20 Essential Tracks From the Boxed Set: 1965-90

Track Listings

1. Mr. Tambourine Man

2. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better

3. All I Really Want to Do [LP Version]

4. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)

5. 5D (Fifth Dimension)

6. Eight Miles High

7. Mr. Spaceman

8. So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star

9. Have You Seen Her Face

10. Lady Friend

11. My Back Pages

12. Goin' Back [LP Version]

13. Ballad of Easy Rider

14. Jesus Is Just Alright

15. Chestnut Mare

16. I Wanna Grow up to Be a Politician

17. He Was a Friend of Mine

18. Paths of Victory

19. From a Distance

20. Love That Never Dies

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
During the '60s, the Byrds were one of the consistently interesting groups that expanded and changed their sound with nearly every record. This 20 track sampler of the admirable 4-CD boxed set features a good chunk of what made the Byrds an impressive bunch. From the first chiming 12-string guitar notes of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to the hyper-real psychedelia of "Eight Miles High" to the country rock of "Goin' Back" and "Chestnut Mare," they always found their footing. The four tracks from their 1990 reunion are for fanatics only and the absence of any excellent Gram Parsons material is disappointing. However, the rest is simply life changing. --Rob O'Connor --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Tracks:

Mr. Tambourine Man
I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
All I Really Want To Do
Turn! Turn! Turn!
5D (Fifth Dimension)
Eight Miles High
Mr. Spaceman
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
Lady Friend
My Back Pages
Goin' Back
Ballad Of Easy Rider
Jesus Is Just Alright
Chestnut Mare
I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician
He Was A Friend Of Mine
Paths Of A Victory
From A Distance
Love That Never Dies

Amazon.com

During the '60s, the Byrds were one of the consistently interesting groups that expanded and changed their sound with nearly every record. This 20 track sampler of the admirable 4-CD boxed set features a good chunk of what made the Byrds an impressive bunch. From the first chiming 12-string guitar notes of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" to the hyper-real psychedelia of "Eight Miles High" to the country rock of "Goin' Back" and "Chestnut Mare," they always found their footing. The four tracks from their 1990 reunion are for fanatics only and the absence of any excellent Gram Parsons material is disappointing. However, the rest is simply life changing. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

one of the best bands from an era.......2006-09-09

The Byrds were great. With the exception of rock historists, power pop enthusiasts and guitar fans, they are a largely forgotten band.

In their time, they were the best that America had to offer in retaliation to the Brittish Wave. They were at best interpreting Bob Dylan songs. The chiming Roger McGuin 12 string guitar, David Crosby's wonderful harmonizing and their embracing on classic folk made them a terrific band.

Their only criticizm is that the band took a 90 degree turn when they went very "country". Their later stuff was a far cry from "Mr. Tamborine man".

BOXED SET VERSIONS OF CLASSIC CUTS .......2004-08-01

This is an excellent compilation but notice the title. These are not 20 essential tracks from the full Byrds catalogue but from the first (1990) Boxed Set, as remastered -- and sometimes remixed from the original separated tracks -- for the Boxed Set. It also includes the four new tracks especially recorded in 1990 by McGuinn/Crosby/Hillman for the Boxed Set and previously available only there.

Since these tracks were unique to the Boxed Set -- and one is even unique to this disk -- I'm first going to focus on how they differ from the standard versions on other Byrds albums.

I. REMIXES FROM THE ORIGINAL SEPARATED TRACKS:

(1) 'Mr. Tambourine Man' violates the premise of a Boxed Set "sampler" with the opening cut -- this is NOT from the Boxed Set. The enclosed booklet calls it a "new stereo remix from the original eight-track master." It's an unexpected surprise available only here (as far as I know), and I've come to prefer it over other versions of this defining classic. It's a little cleaner and simpler than the standard album mix, with McGuinn's great understated vocal brought well forward to good effect.

The Boxed Set uses a "remixed true stereo version" of the single (which runs 2:16 compared to the 2:29 album version) taken from the now-rare album "Never Before". That version is also unique (see my Boxed Set review). I think these are all the same take but with different mixes, equalizations, and running times.

(2) 'Turn! Turn! Turn': This song is available only in monaural on all other Byrds albums. (Stereo was still relatively new and producer Terry Melcher disliked it.) It appeared in true stereo for the first time on the Boxed Set, and that version is used here.

The Boxed Set booklet says: "Remastered from the original two-track tape, this cut was never mixed for true stereo release. With the multi-tracks nowhere to be found for our use, this is the next best thing, with the vocals panned slightly to the left, instruments to the right. This version offers definition never before heard, and we allowed the track to run a bit longer than all other released versions."

Those accustomed to the monaural track will find this a little distracting at first on headphones, but it really shines on speakers, especially if not too widely separated.

(3) 'Lady Friend': Boxed Set booklet: "Remixed from the original eight-track master, this is `Lady Friend's' first appearance in wide true stereo with no additional overdubs".

This track from the Boxed Set runs 2:35 and opens with David Crosby clearing his throat, complaining, "Can't even talk, how can I sing?" I think this same mix is on Expanded "Yesterday" and "Essential Byrds", where it runs 2:30 without Crosby's remark and has slightly different equalization.

(4) The remaining eight-track remixes from the Boxed Set are '5D' (notice how sharply the drums crack), 'Mr. Spaceman', and 'Have You Seen Her Face' (with longer ending). These are to my ear fairly faithful to the original mixes.

II. REMASTERS:

Regardless of how many tracks are used in recording a song, they must ultimately be mixed down to a two-track mixdown tape for use on two-speaker players and headphones. The remaining selections on this album use the original two-track mixdown tapes from the albums on which they first appeared.

However, as remastered for the Boxed Set, the equalization of songs from the first four albums especially tend to bring the vocals forward a little more than on those albums.

III. THE FOUR 1990 RECORDINGS

The 1965 version of 'He Was A Friend of Mine' is also on the Boxed Set (the only place you can find it in stereo, similar to the description of 'Turn!' above), so it's unclear why the Byrds chose to reprise it as one of only four songs for this reunion set. Still, this haunting arrangement in full stereo won me over so I won't complain.

'Paths of Victory' is a rousing rendition of a little known Dylan song, and I like it a lot. (This track is also on "The Byrds Play Dylan," and Dylan's original piano demo is on his Bootleg Series Vol I.)

Chris Hillman's uptown country interpretation of 'From A Distance' is a little too mainstream for my taste, and it's not quite a Byrds song. (Though my admiration for Hillman is undiminished.)

Roger McGuinn's 'Love That Never Dies' really is a Byrds song: a wistfully retrospective original with a throbbing beat that I personally rank among his best performances.

IV. BOTTOM LINE

If you want a good Byrds retrospective, the original "Byrds Greatest Hits - Expanded Edition" is an unbeatable one disk look at their glory years. "The Essential Byrds" (2 CDs) is much preferred to "20 Essential Tracks" as a retrospective of this great band's entire run; it serves up at least two tracks from every Columbia album in chronological order, and lacks only the Asylum footnote.

But for something a little different, "20 Essential Tracks" has a lot to offer. The sound quality is stellar, and alone almost reason enough to own this. The song selections and program make for a very good listening CD that features this band's most important hits along with some classic cuts. And it closes with the 4 "new" (1990) songs previously available only on the Boxed Set.

I give this 5 stars for serious Byrds fans who can best appreciate its treasures, but 4 for new fans who will not go wrong but might make a better start with one of the above two alternatives.

Compact collection of the Byrds' back pages.......2003-12-19

Known as that folk-rock group that electrified Dylan's songs with that Rickenbacker guitar, and who were further influenced the Beatles and vice-versa, the Byrds took "Mr. Tambourine Man" to the UK and US #1 post. Apart from that Rickenbacker, McGuinn's lead vocal, and harmony vocals by Dave Crosby and Gene Clark make this song memorable. There are three other Dylan songs here. "All I Really Want To Do," their second single, which was also covered by Cher, whose version did better than theirs. And then there's "My Back Pages," which was originally written as Dylan's repudiating his militant past, but here, as the Byrds' repudiation of the music hitmaking machine. It also turned out to be one of their last top twenty hits. Other highlights:

"I'll feel A Whole Lot Better" has definite Beatles influences, while their cover of Pete Seeger's Ecclesiastes-adapted prayer "Turn! Turn! Turn!" is probably their best song ever, taken from the album of the same name. This was anthemic of the ongoing civil rights movement: "a time to rend, a time to sow, a time for love, a time for hate, a time for peace, I swear it's not too late."

The waltz-time "5D", recorded after Gene Clark's departure, signalled their entry into psychedelia. And "Eight Miles High", a clear influence on the raga and jazz, as well as acid rock, was wrongfully lambasted and banned as being a drugs song, whereas it was about aeroplane jitters during the group's 1965 tour. The catchy "Mr. Spaceman" should've made more of an impression, and I wonder if Neil Innes' "Urban Spaceman" was partly influenced by this song.

"So You Wanna Be A Rock And Roll Star?" is a satiric rip on the process that had put them as a hitmaker. It features South African jazzman Hugh Masakela, as well as live audience cheers. Tom Petty later covered this on his Pack The Plantation album.

They do a nice rendition of "Goin' Back" the nostalgic song of yearning written by Carole King and Gerry Coffin, and their version is more uptempo than Dusty Springfield's melodic ballad. It features a pedal steel guitar by Red Rhodes.

The melancholy but rhythmic "The Ballad of Easy Rider" rivals "Turn! Turn! Turn!" as one of their best songs, maybe because of tis juxtaposition at the movie's denouement: "all he wanted is to be free/and that's the way it turned out to be/flow river flow."

"Chestnut Mare" was one of the first Byrds song whose video I saw on MTV's closet classics, featuring a monologue about catching the title animal and wanting it to be a friend.

The country-folkish politically barbed send-up "I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician" is a cynical reflection the Nixon years.be the USA's man "I'll always be tough but I'll never be scary, I want to shoot guns." "And take over this beautiful land?" Yeah right!

The last four songs were songs done by Hillman, McGuinn, and Crosby which were included on the box set that this CD is a very trimmed down version of. "He Was A Friend Of Mine" is a remake of a song they did after JFK's assassination, while "Paths Of Glory" is another Dylan song from The Times They Are A Changin'. And they cover Julie Gold's "From A Distance." The songs by this core trio make apparent those members who are now gone, such as Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, who died in the 90's, and Clarence White and Graham Parsons who died tragically in the 1970's. Be it in their many incarnations or as a reunited trio with backing band, the Byrds made their mark in the era of Dylan and the Beatles, and this collection proves just that.

More like 17 essential tracks........2003-12-01

So if you don't know, there's this collection, the "Best ofs" volume 1 & 2, the 2-disc "Essential Byrds", and the box set of course. Why do I like this one? It's a 20 track single disc, the volumes 1 & 2 are too little, and the others are too much. Plus this is a career-spanning best of the best, roughly. Obviously with a band like the "Byrds" this is missing alot, mostly for me "Wasn't Born To Follow" from the "Easy Rider" soundtrack, but other than the box set, you can't have it all. Included are the big hits "Tamborine Man", "Turn Turn Turn", and "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better", later covered by "Tom Petty". Then it has "My Back Pages", "Chestnut Mare", and "Jesus Is Just Alright", later covered by the "Doobie Brothers". Plus 4 new (1990) tracks, "Love That Never Dies" being the best of those. True there's no "Gram Parsons" material, but you should have his solo, or "Flying Burrito Brothers" stuff anyway. So I guess you just need to decide which collection works for you. For me, a casual fan, this one makes me feel "Eight Miles High".

essentially it.......2003-11-22

The Byrds, along with The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones, were one of the pioneer rock bands of the mid-1960's. They are sometimes assigned credit for originating psychedelic rock with the 1965 release of 'Mr. Tambourine Man', though many would not regard that song as true acid-rock... it's just too folky. But if you do, it places the band on a par with John Lennon's first psychedelic recording, 'Tomorrow Never Knows', and The Pretty Things 'LSD'. If you don't then you will certainly register "Eight Miles High" as the first mainstream venture by any band into psychedelia. It was released in 1966 and eventually landed at number 14 on the US charts. The song is a clear departure from much of the bands chart toppers, which generally feature a squeaky clean pop appeal. 'Eight Miles High', with it's trembling opening bass line, sanely schizophrenic lead guitar from Roger McGuinn (with a sound no lead solo has ever duplicated), and high flying lyrics, represents the epitome of psychedelic rock still today, standing up nicely to Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze' and Jefferson Airplane's 'White Rabbit', among others.

In the 1960's I owned 'The Byrds Greatest Hits' on vinyl. That compilation included two songs I wish had been offered here, 'Chimes of Freedom' and 'Bells of Rhymney'. Nine or ten of the other songs are the same however, and all are remastered. On '20 Essential Tracks' the producers opted to sample each phase of The Byrd's long tenure, adding tunes from later and less accomplished incarnations of the band, such as 'I Wanna Grow Up To Be a Politician'. It's hard to argue with the early selections, however, nor with the four tracks from the 1990 Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman reunion. While these four songs lack the cultural setting to gain recognition today, they are strong compostions neatly performed, and I'm pleased to have them, especially the more I listen to them. They truly rival some of their classic hits. Other songs not included on the previous 'Greatest Hits' LP, such as the mantra-driven 'Jesus Is Just Alright', 'Goin Back', and 'Chestnut Mare', also keep pleasant company.

The Byrds, of course, had a special knack for transforming folk into rock, and Roger McGuinn's distinctive singing and 12-string guitar are the trademarks of the band. Nearly all Byrds songs feature a 'big', enveloping sound, crisp harmonies, and a slick guitar riff. Crosby, Hillman, and Gene Clark make writing and vocal contributions, but compared to McGuinn their influence here is negligible. Despite not even being in the band, Bob Dylan may have had a greater influence on the public persona of The Byrds than Crosby, Hillman or Clark. Four of the songs on the collection were penned by Dylan, and the liner notes detail his essential contribution to 'Ballad of Easy Rider' as well. And McGuinn sounds more like Dylan (without trying) than any other performer, completing the connection.

One valid criticism of investing in any Byrds compilation is that many of these songs have long been, and even continue to be, played to death, first on Top 40 playlists, and today by golden oldies radio. It could be argued that we all reached the saturation point of hearing 'Turn Turn Turn' or 'Mr. Tambourine Man' somewhere around 1967, yet these songs, if studied, release a texture and resonance that confirms why they still demand overplay four decades after their release. Their sound embodied so much of what made the 1960's the 1960's that they have achieved immortality in the shelf life of rock music.

If you're not looking for a definitive collection, a small investment here can afford a whole lot of musical enjoyment. While the complete box set may be necessary to satiate the completist, the essentials are available for those of us desiring an overview at a more modest cost. My 'like new' copy only put me out $1.99, leaving plenty of bread for other essentials.

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The Voice

1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better
3. All I Really Want to Do [LP Version]
4. Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)
5. 5D (Fifth Dimension)
6. Eight Miles High
7. Mr. Spaceman
8. So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star
9. Have You Seen Her Face
10. Lady Friend
11. My Back Pages
12. Goin' Back [LP Version]
13. Ballad of Easy Rider
14. Jesus Is Just Alright
15. Chestnut Mare
16. I Wanna Grow up to Be a Politician
17. He Was a Friend of Mine
18. Paths of Victory
19. From a Distance
20. Love That Never Dies