Fifth Dimension [Remaster]

Performer: The Byrds
Artist: Gene Clark; Van Dyke Parks
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The 1996 reissue of FIFTH DIMENSION includes six bonus tracks: "Why" (the B-side of the "Eight Miles High" single), "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)," "Psychodrama City," and alternate takes of "Eight Miles High," "Why" and "John Riley." The Byrds: David Crosby (vocals, guitar); Jim McGuinn (vocals, 12-string guitar); Chris Hillman (vocals, bass); Michael Clarke (drums). Additional personnel: Van Dyke Parks (keyboards); Gene Clark (tambourine, harmonica, vocals). Producers: Allen Stanton, Jim Dickson. Reissue producer: Bob Irwin. Recorded between December 22, 1965 and July 28, 1966. Includes liner notes by David Fricke and Johnny Rogan. All songs have been digitally remastered using a 20-Bit Super Mapping system. This is the album on which The Byrds truly exploded. They had already introduced the mainstream to a young folk singer named Bob Dylan by taking an electrified "Mr. Tambourine Man" to #1. They introduced California folk-rock to the masses, breaking ground for the likes of the Mamas & Papas and the Turtles. With FIFTH DIMENSION, The Byrds planted the seeds of psychedelia--and not just the San Francisco kind--in pop culture. The gray, dark trip of the Velvet Underground and the fuzzed-out minimalist boogie of such garage heroes as Count Five and the 13th Floor Elevators can also be found within these grooves. FIFTH DIMENSION recognized that musical higher consciousness had to be manifested in a dark side as well as a brighter one. Gene Clark's departure from the band prior to these recording sessions, and the decision not to cover any Bob Dylan songs, streamlined the Byrds' sound and made the group's vision clear. "Eight Miles High," a highly-charged sonic release, evokes both VU's "Heroin" and John Coltrane's jazz explosions. The higher consciousness of "Eight Miles High," the harmony-driven stomp of "2-4-2 Fox Trot," and the CCR-meets-Stax boogie of "Captain Soul," all drenched in heavy guitar distortion, were unlike anything the pop world had heard. For the next three years, sounds inspired by FIFTH DIMENSION would make up the soundtrack of a cultural revolution.

Entertainment Weekly (6/28-7/5/96, p.106) - "...illustrates why the best Byrds music still inspires musicians....And while time hasn't enhanced the group's forays into psychedelia....there are enough keepers to make you forgive their occasional tendency to fly into walls." - Rating: B Q (8/99) - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Psychedelic Albums of All Time" issue. Q (7/96, p.134) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...`I See You' boasts the floaty groove, stammering guitar and jazzy chords that were coming into the repertoire of the early psychedelic groups..." Melody Maker (5/11/96, p.50) - Recommended - "...`Eight Miles High' will always breathe the same rarefied air, always hum with vividly altered perceptions. Age cannot wither it..." Musician (8/96, p.90) - "I like the sound better here. The guitar interplay emerges with greater warmth and clarity, without over-thinning the wash..." CD Buyer's Guide - "This is probably their finest" NME (Magazine) (5/11/96, p.46) - 8 (out of 10) - "...heralds a newly psychedelic Byrds hung up on the archetypal acid-fixation with the unknown...and utter confusion....it's faultless." Blender (Magazine) (p.82) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "McGuinn stepped up his game...playing spark-showering lead guitar that lifted ideas from John Coltrane's modal jazz improvisations."

Adding ringing electric guitars to Bob Dylan songs, the Byrds helped invent folk-rock, as well as becoming early proponents of psychedelia and popularizing country-rock with the help of alt-country saint Gram Parsons. Led by Roger McGuinn and his distinctive Rickenbacker guitar sound, the mid-1960s lineup--also featuring David Crosby, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman--achieved fame with their unique take on Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." Personnel changes resulted in a core band of only McGuinn and Hillman, but the short-lived addition of Parsons allowed for the creation of the landmark SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO album. Ultimately, McGuinn assumed full control of the Byrds legacy, and their harmonies and jangly guitars have influenced countless younger bands.

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