The Byrds
The Byrds - Asylum 1973 Comments:I remember being very excited, when I heard that the original Byrds, one of my all-time favorite bands, had been reunited. I was/ and am actually also very fond of the Clarence White line-up, but it was ”Mr. Tambourine Man", "Turn Turn Turn" etc. that originally had turned me on. And what a disappointment this 1973 album was. . . The crisp sound of McGuinn's guitar seemed completely absent, and the sound was generally a bit woolly, I thought, and far too much Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-like
As a fan, of course, you give an album many chances and gradually you discover the qualities that are there after all - and they are actually not that few at all.
The songwriting, unfortunately, is somewhat uneven, with David Crosby's contributions being the worst, and which detracts a lot from the overall impression; especially “Laughing is really boring. His version of Joni Mitchel's "For Free" is respectable but not very Byrds-esque.
Nice to have Gene Clark back and his songs "Full Circle" and "Changing Heart" are really strong - the latter makes me think of the old favorite "Wasn't Born to Follow".
It is also Clark who primarily writes the two Neil Young songs "Cowgirl in the Sand" and "See the Sky About to Rain" - both very fine version and as for "Cowgirl in the Sand" I prefer The Byrds' version rather than Neil Young's own overly long one.
Roger McGuinns, who is probably most often considered the group's leader, contributes two songs of which none are right up the alley. "Sweet Mary" is a folkish song ala "Jack Tarr the Sailor" from "Ballad of East Rider", while "Born to Rock'n Roll" seems messy and uncommitted and which is available in a better version with the Clarence White line-up – as a bonus track on “Farther Along”.
Chris Hilmann's fine "Things Will Be Better" actually sounds like the Byrds, with McGuinn's 12 strings in front. And his “Borrowing Time” is also quite nice; upbeat and a bit in Grateful Dead style.
It was overall a disappointing album, but still a better one than the first impression I got from it.
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