The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Made while the band fell apart, an early rock record with Moog synthesizer and the group's first pedal steel.
The Byrds, 1968
- Released
- 15 January 1968
- Recorded
- 21 June to 6 December 1967
- Studio
- Columbia Studios, Hollywood
- Label
- Columbia
- Producer
- Gary Usher
- Length
- 28:28
Gary Usher produced at Columbia's Hollywood studios between June and December 1967. Clarke quit during the sessions and was replaced on several tracks by Jim Gordon and Hal Blaine. Crosby was fired in October after friction over Goin' Back and his absences, and his unfinished Draft Morning was reworked with his credit kept. Clark rejoined for about three weeks. Clarke returned for Artificial Energy but was told after it was finished that he was out. The album was an early use of the Moog on a rock record, and the first Byrds record with pedal steel.
It reached number 47 in the United States and number 12 in Britain. The Goin' Back single, issued in October 1967, reached 89. Jon Landau wrote in Rolling Stone that when the Byrds get it together on record they are consistently brilliant, Robert Christgau called it "simply the best album the Byrds have ever recorded," and Fricke named it their finest hour. Hillman co-wrote eight of its eleven tracks.
Track listing
- Artificial Energy2:18
- Goin' Back3:26
- Natural Harmony2:11
- Draft Morning2:42
- Wasn't Born to Follow2:04
- Get to You2:39
- Change Is Now3:21
- Old John Robertson1:49
- Tribal Gathering2:03
- Dolphin's Smile2:00
- Space Odyssey3:52
Personnel
- Roger McGuinn vocals, guitar, Moog synthesizer
- David Crosby guitar, vocals
- Chris Hillman bass, mandolin on Draft Morning, vocals
- Michael Clarke drums on several tracks
- Clarence White guitar
- James Burton guitar
- Red Rhodes pedal steel
- Paul Beaver piano, Moog synthesizer
- Gary Usher producer, Moog synthesizer, percussion
- Jim Gordon drums
- Hal Blaine drums
- Curt Boettcher backing vocals
- Jay Migliori saxophone
- Firesign Theatre effects on Draft Morning
More from The Byrds
Mr. Tambourine Man (1965), Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965), Fifth Dimension (1966), Younger Than Yesterday (1967), Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968), (Untitled) (1970), Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971 (2008)
Sources
- The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Wikipedia
- 45 years ago, the Byrds release The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Ultimate Classic Rock (2015)