My trip through the sonic wonderland of the Byrds comes to an end today with a single from very late in their career. By the time of 1970's "Untitled" Roger McGuinn was trucking along as the only original member, still putting out new LPs every ten months or so. The Byrds sound of old was long gone with the exception of this one amazing epic song. Chestnut Mare was a left over from the aborted county rock musical Gene Tryp. A modern day retelling of Peer Gynt, the few nuggets that survive are easily the best music the late period Byrds would produce. Strangely enough this was a big hit single in the UK, but totally ignored in the US. What with its odd lyrics referring to the wild mare as the object of an all consuming quest, it might have been just too odd for domestic consumption. But McGuinn recaptured that classic Byrds sound, augmented by white lightning guitar runs by lead guitarist Clarence White and a middle section so lovely and antique that it could have come from a 16th century madrigal. For me the goosebumps appear early and often, with the his voice climbing at the end of the chorus
and we'll be friends for life
she'll be just like a wife
It is only fair that a Roger McGuinn tune should be added to the quartet of Byrdsongs that have appeared here over the last week. Fifth Dimension nails the Dylan sound with its loping rhythm and penetrating lyrics. McGuinn would turn out to be laziest of the Byrds great songwriters, but when he was on - as he is here - he was as good as it gets. Waynenet has a great a blog post about this song so go there and read his words of wisdom. I learned from his post that none other than Van Dyke Parks plays the organ on this recording! I certainly never knew that.
Oh how is it That I could come out to you And be still floatin' And never hit bottom But keep falling through Just relaxing and paying attention
Although the first two Byrd's LPs are known for their famous cover versions - Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man and Pete Seeger's Turn! Turn! Turn! - the band had a first class songwriter/singer with Gene Clark. His love of the Beatles sound turns up in many of his songs, but never in a derivative way. He infused their sonic soundscaps with the cadences of Lennon/McCartney yet always allowing the Byrds own unique vision to come through with three part harmonies and jangly 12-string guitar. Chris Hillman has been quoted as saying "He was the songwriter. He had the "gift" that none of the rest of us had developed yet." He would be sorely missed after Eight Miles High except for the fact that Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman were just beginning to catch up as top notch songwriters on their own. Regardless, he left a shining legacy with his fine work with them before departing.
Lost on the B-side of the Turn! Turn! Turn! single is one of his most classic tunes, She Don't Care About Time. My spine is tingling right now while listening to it.
She'll always be there, my love don't care about time.
I have nothing against arrogant pricks per se, although there is ample evidence that David Crosby fits that description to a tee. But during his tenure in the Byrds he wrote some of the most gorgeous jangle pop ballads ever. And not only could he construct a pretty melody but he often was a fine lyricist. In fact - when he was "on" - his perceptions were insightful. Perhaps the best example is his ode to broken hearts, Everybody's Been Burned from 1967's "Younger Than Yesterday". His words of wisdom, coming at the very end of the song, shows him to be quite the optimist. And I like that in a person. Even if he is an arrogant prick.
I know all too well How to turn, how to run How to hide behind A bitter wall of blue But you die inside If you choose to hide So I guess instead, I'll love you...
What better way to make up for my inexcusable omission of the Byrds in this blog than to have two posts in a row? From their 1968 masterpiece "Notorious Byrd Brothers" here is a lovely tune by bassist Chris Hillman and guitarist Roger McGuinn, written in the odd meter (for pop music) of 5/4. "Get To You" is chock full of odd Lesley Speaker phased-vocals and a melody that just gets lovelier as it goes. By this point Mr. Hillman was supplying about a third of the songs on the LP, matching that provided by the recently departed David Crosby. One of pop music's great "if only" moments would have been to see Crosby stay in the band long enough to produce another LP. The sheer variety of musical styles on this album is amazing. But it was not meant to be, as the Byrds went country on the next release and soon thereafter Chris left, along with drummer Michael Clarke and suddenly the original Byrds were no more.
This is one of those posts where I am not sure what to say, other than that I feel the need to share a song that I consider the high point of the career of a band that I have unbelievably ignored in previous posts. I was very late discovering the wonders of The Byrds, other than a few of their early 12-string hits such as "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn". My brother sent me a CD containing all of their LPs (excluding their short-lived reunion), and within a few days I was completely transfixed by the quality and diversity of their 60s output. The magic exudes from those first five LPs and assorted singles that were produced by the original nucleus of the group. They were blessed with four fine singers, each with a real talent for songwriting, and some amazing instrumental chops to boot.
By mid 1967 they had not had a top 40 hit since "My Back Pages" in March of the previous year. Gene Clark was long gone, and David Crosby was months away from departing the group. And yet the quality of their output was still on an upward path. Prior to the release of "The Notorious Byrds Brothers" in early 1968, their fifth LP and last of their great masterworks, they produced a single that to my ears was a pinnacle of 60s pop/rock. It was clearly radio friendly, with amazing chiming guitar lines, gorgeous harmonies, an instrumental break capped by trumpet volleys, and one of Mr. Crosby's finest melodies. "Lady Friend" was a culmination of the Byrds sound and deserved a lofty status in their canon. But like a lot of other great music, it was lost in the sea of other great tunes in mid-67 and sank like a stone on the charts. Because of internal struggles in the band it was omitted from the following LP, and for years was not available other than on an import "best of" LP.
Here it comes, it looks just like the last wave I drowned in. Here it comes, and I'm so far from shore.
She's going to go, and take her trinkets.
And I will have to live without her and survive
I have this theory - totally unprovable - that the key moment when things went wrong with the internal chemistry with the Beatles was not mid-68 during the White Album sessions, nor early the next year for the Get Back sessions. My theory is that everything went awry during the "Magical Mystery Tour" sessions up through the scattered recordings done just before they left for India in early 1968. Bare with me as I list some events during that period.
Paul commandeered the group into making the MMT movie and EP. Yes the music was top notch, and John provided perhaps one of his finest moments with "I Am The Walrus". But it was clearly Paul's brainchild and the other three were just along for the ride. It is possible that John's resentment of Paul's attempts to lead the group had been building since "Sgt Pepper's".
John's heyday for getting singles A-sides were on the wain. "Strawberry Fields" in early 1967 had to share double-A side status with "Penny Lane". Totally understandable as both songs are revolutionary, but still John did not get full A-side credit. So that leaves "All You Need Is Love" in the summer as John's last A-side until mid-1969.
John hated "Hello Goodbye" and has been quoted trashing Paul's lyrics. He also was pushing to make "I Am The Walrus" as the A-side. I should note that I love "Hello Goodbye" for its sunshine pop and the clever production, but regardless it was another put down for John to see Paul get another A-side.
During the short recording windows before they left for India in early 1968, the band worked on "Lady Madonna" and "Across the Universe". John contended that Paul purposely undercut him by bringing in a couple of young ladies off the street to sing backup vocals on "Across the Universe". Although I greatly prefer this original version, which only saw the light of day on a charity album until it reappeared on the "Rarities" LP in the 80s, I can see John's point that the vocals add nothing to the song and the singers are less than stellar. Later after the Beatles break-up Paul was quoted complaining about Phil Spector's work on "Let It Be", in part because he added female chorus voices to a Beatles song! Now that was a twist.
The day the band was set to record a video for the new "Lady Madonna" single, John arrived in the studio with a new song "Hey Bulldog" - and the band decided to film themselves recording it instead, although the official video superimposed LM on the audio track. HB is a cracker-jack piece of rock and roll and should never have been relegated as a toss-off for inclusion on the "Yellow Submarine" soundtrack.
So how could things have gone differently? Perhaps one of George's shelved 1967 tunes such as "Only a Northern Song" could have been the B-side for "Hello Goodbye", and "I Am The Walrus" could have been its own A-side. Yes, it is the most pyschedelic song they ever recorded, but the world would have eaten it up at that time during the height of their popularity.
While the Beatles were off in India two more singles should have been issued. "Hey Bulldog" b/w "It's All Too Much" as a follow up to "Lady Madonna". I say follow up one rocker with another! Then early summer, before "Hey Jude" conquers the universe, "Across The Universe" b/w "All Together Now" would have given light to perhaps the most beautiful, touching, and spiritual song that John ever wrote. It would have required wiping the female harmony vocals but Geoff E. and George M. would have been up to the task, and possibly could have added a minimal string arrangement in its place.
Would all of this had made a difference? Would John have been pacified enough to prevent him from instilling Yoko at every recording session going forward, thus removing one of the major hindrances to the working relationship between the four Beatles? Totally unknowable but I do believe that it might have bought more time before the eventual split. That said, I love "Abbey Road" so much that I am afraid a different path might have resulted in it never being made.
Anyway, here is the unofficial video for "Hey Bulldog" - which as you can see is what they were actually singing/recording, not "Lady Madonna". This song just kills me. And Paul's bass line is just amazing.
