Comments:

This is a great album and an intersting one in several respects. For the first time the Byrds made an album without contributions from their original main-songwriter, Gene Clark. Clark had already left the band after the second album, but he is actually featured on "Fifth Dimension" as song-writer and possibly also playing on some tracks.

His absence gave place for a very interesting rise of bass-player Chris Hillman, who suddenly became the most prolific song-writer of the Byrds. Contributing four first-class songs, and four co-written with McGuinn ( 2 of them bonus-tracks ) his importance on his album obviously is immense.

"Have You Seen Her Face" was even chosen as a single, and though it did not fare very well (#74), it's one among many standouts on the album. Great guitars and vocals. "Time Between" is just as strong, and interestingly featuring future Byrd-member Clarence White on his easily recognizeable guitar. He's also featured on the short but nice "The Girl With No Name"

On the Beatles inspired "Thoughts and Words" McGuinn delivers some great psychedelic guitar-licks. Hilmann sing lead on his own songs and Crosby is delivering some breathtaking high pitch harmony vocals.

David Crosby is also showing strengths as a song-writer. Whereas Hillman's songs are mostly up-beat, Crosby's are mid-tempo or ballads. Strongest songs here from Crosby are "Everybody's Been Burned" and "Renaissance Fair" ( co-written with McGuinn). He also delivers the album only miss, the atonal time-piece "Mind Gardens".

Vocally usual lead-vocalist Roger McGuinn is up-front on the hit-singles ( #29 & #30 ) "So You Want to Be a Rock'n Roll Star" and Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". Both great tracks; the former a satirical comment to the music-industry and the latter is classic Byrds with 12-strings and out-standing vocals.

The bonus-track are mostly nice additions. Crosby's "It Happens Each Day" would have been a nice swop for the weak "Mind Gardens".

The rare B-side "Don't Make Waves" is interesting though unsignificant. The other B-side "Old John Robertson" is much better. An different version was included on the band's next album "The Notorious Byrd Brothers".

Crosby's flop A-side "Lady Friend" does not really sound like anything the Byrds recorded before. Big, slightly chaotic production. Some fans consider the song an over-looked masterpiece. At any rate, the album as a whole is one the greatest and most important records that was released in 1967.