The Byrds - "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" (1968)

A recording full of internal tensions within the band. Members who were fired, came back, and were sacked again. Former members who came back and then were fired. A band that at the start of recording was a quartet, but at the end was reduced to a duo. Studio musician who had to help out. Yes, a minor chaos seems to have accompanied Crosby, McGuinn, Clarke and Hillman the latter part of 1967, when the album was recorded. The result? One of the best albums that came out of the psychedelic era.

The Byrds has always been a band that I haven’t really gotten to know. Of course I’ve heard some of their songs, who can’t hum to Turn! Turn! Turn! or their version of Mr. Tambourine Man? And Eight Miles High, most people with a taste for the 60s psychedelia can sing along to. But I've never owned any of their records, except for a Greatest Hits on CD. I’ve never really known whether they were primarily a cover band or if they created their own songs. And their sound with a sea of guitars and ethereal vocals in harmonies I've always been a bit ambivalent to. After a while, their sound gets a bit monotonous, how beautiful it may be.

Again, it was the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, which opened my eyes to this album. I've been looking for it for a while and finally found it this weekend for an affordable price in one of Uppsala’s stores for used records. My copy is a re-release from 1971, as good as new. I was very pleased with my bargain, and was even happier when I listened to it.

It opens strongly with the amphetamine song Artificial Energy, which may sound like a tribute to this chemical until the final line is sung, I'm coming down off amphetamines, and I'm in jail 'cause I killed a queen. But maybe the guys put this line into the song so not to be accused of anything. The album then continues with one amazing song after another, those who own the soundtrack to Easy Rider recognize the song Wasn’t Born To Follow. We hear songs in 5/4, a futuristic moog spiced song in the form of Space Odyssey, here and there you get glimpses of country & western that hints to the Byrd's future development as a country & western band. Many of the songs are treated with electronic effects, this could be a bad thing considering it was the year of 1967-68 (and the technology wasn’t always ripe yet), but it works wonderful on this record.

There were a lot from the psychedelic years that weren’t good, boring songs where the fuzzy/psychedelic effects were trying to make them interesting. Sometimes it could also be really good songs, but the psychedelic seasoning was too strong so that the quality of the song stood back for all the effects. On The Notorious Byrd Brothers the band and the producer Gary Usher manages to find a perfect balance. The songs' beauty is very clear for the listener and the psychedelic production is exactly on the level that it makes the songs even more fun and interesting to listen to. The quality of the songs and the psychedelic framing brotherly share the stage.

It may be mentioned that David Crosby was fired part way through recording 1967. Before his firing he did, however, help with both songwriting and guitar / bass-playing. His face is missing, though, on the album cover. Crosby continued with a successful career with the band Crosby, Stills & Nash so perhaps he didn’t suffer that much. Drummer Michael Clarke was fired midway through the recording, came back but was fired again shortly after the album was finished. At this point it was only Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman still in the band. The Byrds then recruited new members and a new era in the band's career began.

Final words: Today's album is highly recommended, the epitome of 60s psychedelia

Tracklist

Side A1. Artificial Energy 2:18
2. Goin' Back 2:11
3. Draft Morning 2:42
4. Wasn't Born To Follow 2:04
5. Get To You 2:39

Side B1. Change is Now 3:21
2. Old John Robertson 1:49
3. Tribal Gathering 2:03
4. Dolphin's Smile 2:00
5. Space Odyssey 3:52