Live at the Fillmore West February 1969

Performer: The Byrds
Engineer: David Diller
Producer: Bob Irwin; Roger McGuinn
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The Byrds: Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons, John York. Recorded live at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, California on February 7 & 8, 1969. Includes liner notes by David Fricke. Originally recorded as a soundcheck for the headline attraction, a reunion of Butterfield Blues Band/Electric Flag Alumni, LIVE AT THE FILLMORE captures the Byrds less than a week after the release of DR. BYRDS AND MR. HYDE. By this time, Roger McGuinn was the sole remaining founding member and his band had moved from the Dylan-inspired folk-rock of its origins to more of a country-flavored sound due in part to the seeds planted by one-time member Gram Parsons. Parsons' replacement, Clarence White, carried on and expanded upon the band's country legacy. White gained his fingerpicking expertise as one-half of the seminal bluegrass act the Kentucky Colonels and had been an occasional Byrds sideman since 1967's YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY. The Byrds didn't quite fit in with their self-indulgent jam-band peers--the band was known for playing concise and crystalline recreations of its material while in concert. Standouts captured here include the self-penned instrumental "Nashville West"; a thumbed-nose retort to Nashville, "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man"; and authentically twangy covers of songs from artists including Merle Haggard ("Sing Me Back Home") and Buck Owens ("Buckaroo," "Close Up the Honky Tonks").

Uncut (3/00, p.75) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...It is magnificent. Covering every stage of the band's career from the early pop hits through the country and folk stylings to the heavier jamming style of the final line-up..." Dirty Linen (4-5/00, pp.59-61) - "...This disc is a showcase for White's virtuoso guitar extravaganzas and demonstrates what a potent rhythm section York and Parsons were. The emphasis was on country material..." No Depression (1-2/00, p.74) - "...LIVE AT THE FILLMORE-FEBRUARY 1969 abjures a career-spanning approach to focus upon SWEETHEARTS-era material, thus giving the set a more-coherent, organic feel....McGuinn sings with a degree of emotion and earnestness rarely evident in his later studio work..."

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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