The Byrds – The Broadcast Archive
Classic
Radio Transmissions From The 1960s & 1990s
Plastic
Head 0823564699226 (U.K. 2017)
Note: Don’t
believe what’s written on the artwork! It’s not really what’s announced on the covers
and in the tags; see actual descriptions hereunder. Next to that, the sound
quality is poor, except for disc 3.
Disc 1 –
The Byrds
Tracks 1–10 : Live At The Piper Club, Rome, Italy 1968
Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Kevin Kelley, Gram Parsons,
Doug Dillard
Tracks 11-21 - Live at Ardent Studios, Baton Rouge, LA 1968
There is no
such thing as a Byrds live concert at Baton Rouge, LA, 1968. This disc is made
of (sometimes instrumental) takes from studio rehearsals from 1965 and 1966,
mostly from the “Journals” 9 CD box, except for tracks 18-21 which are from
various sources (studio and live).
1. Old John
Robertson (2:38)
2. You Don't Miss Your Water (3:53)
3. Hickory Wind (4:38)
4. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (2:13)
5. Chimes Of Freedom (3:43)
6. The Christian Life (3:10)
7. Turn! Turn! Turn! (2:43)
8. My Back Pages - B.J. Blues - Baby What You Want Me To Do (5:59)
9. Mr Spaceman (2:13)
10. You Ain't Going Nowhere (2:40)
11. I Knew I'd Want You (2:09)
12. It's No Use (2:23)
13. The Bells Of Rhymney (3:34)
14. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (2:30)
15. It Won't Be Wrong (2:19)
16. The World Turns All Around Her (2:13)
17. Satisfied Mind (2:56)
18. Goin' Back (3:46)
19. Don't Make Waves (2:02)
20. He Was A Friend Of Mine (2:19)
21. My Back Pages - B.J. Blues - Baby What You Want Me To Do (6:14)
2. You Don't Miss Your Water (3:53)
3. Hickory Wind (4:38)
4. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (2:13)
5. Chimes Of Freedom (3:43)
6. The Christian Life (3:10)
7. Turn! Turn! Turn! (2:43)
8. My Back Pages - B.J. Blues - Baby What You Want Me To Do (5:59)
9. Mr Spaceman (2:13)
10. You Ain't Going Nowhere (2:40)
11. I Knew I'd Want You (2:09)
12. It's No Use (2:23)
13. The Bells Of Rhymney (3:34)
14. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (2:30)
15. It Won't Be Wrong (2:19)
16. The World Turns All Around Her (2:13)
17. Satisfied Mind (2:56)
18. Goin' Back (3:46)
19. Don't Make Waves (2:02)
20. He Was A Friend Of Mine (2:19)
21. My Back Pages - B.J. Blues - Baby What You Want Me To Do (6:14)
Disc 2 – The Byrds
Tracks 1-8
: Lee Jeans Living Rock Concert, The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA 1969
NO, this is NOT the Fillmore West in 1969; it
is from 1973 with John Guerin on drums.
Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, John Guerin, Skip Battin
Tracks 9-13 : Bridges Auditorium, Claremont, CA 1969
Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons, Skip Battin
1. Turn! Turn! Turn! (0:51)
2. Ballad Of Easy Rider (2:39)
3. It Won't Be Wrong (2:12)
4. The Water Is Wide (2:50)
5. Mr. Tambourine Man (2:40)
6. Nashville West (2:30)
7. Lover Of The Bayou (3:00)
8. Jesus Is Just Alright (3:08)
9. Jesus Is Just Alright (3:22)
10. This Wheel's On Fire (5:11)
11. Jesus Is Just Alright (Reprise) (3:12)
12. Eight Miles High (13:55)
13. Hold It (1:51)
2. Ballad Of Easy Rider (2:39)
3. It Won't Be Wrong (2:12)
4. The Water Is Wide (2:50)
5. Mr. Tambourine Man (2:40)
6. Nashville West (2:30)
7. Lover Of The Bayou (3:00)
8. Jesus Is Just Alright (3:08)
9. Jesus Is Just Alright (3:22)
10. This Wheel's On Fire (5:11)
11. Jesus Is Just Alright (Reprise) (3:12)
12. Eight Miles High (13:55)
13. Hold It (1:51)
Disc 3 – Live
At Electric Land Studios, NY City 1991
Roger McGuinn and The Headlights
Steve Connelly (guitar, vocals)
Steve Robinson (guitar, vocals)
Scott Dempster (bass)
Dany DiPietra (drums)
1. Someone
To Love 4:01)
2. Car Phone (4:56)
3. You Bowed Down (3:55)
4. Tiffany Queen (3:24)
5. The Trees Are All Gone (4:44)
6. Love That Never Dies (3:51)
7. If We Never Meet Again (4:39)
8. King Of The Hill (5:19)
9. Mr. Tambourine Man (2:20)
10. Turn! Turn! Turn! (3:35)
11. Eight Miles High (4:05)
2. Car Phone (4:56)
3. You Bowed Down (3:55)
4. Tiffany Queen (3:24)
5. The Trees Are All Gone (4:44)
6. Love That Never Dies (3:51)
7. If We Never Meet Again (4:39)
8. King Of The Hill (5:19)
9. Mr. Tambourine Man (2:20)
10. Turn! Turn! Turn! (3:35)
11. Eight Miles High (4:05)
Artwork Included (front, back)
8 comments:
Thanks a lot for this one.
Thanks R-B
As a matter of fact, I was a little suspicious about these liner notes. You confirmed they are not - completely - correct.
Thanks a lot RB!
An interesting mishmash of incompatible parts and bad liner notes. Who designed this collection? A little more attention to detail would have been nice. But the music itself is well, always interesting and of high quality. Disc 1 has part of those precious Piper Club concerts, the only good live version of the Sweetheart Byrds that seems to be out there. Well, the lineup didn't last long. I didn't particularly like Sweetheart of the Rodeo because it didn't sound much like the Byrds. But the live show at the Piper's Club, when Doug Dillard sat in, showed what this band was capable of. Ironically, they did top-notch versions of old Byrds songs, but rather boring versions of the latest material. Gram Parson's songs are very similar in structure, key and rhythm, and are to me rather boring. They defuse all the energy put into the other songs. Old John Robertson sizzles in a real mixture of country and rock, but Gram Parsons deflates the mood with a pondering version of You Don't Miss Your Water. The other Sweetheart songs, except for You Ain't Going Nowhere, are equally monotonous. But all the other songs shine. Parson's voice fit very well in harmony with the other Byrds, and the effect is similar to the old Byrds. The banjo adds a fine element to the overall sound, and gives a clear definition of country rock. There's a lot of energy in the non-Sweetheart songs which to me shows what this lineup was capable of as a mixture of the old and new. The non-country songs were by far the strongest. But Parsons and Hillman wanted to do country music, and so this version of the Byrds collapsed. A pity, but inevitable given the tensions between Parsons and McGuinn. More on the other two disks after I finish listening to them. But quite a nice upload, R--B. Gracias.
Disc 2. A combination of various concerts. The main point of interest here is the first part of the upload which features John Guerin as a replacement for Gene Parsons. Whatever the personal reasons were for firing Parsons, the result was the loss of an important part of Byrds harmony and a multi-instrumentalist as well. Guerin's style was more driving, and you clearly hear the difference in this concert. Instrumentally, the group really sounds good. Guerin is more direct than Parsons was, and the effect is a more steady rhythm in the songs. McGuinn has added a phase shifter to his Rickenbacher, and the effect is a swirling sound which combined with the strong bass and drumming reminds one of the mid-period Byrds. The vocals don't, however. Parsons did a lot of high harmonies and his departure left just Battin and White to fill in the gap. The middle range was missing, and the vocals here are taken by McGuinn with weak harmonies from the others. Even Jesus is Just Alright sounds thin--compare these two live versions with the York Byrds live version in track 7 and you can hear the difference clearly. In fact, I want to draw attention to this version of the song because to me it is the best version of what is essentially a repetitive song. The live arrangement is flawless and the harmonies excellent. But as the emphasis in this disc is on the Guerin Byrds, my conclusion after listening to this recording is that this groups sounded great live, but lacked the variety of the previous lineup in both instrumental variety and vocal quality.
Last disc. This is a concert taking advantage of Back From Rio's relative commercial success (McGuinn's last commercial success, to be sure) and McGuinn formed a tight, talented backup band to play the new material as well as Byrds standbys. Really, I don't have enough words to express the quality of the musicians here. If there ever was a close symbiosis of star and interpreter it was here. The Headlights is a perfect backup band. They don't overshadow the star (if we can call McGuinn that) yet provide a solid vocal and instrumental support for his songs--they even make the Byrds songs convincingly original). It's a top quality peformance by both MNcGuinn and band, concentrating on the Back From Rio sessions, which the Headlighters play well. McGuinn can be commended for assembling such a competent backup band and for performing very well with the group. Too bad this collaboration never led to an album.
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