The Byrds' Greatest Hits [Expanded]

Performer: The Byrds
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: This is a Super Audio CD designed for use only on Super Audio CD players. This 1999 reissue contains three bonus tracks not on the original release. The Byrds: Roger "Jim" McGuinn (vocals, 12-string guitar); David Crosby (vocals, guitar); Chris Hillman (vocals, bass); Gene Clark (vocals); Michael Clarke (drums). Producers: Terry Melcher, Allen Stanton, Gary Usher. Reissue producer: Bob Irwin. Includes original liner notes by Dave Swaney and reissue liner notes by Johnny Rogan. This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. Formed in Los Angeles in 1964, the Byrds hit with their first single, a vibrant take on Bob Dylan's "Mr.Tambourine Man," in 1965, introducing the term "folk-rock" into the pop vocabulary. With a sound marked by soaring, multi-part harmonies and 12-string Rickenbacker guitar, the Byrds racked up several more hits over the next two years, including a chart-topping interpretation of Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn." GREATEST HITS concentrates on the band's glory days before personnel changes and internal disputes, combined with changing musical fashions, caused their popularity to dwindle in the late '60s (though they helped create country-rock on the Gram Parsons-aided SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO in 1968). The Byrds' sound and spirit lives on in the music of the countless artists whom they inspired, and in fine retrospectives like this one.

Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.136) - Ranked #178 in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time"

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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