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Customer Reviews:
- The Best Byrds Collection: THE ESSENTIAL BYRDS is the best collection of Byrds material available. With GREATEST HITS and BEST OF, VOL. 2 not making the most of the space available on CD, and both of the boxed sets containing way too much mediocre material to wade through, this anthology provides the perfect balance between the two extremes. Granted there ARE a few weak spots here and there, but most of this set is pure folk-rock heaven. The surviving members' opposition to Indonesia's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist makes this double-disc set an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.
- Essential Byrds: The title of this cd says it all. There is no better album by the Byrds.
- Check out the Amazon.co.uk version! 44 tracks v.s. 35!!: I'm not sure if I recevied a different version of The Essential Byrds than others that have previously reviewed this CD, but I don't think so. There is only one version listed on Amazon, one issue listed on AllMusic.com (5122492000 - same as mine), and a google search turned up nothing as far as an issue of this CD with the tracks listed on Amazon. (35 only). I ordered a copy from one of the Amazon sellers, and the CD I received had 44 tracks! I noticed 2 reviews before mine that reflected the accuracy of the 35 track listing and clips that Amazon provides, so it's a mystery and someone may correct me but if, like I was, you are in the market for a Byrds compilation and trying to decide which of the many are the best way to go it might be helpful information. The tracks are:
Disc 1
1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
3. All I Really Want To Do
4. The Bells Of Rhymney
5. Chimes Of Freedom
6. Turn! Turn! Turn! (mono)
7. She Don't Care About Time (single version)(mono)
8. It Won't Be Wrong
9. Lay Down Your Weary Time
10. Set You Free This Time
11. He Was A Friend Of Mine (mono)
12. The Times They Are A-Changin'
13. Eight Miles High
14. 5D (fifth dimension)
15. Wild Mountain Thyme
16. Mr. Spaceman
17. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star?
18. Have You Seen Her Face
19. Time Between
20. Renaissance Fair
21. My Back Pages
22. Dolphin's Smile
Disc 2
1. Artificial Energy
2. Old John Robertson (single version)
3. Goin' Back
4. Natural Harmony
5. Wasn't Born To Follow
6. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
7. Hickory Wind
8. Nothing Was Delivered
9. This Wheel's On Fire
10. Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man
11. Your Gentle Way Of Loving Me
12. Ballad Of Easy Rider
13. Jesus Is Just Alright
14. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (alt. mix)
15. Lover Of The Bayou (live)
16. Chestnut Mare
17. Glory, Glory
18. Jamaica Say You Will
19. I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician
20. Tiffany Queen
21. Antique Sandy
22. Farther Along
Hopefully this helps if you're in the market. Ironically, I chose the Essential Byrds, despite my preference for a 20+ track single disc, over The Very Best Of The Byrds (UK) and Full Flyte because every compilation seems to not include one of my favorites, and Essential had them all, including Lady Friend... only to find out when it arrived that, despite being extremely pleased to get the bonus tracks, that Lady Friend was the only song listed among the 35 on Amazon that wasn't among the 44 tracks!! With all the extra songs though, it's not missed (much) but it's the ONLY reason I can't give The Essential Byrds 5 stars... just personal preference. Enjoy!
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(06/06/06) After posting my review, I found out the difference. I have the UK version. Check amazon.co.uk and you'll find the 44 track version there. I noticed, after receving an unhelpful vote, that another person on this site read my review and doubted the existence of a 44 track version. Of course, I posted this review to help people who haven't made a purchase, not to start a problem with Byrds devotees. I did refer to 2 different people referencing the 35 (or 33) track set so I just didn't have the answer at the time is all. I posted the back cover on Amazon's shared customer images. Also, 44 tracks are referred to by a reviewer on rateyourmusic.com so I don't have a bootleg, just the UK version and Amazon for some reason doesn't differentiate between the two. Mystery solved...
- The most complete greatest hits collection by the Byrds: The Byrds have always been one of the most popular American Bands of the 60's.
They have covered several songs by Bob Dylan and others. Their music was always central in the hippie movements of the 60's.
Many of their songs are standards to this day.
This album contains all of their top songs, including, Turn, Turn, turn.........Mr Tambourine Man, Eight Miles High and many others.
To me what separates this album apart from others is the song, He Was A Friend Of Mine.
It was written about JFK shortly after his death and has not appeared on Best of albums by the Byrds before.
There is also the theme to the movie Easy Rider and a few other gems as well.
John Lennon called the Byrds his favorite American Band, and this CD will tell you why - Great Sampling of A Great Band: In their day, the Byrds melded the rock and roll sensibility of music with the lyrical concerns of folk and created something unique to the world of pop. Their rearrangements of old folk standards and Dylan covers put them on the map, but their own material soon grew to match their borrowed tunes. The Byrds became a rotating collection of various musicians as time went on, however, and ended their run nine years later as a forgotten "once-were" who were no more.
Which is why "The Essential Byrds" is such a great idea: collecting songs from the entire history of the band's run, this two-disc collection provides a glimpse into the band that was saddled with "America's Answer to the Beatles" by early PR, but could concievably make a claim to that designation as time goes on and their legacy continues to be embraced.
The first disc (covering roughly 1964 to 1966) collects all the singles that made the Byrds chart-topping darlings: "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Turn, Turn, Turn!", "Eight Miles High", and "My Back Pages" have never sounded better. But there are hidden gems here, like the version of "He Was A Friend of Mine", "Chimes of Freedom", and their kooky "Mr. Spaceman" and revealing "So You Want to Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star".
The second disc (1967-1972) showcases the band's turn to country, first half-heartedly and then (as seen on the "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" album) fullblast under the tutelage of Gram Parsons, who may hold the record for the shortest tenure with the group. "Lady Friend", "Wasn't Born to Follow", "Hickory Wind", and "You Ain't Goin Nowhere" are the stand-out well-known tracks, but special notice must be paid to "Drugstore Truck-Drivin' Man" (Parsons and Roger McGuinn's retort to DJ Ralph Emery), "I Wanna Grow Up to Be A Politician", "Jesus is Just Alright", and "Ballad of Easy Rider".
The Byrds flickered out after burning brightly in their early days, and their legacy as more than just a singles band has been hard-earned and well-placed amongst American bands of the Sixties. For almost a decade, they were on the forefront, embracing new trends that their peers later caught up to. To have a two-disc collection of some of their best work is a fantastic way to remember them. From their trippy days covering Dylan to their countrified boogie with Gram Parsons and the final melancholy end, the Byrds have a claim to being one of the best American groups ever. This collection showcases some of their best.
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