Turn! Turn! Turn!

Customer Reviews:

• A time to be good, a time to be better...: Once again I find myself re-assessing a Byrds album (see my lengthy review of "Fifth Dimension"). This review will be a little shorter, but just as necessary. I consider it important to stress the point that after "Mr. Tambourine Man", which I consider a masterpiece of pop-rock art, any album would have paled in comparison. So it was with "Turn Turn Turn". My feeling at the time was that The Byrds were still cool, and the album was good, but not quite good enough. But from the perspective of the present, and with the excellent sound, I have to say that, like "5D", I now consider this a 5-star album too. Of course, I had no problem with the very inspirational and timely title song. And I really liked "The World Turns All Around Her" and "It Won't Be Wrong". But I believe that I was too young in 1965 to appreciate the soulful "Set You Free This Time", the country-inspired "Satisfied Mind", and the slightly ominous tone of "If You're Gone", and even Dylan's "Lay Down Your Weary Tune". The bonus tracks are part of the improvement too. In one of them, "She Don't Care About Time", The Byrds are outlining a new role model for young 60's females; the meaning comes across, and the track rocks. (Of the 2 versions, I prefer the first, track 13, because it sounds thicker, heavier; however, the other version has that sneaky little Stones "Satisfaction" riff lurking among all the Byrd noises!) The bonus track of "The Times They Are A-Changin" is better (in my opinion) than the one included on the original album. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" shows how they could mold a Dylan tune and make it their own, even with Dylan's own masterful version to be compared to. Another bonus track, "The Day Walk", is very different from any other Byrds track up to that time. They sing in a lower, earthier register than usual, and the instrumentation, especially the bass line, has more to do with older rock and soul than with folk-rock. So once again, like "5D", I am enjoying (and understanding) a Byrds album more now than when it was new. Maybe it's just because both of them finally sound as they should have sounded in the first place.
• Turn! Turn! Turn! -- What A Follow-Up!: What a follow-up! The Byrds only released two albums and a handful of singles with Gene Clark--until a rather abysmal reunion in the early 1970's--but what a couple of albums they are! "Mr. Tambourine Man," their first release, would of course be hailed as one of the penultimate folk-rock records, with the group so aptly adapting the songs of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to a radio-friendly audience. Yet, for me, it's not how the group performs the title track or selected covers on that LP, or how they equally master "Lay Down Your Weary Tune," "The Times They Are A-Changin" or Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susannah" on this its sequel, but the quality of their original material, the bulk of which was penned by Gene Clark! Clark's amazing "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" has become a rock and roll classic, and "Here Without You" beautifully exemplifies its composer's darker, poetic side on The Byrds' debut recording. With the success of that LP under their belts, the group would appear to offer more of the same with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" but Clark would emerge as an even more powerful force with compositions "Set You Free This Time," "She Don't Care About Time" and the hauntingly brilliant "The World Turns All Around Her!" Lesser known track "If You're Gone" would precede Clark's last songwriting credit on a Byrds recording with "Eight Miles High" on their "Fifth Dimension" LP. With Clark's departure, group members David Crosby and Roger McGuinn would be allowed to spread their wings and soar as celebrities and songwriters in their own right, and Crosby's ultimate departure would likewise permit bassist Chris Hillman to step forward before leaving to form The Flying Burrito Brothers, Souther, Hillman and Furay and the Desert Rose Band, then completing a musical full-circle by again reuniting with Clark and McGuinn for two releases and a brief tour. It having been common practice in the early to mid 1960's for session musicians to play on the company predicted hits, such would be the case with much of "Mr. Tambourine Man," but The Byrds would prove themselves to be competent enough musicians and capable performers that this would not be the case with subsequent releases. I love every line-up that's existed of The Byrds, from Gene Clark to Gram Parsons and John York to Clarence White and Skip Battin, with drummer Gene Parsons himself providing exceptional all-around musicianship and serving as a steadying force while the group forged its way into country-rock after a brief dalliance with psychedlic music. But again coming full-circle, it would be their first two LPs from the folk-rock years that hold the dearest place in my heart and serve as the best starting points for future Byrds fans.
• overshadowed by their classic debut: if this album were a one shot deal by an obscure band, it would seem excellent. problem is, the byrds made many albums, several great ones: so we know they can do better than this. "turn, turn, turn" is a disappointing follow-up to the debut masterpiece which the byrds released in 1965. if you are a 60's music fanatic, or a byrd's maniac, then you will need this. if you are a more casual person in your approach to the bryds, then "mr tambourine man," "younger than yesterday" "the notorious bryd brothers," "sweetheart of the rodeo," and perhaps "the ballad of easy rider" are all you will need.
• Turnin' Through The Years: 'Turn! Turn! Turn!' is the Byrds' second album, & featured the title track, their second & last US #1 single. The rest of the album follows the formula laid down the same year by their debut album, 'Mr. Tambourine Man', though somewhere, this second album is a bit more flawed, which is only understandable due to the hectic conditions under which it was created.
  
  The title track is as wonderful a Byrdesque folk-rock song as any, fully reprising the glory of 'Mr. Tambourine Man', not only commercially, but also artistically.
  'It Won't Be Wrong' is another folk-rock classic, whose intro sounds anticipate the coming of psychedelia a few years later. Later the song changes pace & returns to the original speed again later. All in all as great a Byrd song as any on their debut album.
  'Set You Free This Time' sets their strongest lyric so far (those covered from Dylan not included), to a tune that marks a slight step down from the previous two songs, but not enough to prevent this from being one of their most underrated gems.
  'Lay Down Your Weary Tune' is one of the group's best Dylan-interpretations, and, like all of those, it is hard not to think of it as a Byrds-original. An already strong song loses nothing of its beauty, but is presented in the full grace of folk-rock.
  The traditional 'He Was A Friend Of Mine' is buoyed by a great, twangling acoustic guitar, but otherwise the song becomes somewhat tedious in the long run, though it isn't at all bad, and doesn't seem out of place on the album.
  'The World Turns All Around Her' is a pure Byrds-classic, complete with the title, a perfect blend of tortured romanticism & mind-altering psychedelia.
  'Satisfied Mind' is here transformed into a great Byrds song, but it pales next to the classic 'If You're Gone', an immortal folk-rock jewel.
  It is followed by the biggest flaw of the album, the Byrds' cover of Dylan's more-than-immortal classic 'The Times They Are A-Changing'. The band simply betrays the rebellion & protest of the original & try to make it another tender tune, which just doesn't work. For the original is as angry as Sex Pistols' 'Anarchy In The U.K.', and nobody would ever make a serious folk-rock version of that track, well?
  
  'Wait And See' is a suave little love song quite well played, & though it doesn't compensate for the previous track, it is strong enough to overshadow the flaws of the ending track, so it doesn't feel like the last fourth of the album is crap. The cover of 'Oh! Susannah' is indeed an idea spawned of genius, & a great song it is. But it irritates me the way it returns to a single guitar playing the main riff after each verse. This way, an otherwise great, rollin' song, that could have been a Byrds' classic & an album peak, is cut into small pieces, that seriously disturbs your heartbeat ;)... you get up, fall down, get up, and in the end, it gets really annoying. Hard to imagine, but easy to hear.
  
  But except the full-scale flaw of 'The Times They Are A-Changing' & the much better 'Oh! Sussannah', which is anyway mostly a joke, the album is about as great as 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. As for the bonus tracks; 'The Day Walk (Never Before)' has a riff that sounds like 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' some years too early - but otherwise that song is pretty inessential.
  But on the other hand, 'She Don't Care About Time' is a timeless Byrds classic, & their cover 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' actually surpasses Dylan's original (the only time the Byrds inarguably did that). Those two songs are so great that it seems complete foolish they were left off the album for the sake of the Byrds' greatest flaw, 'The Times' cover.
  As for the alternate versions, they are really not essential, but they don't hrt anybody with their presence, and the instrumental 'Stranger In A Strange Land' is also fine enough, though one can only imagine how the Byrdesque voices entwined in each other would have transformed it...
• all dressed up with somewhere to go: Between the twenty-third of August and the first of November of 1965, 'The Byrds' recorded the 18 tracks that make up this 1996 reissue of their second album. Already, 'The Byrds' possessed several of the elements that would combine to make them one of the most proficient and influential bands of the greatest decade for music, the 1960's. Jim McGuinn's chiming 12- string guitar sound is fundamental to every song, as are the exquisite background harmonies being delivered by Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman. The only element still reserved for development was their talents as composers. Only vocalist Gene Clark was beginning to reveal himself as more than a soundboard for other writer's works, penning five numbers, four of which are among the best on the disc. Jim McGuinn only offers one composition of note, and David Crosby teams up with McGuinn for his only writing contribution, aside from the closing instrumental.
  
  On 'Turn, Turn', Turn', the continuing success of 'The Byrds' turned on their ability to accomodate old and sometimes obscure compositions, as well as chart-topping hits, to their own distinctive sound. On this disc, the quintet parlay the music of Pete Seeger ('Turn, Turn, Turn'), Bob Dylan ('Lay Down Your Weary Tune', 'He Was a Friend Of Mine', 'The Times They Are A-Changin', and 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue'), and even Stephen Foster ('Oh! Susannah'). It is perhaps that last, unlikely choice that most dramatically demonstrates the remarkable skill of this band to take any composition, especially folk music, and make it their own. If not for the many, many times most of us have both heard and sang along to 'Oh! Susannah', this Byrds version could well pass for a modern folk song. Every Byrd cover I hear brings new meaning to both lyrics and music, often in stunning ways.
  
  Aside from the title track, which endures despite being played into what should be oblivion by now, the best songs on the disc are the Dylan covers. The ninth track, 'The Times They Are A-Changin' was the hoped for sequel to their first Dylan cover, 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. The recording, however, was deemed inferior to expectations, and was shelved toward the end of the album. While it probably didn't deserve to be downplayed, it is the 24 second shorter bonus recording of the same track which should have been released as a single. This bonus track, along with the alternate mix of 'The World Turns All Around Her', a Gene Clark original, present a much more determined atmosphere than the released versions, both suitable for Top-40 contention. Another bonus track, 'The Day Walk (Never Before)' is another Gene Clark composition that should have found it's way onto the 'Turn, Turn, Turn' disc, being the most basic rock tune the band put down during these sessions. Another recording of note is Crosby's 'Stranger In A Strange Land', a tasty instrumental from an artist best known for his talents as a vocalist and lyricist. Add to these numbers two versions of yet another excellent Gene Clark composition, 'She Don't Care About Time', and it's clear that a much bolder 'Turn, Turn, Turn' disc could have emerged in 1965. It's perplexing why producer Terry Melcher didn't hear the potential for some of these tracks over lesser numbers such as 'Satisfied Mind', 'If You're Gone', and 'Wait and See'.
  
  Despite the shortcomings of the original release, all is forgiven with the inclusion of these tracks in this 1996 reissue, adorned with glorious 20-bit remastering. Although subsequent releases such as 'Fifth Dimension' would enlarge, expand, and mature the talents of each band member, 'Turn, Turn, Turn' expands our exposure to what the band was in 1965, in itself a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. Revel in the 12-string and harmonies being applied to some of the finest compositions of any era in this handsomely illustrated package. Definitely four stars, and approaching five.