full Circle" b/w "Long Live the King", which was released on April 11, 1973 and reached #109 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart. Two further singles were taken from the album during 1973, "Things Will Be Better" b/w "For Free" (which was issued exclusively in the UK and Europe), and "Cowgirl in the Sand" b/w "Long Live the King", but neither of these singles charted. Finally, a fourth single, "Full Circle" b/w "Things Will Be Better", was released in the UK in August 1975, almost two-and-a-half years after the album had first appeared, but this too failed to chart.
Upon its release, the album suffered from generally poor reviews, with Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
, in the April 1973 edition of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, criticizing it as "one of the dullest albums of the year." Landau went on to note the disunity evident on the album: "It is a different band for each of the four lead singers and while they make complementary music, it is never a continuous piece, which is what the Byrds were once all about." In fact, the consensus of most reviewers was that there was a lack of unity throughout the album and that the band's trademark jingle-jangle guitar sound was largely absent from the record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. However, there were some positive reviews of the album, with Danny Halloway enthusiastically praising it in the March 31, 1973 edition of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
: "The Byrds have overcome the novelty of reforming and really do cut it here. The band's direction is no-nonsense, straight-ahead music. There's not any cultural preaching or sloppy outtakes as intros ... I'm glad to report that The Byrds make it on the strength of the music alone."
Post-release
The largely unenthusiastic press reaction to the album caused the individual members of the band to lose faith in the concept of an ongoing, periodic series of band reunions and ultimately, all five members returned to their own careers following the album's release. In the following years, the band themselves would echo many of the sentiments expressed by the music press, with the general consensus being that the recording of the album was rushed and ill-thought out. Gene Clark offered his thoughts on the album during a 1977 interview: "I am disappointed in that album. Some of the harsh criticism is unjust, because, if you listen to it carefully, the album isn't that bad, but it just hasn't got the punch that it could have had if we'd taken the time." Chris Hillman concurred with Clark, telling The Byrds' biographer Johnny RoganJohnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan is an author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He has written influential biographies of The Byrds, The Smiths and Van Morrison. His writing is characterised by "an almost neurotic attention to detail", epic length and a sometimes hostile...
"In all honesty, we didn't have enough time on the album. They gave us one-and-a-half months to do that album, expecting guys to regroup after a five to six year absence." Hillman also cited the band's eagerness to avoid conflict as a contributing factor to the album's artistic failure: "everybody was so afraid of stepping on the other person's feet because of the tension that had gone down six years prior to that, that it became a bland album. Everybody was being too nice to each other." McGuinn blamed the reunion album's lack of success, at least partly, on the hedonism exhibited by members of the band during the recording process: "David had this incredibly strong pot
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. Half a joint
Joint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
and you couldn't do anything. We were stoned out of our minds the whole time. I don't remember much recording."
In addition, none of the parties, save for perhaps Gene Clark, seemed willing to contribute their best material to the album, instead holding back their finest songs for their own individual solo projects. This has been confirmed by Hillman, who told author John Einarson "I'll be honest, I contributed my worst material because I was getting ready to do a solo record, Slipping Away, and I was saving all my good stuff and contributed this throwaway stuff that was awful. Crosby's stuff was sketchy and Roger had 'Born To Rock & Roll', which was terrible, yuck." McGuinn also supported the suggestion that some band members had held back their best material, although he added "I don't think I was guilty of that. I gave them my best stuff at the time."
The timing of the album, between Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunions, the fact that it was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by David Crosby, and the presence of the individual band members' names on the album cover has led to the suggestion that the album was something of a substitute for CSNY. For his part, Crosby's motivation for taking over production duties on the album may have been an attempt to finally exert dominance over the rest of the band, as he had tried to do during his earlier tenure with The Byrds. McGuinn certainly supported this viewpoint, as he revealed in a 1977 interview: "Crosby was calling the shots. It was his coup d'état. He wanted to minimize my importance in the group, and maximize his, and other people's." In Crosby's defense, it is worth noting that both McGuinn and Hillman were actively touring between recording sessions for the album, the former with the Columbia version of The Byrds and the latter with Manassas. With only sporadic availability of two of the band's four creative parties, the brunt of assembling the album was left to the otherwise unengaged Crosby and Clark, which could account for the preponderance of Clark vocals and the CSNY-esque production on the album.
Byrds has been reissued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
a number of times: first by Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1990; then again in 1998 by WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
; then in 2004 as a remastered edition on Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records
Wounded Bird Records is a CD only, re-issue record label, that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from both popular and lesser known artists, including Deborah Harry, Chic, David Blue, Marilyn Martin, Gordon Haskell, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Ellen...
; and most recently by Rhino Records
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
in 2005 and 2008. None of these CD issues have included bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
s and in 2000, Roger McGuinn went on record as stating that any available outtakes from the recording sessions ended up on his first solo album. However, McGuinn's claim has proven to be false, since a cache of multitrack tapes
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
dating from The Byrds' reunion sessions and featuring a number of alternate versions and at least one outtake were discovered in late 2009. The tapes include work-in-progress versions and alternate take
Take
A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production.-Film:In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup"...
s of the songs "Laughing", "(See the Sky) About to Rain", and "Long Live the King" (listed on the tape box under its working title of "The King is Dead"). In addition, the tapes also contained three different versions of a previously undocumented outtake, the traditional song "Fair and Tender Ladies". Reportedly, one of these versions of "Fair and Tender Ladies" features David Crosby singing lead vocals, while the other two feature Gene Clark. Also included among the recordings is a track with the title "The Circle Song", but it is not known whether this refers to the Gene Clark penned "Full Circle" or to another previously undocumented outtake.
Side 1
- "Full CircleFull Circle Song"Full Circle Song" is a song written by Gene Clark in 1972 that utilizes an allegorical wheel of fortune motif to comment on the unpredictable nature of fame and fortune. The song originally appeared in January 1973 on Clark's Roadmaster album, which was initially released exclusively in Holland...
" (Gene ClarkGene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
) – 2:43 - "Sweet Mary" (Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
, Jacques LevyJacques LevyJacques Levy was an American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist.Levy was born in New York City in 1935, and attended its City College. He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute...
) – 2:55 - "Changing Heart" (Gene Clark) – 2:42
- "For Free" (Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
) – 3:50 - "Born to Rock 'n' Roll" (Roger McGuinn) – 3:12
Side 2
- "Things Will Be Better" (Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
, Dallas TaylorDallas Taylor (drummer)Dallas Woodrow Taylor Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado, 7 April 1948. He is a session drummer who has played on several rock records of the 1960s and 1970s...
) – 2:13 - "Cowgirl in the Sand" (Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
) – 3:24 - "Long Live the King" (David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
) – 2:17 - "Borrowing Time" (Chris Hillman, Joe LalaJoe LalaJoe Lala is an actor and voice actor, notable for his dubbing of Kun Lan of the video-game Killer7.He also played drums and percussion on 32 gold and 28 platinum albums. His credits include Blues Image, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Manassas, The Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, and many...
) – 2:00 - "Laughing" (David Crosby) – 5:38
- "(See the Sky) About to Rain" (Neil Young) – 3:49
Singles
- "Full Circle" b/w "Long Live the King" (Asylum 11016) April 11, 1973 (US #109)
- "Things Will Be Better" b/w "For Free" (AYM 516) April 24, 1973
- "Cowgirl in the Sand" b/w "Long Live the King" (Asylum 11019) June 1973
- "Full Circle" b/w "Things Will Be Better" (AYM 545) August 8, 1975
Personnel
NOTE: Sources for this section are as follows:The Byrds
- Roger McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Gene ClarkGene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
- guitar, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, vocals - David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
- guitar, vocals - Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
– electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, vocals - Michael ClarkeMichael Clarke (musician)Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s, percussion
Additional Personnel
- Wilton FelderWilton FelderWilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston...
- electric bass on "Cowgirl in the Sand" - Johnny Barbata - drums on "Cowgirl in the Sand"
- Dallas TaylorDallas Taylor (drummer)Dallas Woodrow Taylor Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado, 7 April 1948. He is a session drummer who has played on several rock records of the 1960s and 1970s...
- congas, tambourine
Release history
| Date | Label | Format | Country | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 7, 1973 | Asylum Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label founded in 1971 by David Geffen, and partner Elliot Roberts, who had previously worked as agents at the William Morris Agency. Founded specifically to provide a record contract for Jackson Browne, the label signed Tom Waits, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell... |
LP LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
US | SD 5058 | Original release. |
| March 24, 1973 | Asylum | LP | UK | SYLA 8754 | Original release. |
| 1974 | Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Records Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies... |
LP | Japan | P-8509Y | |
| 1990 | Elektra Elektra Records Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009.... |
CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
US | 7599 60955 | Original CD release. |
| 1998 | WEA Warner Music Group Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies... |
CD | UK | 60955 | |
| 2004 | Wounded Bird Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is a CD only, re-issue record label, that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from both popular and lesser known artists, including Deborah Harry, Chic, David Blue, Marilyn Martin, Gordon Haskell, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Ellen... |
CD | US | 5058 | Digitally remastered reissue of the album. |
| 2008 | Rhino Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes... |
CD | US | 8122 799075 | |