Underrated Album of the Day: The Byrds - Byrds

The Byrd - Byrds

Tracklist:

1. Full Circle (Gene Clark) ****
2. Sweet Mary (Roger McGuinn, Jacques Levy) ****
3. Changing Heart (Gene Clark) ***
4. For Free (Joni Mitchell)  **
5. Born to Rock 'n' Roll (Roger McGuinn) ****
6. Things Will Be Better (Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor) ****
7. Cowgirl in the Sand (Neil Young) *****
8. Long Live the King (David Crosby) **
9. Borrowing Time (Chris Hillman, Joe Lala) **
10. Laughing (David Crosby) ***
11. (See the Sky) About to Rain (Neil Young) ***

I have always had a strange relationship with The Byrds. On the one hand, I do own their entire discography. On the other, I'm not really a huge fan of them. I love CSNY and am a huge fan of David Crosby. I adore Roger McGuinn's voice and I love all their Dylan covers. It's just their original work I never got infatuated with.

Weirdly enough, their last album, which is also their most critically panned release, is my favourite album by them. Admittedly, one of the main reasons I love this is because of how CSNY-esque it sounds. There are two Neil Young covers and no Bob Dylan covers. David Crosby stated it was because "Neil Young was the great songwriter of the 70's, just as Bob Dylan had been for the 60's" Which is fine by me. The two covers are great by the way, in particular "Cowgirl in the Sand", which translates great into the Byrds style.

There is a lot of criticism aimed at this album for the lack of the trademark "Jingle-jangle guitar" and honestly, I don't mind. While I do enjoy that sound on the earlier albums, I was growing sick of it and the country/slide sound of their middle period. It is an uneven album that feels "pieced" together rather than a full blown reunion of the original members getting back their roots. Crosby's "Laughing" is beyond unnecessary on this, with superior versions on his solo record If Only I Could Remember My Name and on CSNY's 4 Way Street.

It might forty years old but the final Byrds record is vastly underrated and worth a listen.

Danny Halloway of NME said it best at the time of the release:

"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."