Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Some Are Bound to Glory

In 1973 there was a short lived reunion of all five original Byrds.   The one LP they produced never registered on my radar. The story goes that each of the songwriting Byrds (Crosby, McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman) withheld their best materials for their own solo projects. Drummer Michael Clarke brought along two Neil Young songs.

A few years ago I chanced upon their cover of an at-that-point unrecorded Neil Young nugget.  (See the Sky) About to Rain is a miraculous song and this performance captures Neil's sense of loss and yet also succeeds as a Byrd's number.  When the wall of chiming guitars and mandolin enters at 2:40 the bliss becomes heavenly.

See the sky about to rain,
broken clouds and rain.
Locomotive, pull the train,
whistle blowing
through my brain.
Signals curling on an open plain,
rolling down the track again.



2 comments:

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

I knew the song from Young's Live at massey Hall album & always loved it but if you were to have asked me before you posted whether this byrds album existed I would have said no; but seeing the cover now I remember it, from a stack at a friend's house, or on the floor in the middle of some house party, I dunno. If this is the best cut on the album, still worth it

Mister Pleasant said...

I own ever Byrds LP except for this one. Based on what I have read this is really the standout track. It certainly is different than Mr. Young's own lovely version.