The Very Best of the Byrds

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-07-03 rating:
Excellent introduction... but for not much more there's so much more...
As an encapsulation of "the best of The Byrds" this is a pretty unbeatable CD... just about every track from what must be one of the most under-rated groups from the whole of the 60s features folk-rock, psychedelic-rock and country-rock at it's highest levels and, if all you know about them is a couple of their hit records, there's no better place to discover what's made them a key reference point for a huge number of groups over the past 40 years.

And then? Well the good news is that, for not a great deal more, there's so much more on offer. Ignore the boxed sets and zero in on their five key, recently expanded, mid 60s albums - "Mr Tambourine Man", "Turn, Turn, Turn", Fifth Dimension", "Younger Than Yesterday" & "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" - all of which feature superb tracks that fail to make the cut here but which would justify top billing on most of their contemporaries' "Best of" compilations, and all of which are now available for £5 or less. Music doesn't come much better and, for the price, they're absolute bargains.

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review by: Pete the music fan date: 2005-04-12 rating:
Great introduction to their music
The history of the Byrds is long and complex, involving many line-up changes and various musical styles. This compilation contains all the essential tracks including their six UK hits. It begins, of course, with Mr Tambourine man, the song that was an international number one hit for them, firmly establishing their career as well as giving a considerable boost to the career of Bob Dylan, who wrote the song. It is still the song that the Byrds are best remembered for but, as this collection shows, there is much more to their music than just one song.

Classic songs such as All I really want to do, Turn turn turn, Eight miles high, Mr Spaceman, So you want to be a rock and roll star, You ain't going nowhere, Hickory wind, Ballad of easy rider and Chestnut mare are all here. Byrds fans all have their own favorite album tracks and can disagree about which ones should have been included (I particularly like America's great national pastime, not included here) but all the tracks that really matter are here.

The Byrds were sometimes promoted as America's answer to the Beatles but they were never that, especially as their line-up changed so frequently. Nevertheless, they were one of the most important pop groups of the sixties and (like the Beatles) they have been a major influence on those that followed.

As an introduction to the music of the Byrds, this is hard to improve on in a single CD.

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review by: pierre1401 date: 2004-01-11 rating:
Good, but should have been better
When I bought this compilation, I was impressed, but it didn't really inspire me to want any of their studio albums. As it turned out, the studio albums are that cheap that I bought them anyway, and I now rank the Byrds as one of my favourite bands.

But the point is, a best of is supposed to be an introduction to a band. So surely their best material would be included to entice people to want more. Yes, there's Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 Miles High, and Renaissance Fair to name but a few. But so many brilliant songs have been left off that I wonder how many other people have chosen not to buy anymore Byrds albums because of it.

I can't beleive that the songs, Whats Happening?!?!, I See You, Why, Have You Seen Her Face, Everybody's Been Burned, Thoughts And Words, Artificial Energy, Natural Harmony, Change Is Now, and Tribal Gathering have not been included. All these songs showcase The Byrd's versatility and brilliance, and if just half of them were included, it would have made the compilation twice as good.

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review by: freidun date: 2003-10-08 rating:
errm sort of a dictionary of most of byrds material
Well.. being the first album I ever bought It helped me discover their output of music
their feeling their sound and all
but this is from my point of view just the tip of the iceberg as you could put it
its more like a dictonary of the biggest part of their output
Like a key to find the byrds
"like ahh well eight miles high and 5d are great song were can i find them.. ah the fifth dimension album of 1966"

But you need the albums.. the remastered once with bonustracks with good information are all avalible
this way you can discover the byrds
but to experince them in all their forms.. get the albums!

also worth to point out.. what is featured hear is a collection fo their material 65-70 which leaves the intresting years of 1964 71 72 and 73 out of the picture.. its well put down in order but it misses some great stuff and.. well there are no noting on when the member changed.. and its very much concentrated on dylan covers

It cannot be denied that its a great collection and a great price but its not the way to get in deep with the byrds
its a key that opens the door and gives you glimpse of their world

you are welcome
this shall be your first step in a great journey


review by: chris-spriet date: 2003-07-30 rating:
Historic Americana
While the world was raving about the Beatles, their American counterpart were the Byrds. According to rock mythology, folk rock history set its very first step when Dave Crosby (later of CSN&Y), Gene Clark and Jim (later Roger) McGuinn were bitten by the bug called Bob Dylan. But Byrds were more. They were also: Roger's 12-string Rickenbacker and a propulsive 3-voice, 3-guitar aural assault. Hear for yourself on Mr Tambourine Man, Chimes of Freedom and My Back Pages.
More, the Byrds were not just a mere Dylan cover band. In an era dominated by British musical violence and innovation, the Byrds soared as high as any band could aspire to. Such later Byrds albums as Notorious Byrd Bros. and Sweetheart of the Rodeo set the scene for such bands as Flying Burrito Brothers.
Long after they were gone, such groups as Eagles , R.E.M. and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have, while growing into their own repertoire, made overwhelmingly clear how much in debt they are to McGuinn's Byrds.

By the way: we should advise for the true Byrds ornithologist not to buy this, but the splendid 44-track double album The ESSENTIAL BYRDS with gems galore. This deserves the above 5-star rating at least twice.
A hint for the Amazon guys?

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