There is always a season for the majesty of The Byrds.
Even now, the opening chimes of The Byrds 'Mr Tambourine Man' stands as one of the most evocative and awe-inspiring moments in music, which doesn't fade, throughout the song, or indeed, throughout the decades since its release. If you have never heard the track, the most important thing you must do after reading this review, is to obtain a copy or listen to the song. To write The Byrds off as merely having one song is completely wrong, as this review sets out to show, but as a standalone monumental moment in rock history, it's up there with the best of them.
'There Is A Season' is the latest Byrds collection, hot on the heels of greatest hits and the '12 Dimensions' boxset which housed the tremendous Columbia Legacy Remasters; there's nothing here on the CDs that isn't otherwise available but the package positions itself neatly between the two in an attempt to win over more fans. For the serious fan, the DVD contains various television appearances from the band, and is enjoyable but in the era of YouTube, is perhaps not as essential as it may have been 5 years ago.
You may wonder why a modest greatest hits does not suffice for The Byrds, and the honest answer is that there were so many styles and genres played by the Byrds that to limit them to a single or double disc, would negate much of their history and charm.
This collection, is more than a best of – it shows every step and transformation. From the initial very Scouse English beat inspired by the emerging Beatles which showed the band had an ear for what worked for other artists (as their use of Dylan tracks further showed) to very quickly, the impressive talent of their songwriters. As early as track 6, and pointedly before 'Mr Tambourine Man', 'You Showed Me' highlighted the songwriting talents of Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn, the song being famously covered by The Turtles, and modern fans may know it due to its covering by The Lightning Seeds.
The prolific song-writing talent of Gene Clark was not only a major influence on the band's sound and success, it gave indication of the tortured relations between the members of The Byrds. Realising that song writing led to greater income due to royalties, Clark found many of his songs ignored or shelved as the rest of the band fought for their cash. The fact that Clark was also a considerable hit with the ladies, and was publicly seen as the face of The Byrds (with the early DVD footage showing him to be charismatic on stage) led to increased jealousy and played a role in Clark's decision to quit the group. Other aspects like a fear of flying, increased alcohol abuse and his own ego can also be cited as reasons for this particular Byrd flying the nest for a solo career, which had many wonderful moments but never captured the true potential of what Gene Clark may have recognised. That said, 'Feel A Whole Lot Better' stands today as a classic of the early folk-rock harmonising days.
And what days they were, Roger McGuinn's striding Rickenbacker sound weaving in and out of beautifully combined vocals and Chris Hillman's bass-lines peppering underneath combined to achieve the band's initial dream; to combine the world of Dylan and The Beatles. It later transpired that studio artists performed some of the music on the early tracks but later albums, and live showings, indicated the quality of the band's playing, meaning this decision was more of a record label time and money saving decision, as opposed to a commentary on the skills of the act.
Due to their work being cherry picked by recent movie soundtracks, The Byrds have become synonymous with a political edge and their lyrical viewpoint fell into two camps. Of course, there was the simple boy meets girl type songs but the bands use of 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' or 'The Bells of Rhymney' (which has a melody and chorus that surpasses all expectations) and even when their output changed to a psychedelic sound, tracks like 'Draft Morning' still had their beliefs proudly on their sleeve.
It's only been hinted at so far, but as the spotlight has fallen on political moving, it'd be wrong to omit the impact of Bob Dylan's influence and output. Throughout their career, the songs of Dylan featured in their arsenal, and whilst not every one worked without his music, it would be hard to say what The Byrds may have otherwise become. That said, The Byrds were good to Dylan as well, in my father's own words "I like Bob Dylan songs but I just couldn't take to the vocals, The Byrds made Dylan more accessible." To many Bob fans, still reeling from him plugging in an electric guitar and brandishing him "Judas" this may have been the final straw but for casual listeners, the transformation of Dylans lyrical mastery with a pop sheen was a masterstroke.
The folk-pop style continued but signs that The Byrds were wishing to travel further started to seep through, the 'Fifth Dimension' album hinted at this but in 'Younger Than Yesterday', the pop shackles were off and The Byrds were as much of a creative force as The Beatles in 1967, with this album sounding fresher and containing better songs than 'Sgt Peppers...' ......to this writer's ears, at least.
From the caustic 'So You Wanna Be A Rock n Roll Star?' with its mariachi band sounds and spitting vocals, it may or may not have been a broadside at The Monkees but it was a signpost that The Byrds has changed, their days of making the charts where the girls would tear you apart may have been gone, but they weren't worried by it. This album was still a melodic masterpiece but it sounded bigger and brighter, it fizzed with more energy, a sign of a band with confidence in their own talents and skills, and of the time they were living. As the hip-paraders turned on, tuned in and dropped out, The Byrds were at the forefront of what was hip but in songs like 'Time Between' and 'Mind Gardens' hinting at the further changes still to come. If the point of this collection, is to spin off increased sales for particular Byrds albums, 'Younger Than Yesterday' and the two albums that followed surely must be at the start of anyone's list.
The rest of CD2 focuses on 'The Notorious Byrd Brothers', an album whose making lost the services of David Crosby and countless other in-fights and bitter jealousies. Crosby is a monumental figure in 60s music, also being part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and having some critically acclaimed solo albums. In a sense, Crosby was always this writer's least favourite Byrd, he seemed petulant and an extremely selfish and bitter young man, who encouraged the in-fighting in an attempt to divide and conquer his band mates. Enraged at the album's cover featuring the remaining members and a horse, The Byrds replied, "If we were attempting to replace David on the album cover, we'd have turned the horse around" which suggested that unhappiness lay on both sides, but for all that, the vocal harmonies, lyrical prose and song writing talents of David Crosby do not deserve to go unnoticed, even if his behaviour does.
As an album, the variety of styles and energy was a joy and these are well captured on this collection. From the wistful and beautiful cover of Goffin and Kings 'Going Back' (which Crosby was vehemently against) to 'Draft Morning' and 'Wasn't Born To Follow' which whistle by so fast, yet so eloquently, it's another great album. In fairness to Crosby, 'Triad' which was left off the original, is restored to the collection and a point can be made for its inclusion.
With only McGuinn and Hillman on board, The Byrds had to take stock, and although McGuinn's initial idea was to further expand the musical style of the band, Hillman chanced upon a young and budding Country star named Gram Parsons, and they combined to create the first country-rock album, and set the template for decades to come. Remaining true to their fanbase by including some Dylan covers to soften the twist, the songs included here brought country music to the masses, and The Byrds to Nashville, where they found the locals not as welcoming. It was a standalone album as Parsons soon quit, either because he wouldn't play to South African segregated audiences (his version) or because he wanted to be a rock star with The Rolling Stones (McGuinn's version), Parson created some country classics before his untimely death and The Byrds continued 'Farther Along' their winding road.
No band would deserve comparison to "Jekyll and Hyde" more than The Byrds and the 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' album was extremely apt, and although patchy, with the inclusion of 'This Wheel's On Fire', 'Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man' and 'Candy', this collection hosts the best of the record and indicates where The Byrds fractured minds were at.
After such a far-out record, The Byrds needed to regroup and take things more simply, much as at the time Americans were looking to pull back from the troubled times. Songs from 'Ballad Of Easy Rider' were folkier and breezier in comparison, and touched a chord with the buying public in returning the melodies to the forefront of their music, and offering up social and political commentary once more. It was to be The Byrds final hurrah and last great moment, although they struggled on for a few years afterwards.
The fourth disc is definitely for fans only, devoted to the final years where their reputation as a live act soared but left their commercial years long behind before the stumbling and ill-fated reunion shows which did little to rekindle the magic.
With a four CD review of their career, still managing to miss some of their awe-inspiring moments, it's less of a criticism of the collection but more a ringing endorsement of how strong The Byrds' output was. For casual listeners or keen music fans, this collection will contain everything you need to get started with listening to The Byrds, but be warned now, it's extremely likely that future Byrds purchases will follow after this one.