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Elly Roberts reviews
Sony/BMG
- Cat.no: 82876855142
- Released: June 2006
- Rating: 10/10
When their jangly 12 string guitar version of Bob Dylans Mr. Tambourine Manhit the airwaves in summer 65, The Byrds were an instant hit, whenit became a chart topper.
Later, two further Dylan songs would be covered tracks 6, a limpishcountrified Baby Blue and a poor The Times, track 18. Singleswise in the UK, they had a further five entries, (tracks 3, 4, 8, 12, and 16)the last being the sublime Chestnut Mare in February 1971.
This outstanding folk-rock combo was born in LA in 1964. The quintetsmeteoric rise to fame was backed by exceptional songwriters and singersconsisting Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Gene Clark, David Crosby andMichael Clarke.
Briefly the Jet Set, then The Beefeaters they settled on The Byrds,misspelled like The Beatles, whom they drew some inspiration from.Eventually, they would become known for their studio wizardry, trademarkhigh pitched harmonies and jangly guitars, along with catchy tunes.
Evolution saw changes in direction, including controversial space rocker Eight Miles which was one of the first records to be widely bannedbecause of supposedly drug referenced lyrics, and latterly country tingedmaterial, tracks 12 and 13 – You Aint going Nowhere, Hickory Wind.
Early on, some criticism was levelled at them for using a Beatles soundfound in particular on track 2, Ill Feel A Whole Lot Better,with Dylans songwriting. In-fighting resulted in the departure of GeneClark (early 66), considered their best songwriter, then Crosby andMike Clarke late 67.Crosby would resurface as part of Crosby Stills Nash and Young.
Hillman also bailed out leaving one original member McGuinn to soldier onthe band name with replacements Gram Parsons, Clarence White and JohnYork, but the resulting combo failed to repeat their early successes.
They remain a seminal act, who went on to influence bands such asFleetwood Mac, R.E.M and Tom Petty.
Top tracks Chestnut Mare, You Aint Going Nowhere, All I Really Want To Do.
Weblink:The Byrds.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Mr.Tambourine Man
2. Ill Feel A Whole Lot Better
3. All I Really Want To Do
4. Turn! Turn! Turn!
5. The World Turns All Around Her
6. Its All Over Now baby Blue
7. 5D
8. Eight Miles High
9. I See You
10. So You Want To Be A RockNRoll Star?
11. Have You Ever Seen Her Face?
12. You Aint Goin Nowhere
13. Hickory Wind
14. Goin Back
15. Change Is Now
16. Chestnut Mare
17. Chimes Of Freedom
18. The Times They Are A-Changin
19. Dolphins Smile
20. My Back Pages
21. Mr.Spaceman
22. Jesus Is Alright
23. This Wheels On Fire
24. Ballad Of Easy Rider
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.