Album: The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Artist: The Byrds
Born: Los Angeles
Released: January 1968
Genre: Americana
Influenced: Big Star, REM, Teenage Fanclub, Ride, Stone Roses
The Byrds have made many cameo appearance so far in this blog, forever in the background and shifting shape, but this is their first and only appearance among my favourite albums. I used to be a bit too quick to dismiss them as a very good Dylan covers band, but having re-listened to their three late '60s albums – Younger Than Yesterday, Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo – there's a real sense of them emerging from out of Dylan's shadow, albeit still under his influence. On this album and, even more so, on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, they would take the country rock genre to new heights, partly thanks to the genius of Gram Parsons. The reason I chose this album though out of the three comes down to something quite intangible, what you might call "flow" – some of the best albums like Highway 61 Revisited, Forever Changes and the Stone Roses' debut album have this quality. As a set of songs, they seem to merge seamlessly and became one bigger song. Far out.
One of my favourite tracks is I Wasn't Born To Follow, a Goffin & King number that showcases the harmonies and jangly guitars that became their trademark, but is also enhanced by some insane flanging (yeah, me neither). This sort of rural or pastoral psychedelia is my favourite strand. Roger McGuinn really shines on this album too, with Draft Morning and Get To You both brilliantly written songs, while Space Odyssey is also a very ambitious if not completely successful attempt at science fiction pop. I also really like Old John Robertson, one of the more country-tinged compositions, that hints at the future direction of The Byrds. Despite all the personnel changes afflicting the band at the time of this album, you'd never guess at any turmoil from listening to these songs, which unite to form one of the most chilled-out slices of pyschedelic Americana produced in the late '60s.
Artist: The Byrds
Born: Los Angeles
Released: January 1968
Genre: Americana
Influenced: Big Star, REM, Teenage Fanclub, Ride, Stone Roses
The Byrds have made many cameo appearance so far in this blog, forever in the background and shifting shape, but this is their first and only appearance among my favourite albums. I used to be a bit too quick to dismiss them as a very good Dylan covers band, but having re-listened to their three late '60s albums – Younger Than Yesterday, Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo – there's a real sense of them emerging from out of Dylan's shadow, albeit still under his influence. On this album and, even more so, on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, they would take the country rock genre to new heights, partly thanks to the genius of Gram Parsons. The reason I chose this album though out of the three comes down to something quite intangible, what you might call "flow" – some of the best albums like Highway 61 Revisited, Forever Changes and the Stone Roses' debut album have this quality. As a set of songs, they seem to merge seamlessly and became one bigger song. Far out.
One of my favourite tracks is I Wasn't Born To Follow, a Goffin & King number that showcases the harmonies and jangly guitars that became their trademark, but is also enhanced by some insane flanging (yeah, me neither). This sort of rural or pastoral psychedelia is my favourite strand. Roger McGuinn really shines on this album too, with Draft Morning and Get To You both brilliantly written songs, while Space Odyssey is also a very ambitious if not completely successful attempt at science fiction pop. I also really like Old John Robertson, one of the more country-tinged compositions, that hints at the future direction of The Byrds. Despite all the personnel changes afflicting the band at the time of this album, you'd never guess at any turmoil from listening to these songs, which unite to form one of the most chilled-out slices of pyschedelic Americana produced in the late '60s.
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