#31
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The album was the recording with the Byrds debut of Skip Battin as the new bass player, and he came with a reputation as more skilled bass player. And of course the lead/6 string guitarist is Clarence White in this edition of the Byrds. Re-listening to the live section of that record in the 21st century remaster found on Spotify today I think the bass is mixed too high, and Battin has chops but is of the busy bass player school. White of course was famous for his facility, and also plays a lot of notes (with a wacky fuzz-tone timbre for the most part). Parsons may be as good a drummer as they ever had save for the Wrecking Crew studio cuts, and McGuinn is solid but there isn't much space to feature his 12-string what with the White and Battin, I mostly remembered the LP side-long version of "Eight Miles High"--which happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time, just not here. It's the only cut that's fully "jammy" and it has it's moments, though I much prefer the earlier studio single and the famous alternate take done just before the one that was issued. Overall, the effect is stranger than I remembered. I myself can sometimes be a too busy bass player, and I'll use a fuzz box on guitar--but the busy playing and rapid tempos may not be the best way to serve the new songs on the live disk or some of the old songs played live. White has talent and momentum to burn on lead--he impresses me with that from the get go--but subjectively he never quite comes up with something that takes my breath away or gives me "chicken skin" in the Ry Cooder phrase. That could be me or my own expectations--but I'll repeat, even just a couple of minutes in and I can't help but tip my hat to White's skills on that record.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... Last edited by FrankHudson; 09-07-2020 at 12:04 PM. |
#32
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Martin HD-28 Sunburst/Trance M-VT Phantom Martin D-18/UltraTonic Adamas I 2087GT-8 Ovation Custom Legend LX Guild F-212XL STD Huss & Dalton TD-R Taylor 717e Taylor 618e Taylor 614ce Larrivee D-50M/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Blue Grass Special/HiFi Larrivee D-40R Sunburst Larrivee C-03R TE/Trance M-VT Phantom RainSong BI-DR1000N2 Emerald X20 Yamaha FGX5 Republic Duolian/Schatten NR-2 Last edited by SpruceTop; 09-06-2020 at 02:45 PM. |
#33
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Along with Roger (the artist formerly known as Jim) McGuinn, The Wrecking Crew did provide the backing for the tracks Mr. Tambourine Man and the Gene Clark composition I Knew I'd Want You; but The Byrds contributed all the instrumental backing for the remainder of songs on their first album without the help of The Wrecking Crew or other hired studio musicians.
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The Acoustic Guitar of Inyo: 30 solo acoustic covers on a 1976 Martin D-35 33 solo acoustic 6-string guitar covers 35 solo acoustic 12-string covers 32 original acoustic compositions on 6 and 12-string guitars 66 acoustic tunes on 6 and 12-string guitars 33 solo alternate takes of my covers Inyo and Folks--159 songs Last edited by Inyo; 09-07-2020 at 09:13 AM. |
#34
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Roger spent a good deal of time as a session musician before hitting it big with the Byrds.
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#35
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Although I loved the Byrds' songs when I was a kid and they first came out, I don't know that I EVER really listened to a whole album of theirs, even though I owned one! This was back in the day when I realized that, if I was going to spend money on an album, there had BETTER BE more than one or two good songs on it! I must have listened to the whole of the first two records, though... and I owned "5th Dimension", mostly because of "8 Miles High"... if I ever listened to that entire record, it was only once or twice...
I've listened to "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" countless times, though, and 'Untitled" more than a few times... I prefer the studio side of that record, especially "Chestnut Mare" - which still makes me smile just writing about it! There are moments on the live side that I really like - Clarence's playing on "Lover of the Bayou" is excellent, for example... heck, ALL of Clarence White's playing is more than worth hearing! Seems the Byrds had a lot of trouble putting out a complete record, though; one where every song stood on it's own and was a really good song... excepting "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", which is the strongest record they ever did (even with Gram's vocals replaced on several tunes due to contractual issues)... in my opinion, of course. They certainly had a LOT of great tunes, though... I'm particularly partial to Gene Clark's songs...
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"Home is where I hang my hat, but home is so much more than that. Home is where the ones and the things I hold dear are near... And I always find my way back home." "Home" (working title) J.S, Sherman |
#36
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I never saw them play live again, but still thought their albums were 1st class, and was amazed at how much they sounded the same, considering all the line ups they had! Don |
#37
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AKA 'Screamin' Tooth Parker' You can listen to Walt's award winning songs with his acoustic band The Porch Pickers @ the Dixie Moon album or rock out electrically with Rock 'n' Roll Reliquary Bourgeois AT Mahogany D Gibson Hummingbird Martin J-15 Voyage Air VAD-04 Martin 000X1AE Squier Classic Vibe 50s Stratocaster Squier Classic Vibe Custom Telecaster PRS SE Standard 24 |
#38
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In actual fact, prior to The Byrds, he was more of a touring sideman rather than a studio musician. McGuinn's biography notes that he spent some brief time as a session man in New York City in 1963, supposedly playing for Hoyt Axton and Tom and Jerry (who later became Simon & Garfunkel); he did arrange and play banjo and second guitar on the Judy Collins #3 album, recorded March and April, 1963, in New York City. As backup musician for a group, or act--not as a studio musician--he did play banjo on two early Chad Mitchell Trio albums, and he and Bobby Darin recorded a surf song together, and he was an uncredited accompanist on an album by The Limeliters: Tonight:In Person (recorded live), and he played banjo on the Hoyt Axton live album The Balladeer (originally recorded in 1962, but repackaged in 1963 as a different lp, called Greenback Dollar). A more accurate assessment here is that when The Byrds assembled as a group, McGuinn had much more professional musical experience than the other founding members. That's indubitably why producer Terry Melcher allowed ONLY McGuinn to play on the first two songs recorded for The Mr. Tambourine album--Mr. Tambourine Man and I Knew I'd Want You. After that, of course, The Byrds completed the album sans "hired guns," session/studio musicians. Addendum--I play four selections from that first Byrds album as solo acoustic instrumentals: Mr. Tambourine Man; I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better; The Bells Of Rhymney; and All I Really Want To Do.
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The Acoustic Guitar of Inyo: 30 solo acoustic covers on a 1976 Martin D-35 33 solo acoustic 6-string guitar covers 35 solo acoustic 12-string covers 32 original acoustic compositions on 6 and 12-string guitars 66 acoustic tunes on 6 and 12-string guitars 33 solo alternate takes of my covers Inyo and Folks--159 songs Last edited by Inyo; 09-07-2020 at 01:07 PM. |
#39
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
#40
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I'm one of the 25 people who like Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde.
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#41
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AKA 'Screamin' Tooth Parker' You can listen to Walt's award winning songs with his acoustic band The Porch Pickers @ the Dixie Moon album or rock out electrically with Rock 'n' Roll Reliquary Bourgeois AT Mahogany D Gibson Hummingbird Martin J-15 Voyage Air VAD-04 Martin 000X1AE Squier Classic Vibe 50s Stratocaster Squier Classic Vibe Custom Telecaster PRS SE Standard 24 |
#42
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on my walk today I listened to the Mr Tamborine Man album. I liked all but one of the tunes and it was ok. Though Ive always liked the title song I think my favorite is Chimes of Freedom. Turn I like a lot. Most of the songs that werent Dylan seemed very average, Beatles influenced, I wonder if it was deliberate as none were covers.
Except for one song the album was very well engineered. I could hear all the instruments at appropriate volumes. That enabled me to be disappointed with the bass playing, I could hear it. Almost none of it contributed to the groups sound, all of it sounding very safe. A high school music store bass student could have done as well. This will be an album I will listen to again, I liked it that much. I dont intend to buy any more Byrds though as I didnt like the direction the group headed. It seemed like the group went downhill from this album. Perhaps they had to change to keep peoples interest but they lost mine in the process. |
#43
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I always thought that the best career move Parsons ever did was dying young. He was immediately romanticized and elevated to a status I think was largely undeserved by the bulk of his work.
*puts on Nomex suit* |
#44
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I was thinking the same thing the other day. Kinda the same as painters, if they live long they dont do much but die and all of a sudden they are great. We really dont know what Gram would have done if he hadnt died but based on the body of his work Id say he wouldnt have been as famous.
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#45
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By the way, younger people may not know and older people may have forgotten, but despite the Beatles popularity, seeing them as something worth emulating within the entire musical community was not a given back then. Some in the jazz and folk community saw The Beatles in 1964 as about as valid as 21st century Justin Bieber today. I was one of those. I was wrong. My favorite Byrds period are their middle albums: Fifth Dimension through Notorious Byrd Brothers. Not that you need to like those records. Things I like: Chris Hillman developed rapidly into an interesting bass player and McGuinn's electric 12-string sound that flowered then has never been equaled to my knowledge/opinion. As mentioned up-thread, the Byrds in-group songwriting was becoming eclectic/experimental on these LPs, something I also value.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |