20 Essential Tracks from the Boxed Set: 1965-90

Performer: The Byrds
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: The Byrds: Gene Parsons (vocals, guitar, banjo, drums); Jim McGuinn [a.k.a. Roger McGuinn], David Crosby, Gram Parsons, Clarence White, John York (vocals, guitar); Chris Hillman, Skip Battin (vocals, bass); Gene Clark (vocals, tambourine); John Jorgenson (guitar, mandolin, bass); Al Kooper (keyboards); Michael Clarke, Kevin Kelley, Stan Lynch (drums). Additional personnel: John Hartford (guitar, banjo); Lloyd Green, Jaydee Maness, "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, Red Rhodes (guitar); Byron Berline (fiddle); Earl P. Ball, Terry Melcher (piano); Larry Knechtal, Van Dyke Parks (keyboards); Roy M. Huskey (bass); Jon Corneal, Jim Gordon (drums). Comilation producers: Don DeVito, Bob Irwin. Includes a revised version of box set liner notes by David Fricke. 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 rock 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." Personnel changes and internal disputes, combined with changing musical fashions, caused their popularity to dwindle in the late '60s. The greatest achievement of their later years was SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO (1968). That hybrid of country and rock (influenced by new guitarist/singer Gram Parsons) was largely responsible for the Eagles and their kin. In 1972, Roger McGuinn, the only remaining original member, disbanded the Byrds. The original lineup reunited in 1973 for one ill-received album. The members remained musically active, with David Crosby the most visible. Although ex-Byrds occasionally worked with one another, the deaths of Gene Clark (1991) and Michael Clarke (1993) ended the possibility of another full-scale reunion. The Byrds' sound and spirit lives on in McGuinn's solo work and in the music of the countless artists whom they inspired, including the Beatles, Tom Petty and R.E.M.

Q (1/95, p.268) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "How come The Byrds' best songs still sound completely wonderful? How come, despite the fact that Roger McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker has been imitated inside out...it still sounds immediately, immaculately unique?....Sublime's too good of a word. Superb isn't."

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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