The Byrds ~ (Untitled)/(Unissued)(1999){Original UK)
The Byrds ~ (Untitled)/(Unissued)
Vinyl Transfer 24/96 & 16/44.1 | 3 LP | Artwork
Columbia 4950771000
(Untitled)/(Unissued) is a 1999 reissue of (Untitled) with an additional 14 previously unissued / alternate versions.
REVIEW
The selection of bonus tracks feature some notably surprises, most notably a startling extended alternate take of 'All The Things' with a glorious backing track and more upfront vocal from McGuinn. The often underrated Gene Parsons displays his strengths as a singer with a strong reading of 'Yesterdays Train'nd a confident cover of Lowell Georges's 'Willin'', different then the take previously premiered on the Byrds' box set. A long overdue studio version of 'Lover Of The Bayou is enhanced by some piercing harmonica work and a heavily-echoed Mcguinn playing the part of "king of the bayou" The fragile beauty of Kathleen's Song is an alternate take that would later be re-recorded for 1971's Byrdmaniacs. Fans of Clarence White will welcome another section taken from the lengthly jam known as White's Lightning plus a chance to hear a different version of Truck Stop Girl. Finally there are a host of new live songs taken from group's show at the Felt Forum, incuding welcome enditions of Dylan's "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' and 'This Wheels On Fire', plus a particularly vibrant version of 'Jesus Is Just Alright' Many critics regarde (Untitled) as the last great Byrd's album. Now it sounds even greater. ~ Johnny Rogan - Author of Timeless Flight Revisisted
TRACKS
SIDE ONE
1. Lover Of The Bayou (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
2. Positively 4th Street (B.Dylan}
3. Nashville West (G. Parsons-C.White)
4. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star (R.McGuinn-C.Hillmon)
5. Mr. Tambourine Man (B.Dylan)
6. Mr. Spaceman (R.McGuinn)
Johnny Rogan on the original "(Concert)" LP (tracks 1 -7):
By 1970, the Byrds had re-established themselves as a major rock concert draw, regularly travelling across America, visiting Europe and nppenring nt numerous festivals. With double live albums currently in vogue, the group agreed to release their first concert recording, albeit with a difference. Instead of the expected double album, they issued a part live, part studio work, combining the best oF the old Byrds with an impressive selection oF new songs. The original working title "Phoenix" articulated the sense of a fresh beginning. McGuinn forged spiritual and musical links with the lost original Byrds both in the choice of material and through that wonderful fusion of Rickenbacker work with Clarence White's string-bending runs. The live album opened with a new song, "Lover Of The Bayou," another composition originally intended for the doomed Gene Tryp musical. Set in the US Civil War, it portrayed Tryp as a gun smuggler, bootlegger and provider of contraband. A rare example of the Byrds attempting bayou rock, the song was most notable for McGuinn's acerbic vocal and White's sinewy guitar work. Another surprise followed as the Byrds returned to their glory year oF 1965 with a reworking of Dylan's "Positively 4th Street." A sprightly "Nashville West" was succeeded by well-played versions of the hits "So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star," "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Mr Spaceman." But what most impressed was the radical revamping of "Eight Miles High." Extended to an album-side in length, the song became a tour de force at Byrds concerts, highlighted by the dramatic interplay between boss and drums and some startling Rickenbacker work from McGuinn. It represented nothing less than the ultimate fusion between the old Byrds and the new, and showed this autumnal line-up at the peak of its powers.
SIDE TWO
1. Eight Miles High (R.McGuinn-D.Crosby-G.Clark)
2. Chestnut Mare (R.McGuinn-J.levy)
One of the most impressive songs in the Byrds' canon, this composition firmly established the new line-up us a potent force at the dawn of the Seventies. Clarence White's careful picking and McGuinn's classic jingle-jangle Rickenbacker signature combined to create a fresh sound which bridged two eras of Byrds music. The Bach-like centrepiece was actually written years before, during McGuinn's stint with the Chad Mitchell Trio. While touring South America, he found himself atop a cliff in Santa Domingo overlooking the ocean with a lilting melody running around his head. The melody finally found a home in the mid-section to this song in which the chestnut mare and its rider plunge forward over a cliff edge. In common with "Lover Of The Bayou," "Chestnut Mare" was co-written with Jacques Levy for inclusion in the musical Gene Tryp, an adaptation of Kenrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt. The inclusion of a chestnut mare in the proceedings was a touch of poetic license. "We modified the story a little there," McGuinn noted. "Peer Gynt was trying to catch a reindeer or some animal like that, but we changed it to a horse to bring it back to America." In order to complement the playing and writing, McGuinn added one of his mast expressive vocal deliveries, even daring to reach that final breathless note. "It would take Erin Pinza to sing that song," he once joked. A severely edited version of the track was issued as a single and proved enormously successful in Europe, even providing the Byrds with their first UK Top 20 hit since "All I Really Want To Do" in 1965.
SIDE THREE
1. Truck Stop Girl (L.George - B.Payne)
Little Feat were still a year away from releasing their debut album when Clarence White plucked this song from a tape provided by their singer, Lowell George. A dramatic story of a tragic, violent death, it suited White's lachrymose vocal style. The theme took on a more poignant meaning in later years following White's death in a car-related accident.
2. All The Things (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
The third Gene Tryp song on the album, this poignant composition mingled feelings of disillusionment and regret with a Wordsworth-like appreciation of the power and beauty of nature. McGuinn's anguished, world-weary vocal worked well, while the backing harmonies included the unheralded presence of Gram Parsons making his first appearance on a Byrds alburn since Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.
3. Yesterday's Train (G.Parsons-S.Battin)
Written by Gene Parsons and Skip Battin, ably assisted by Sneaky Pete Kleinow on steel guitar, this was another serious song dealing with reincarnation, coincidentally, former Byrd David Crosby had recently covered the same theme with the evocative "Deja Vu." "We wrote 'Yesterday's Train' in a hotel," Battin told me. "Gene and I were sharing a room at the time and he actually began it. I was involved in Buddhism, so I latched an to the idea of reincarnation and the feeling you get when you feel you know somebody from a former life."
4. Hungry Planet (S.Battin-K.Fowley-R. McGuinn)
This was the first Byrds' song from the prolific writing team of Skip Battin and Kim Fowley. McGuinn liked the ecological sentiments and took the opportunity to restructure the melody to incorporate his own ideas. "We tried to experiment there," Battin noted. "Roger wanted to do some work on the synthesizer, which he felt would be a good idea at the time."
5. Just A Season (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
One of the great McGuinn/Levy compositions of the period, this track rivalled "Chestnut Mare" in terms of quality and emotion. Specifically written for the Gene Tryp musical, it documented the hero's attempt to circumnavigate the globe and reunite with a lost love trapped behind an impenetrable forcefield. Most listeners, unaware of the underlying theme, appreciated the song as an elegiac reflection on a gloriously adventurous life. There was even a hint of McGuinn's odyssey as custodian of the Byrds in the final lines: "I'd have my fun in the bull ring and never got a scar/It really wasn't hard to be a star."
SIDE FOUR
1. Take A Whiff On Me (H.Ledbetter-J.Lomax-A.Lomox)
Both McGuinn and White had an enduring love of Leadbelly and this track, originally intended for Ballad Of Easy Rider, was their tribute to the great bluesman. Manager Jim Dickson persuaded McGuinn to surrender his lead vocal version in favour of White's more nasal reading. In concert, the Byrds occasionally sang the line "Come on Spiro, take a whiff on me," mocking US Vice President Spiro Agnew. "I like Take A Whiff' a lot," McGuinn noted at the time, "although I think it has too many whiffs in it!"
2. You All Look Alike (S.Battin-K.Fowley)
This slightly sardonic comment an the plight of a long hair, mistakenly killed, was an unusually subtle piece of writing from Battin and Fowley. Champion fiddle player Byron Berline provided the eerie edge which gave the song its resonant mystery.
3. Welcome Back Home (S.Battin)
The tradition oF ending Byrds' albums on An unexpected Note continued with this arresting antiwar song. "I was personally touched by the Vietnam situation," Battin noted, "and my feelings about it came out in the song. I had a high school friend who died out there and I guess my thoughts were on him at the time. Roger heard me composing the song and he liked it. He suggested we record it. We were veering between the two titles, 'Well Come Back Home' and 'Welcome Back Home.' I used to be a practising Buddhist and that's how the chant got in there. 'Nam Myaho Renge Kyo' is meant to be the highest sound in the universe... It was probably the most serious song I was ever involved in."
4. All The Things (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
Recorded. May 26,1970. Produced by Terry Melcher. Matrix: HCO 106946
Previously unissued alternate version
SIDE FIVE
1. Yesterday's Train (G.Parsons-S.Battin)
Recorded: May 26,1970. Produced by Terry Melcher. Matrix: HCO 107030
Previously unissued alternate version
2. Lover Of The Bayou (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
Recorded: May 26,1970. Produced by Terry Melcher. Matrix: HCO 107030
Previously unissued studio recording
3. Kathleen's Song (R.McGuinn-J.Levy)
Recorded: June 9,1970. Produced by Terry Melcher. Matrix: HCO 107633
Previously unissued alternate version
4. White's Lightning Pt. 2 (R.McGuinn-C.White)
Recorded: June 2,1970. Produced by Terry Melcher. Matrix: HCO 106996
Previously unissued studio recording
5. Willin'(L.George)
Recorded: May 31,1970 Produced hy Terry Melther. Matrix: HCO 107038.
Previously unissued studio recording
6. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (B. Dylan)
Recorded: Felt Forum March 1,1970. Produced by The Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
SIDE SIX
1. Old Blue (R.McGuinn, Arr. and Adopt.)
Recorded: Fell Forum March 1,1970. Produced by The Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
2. It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (B.Dylan)
Recorded: Felt Forum March 1,1970. Produced hy The Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
3. Ballad Of Easy Rider (R.McGuinn)
Recorded: Fell Forum March 1,1970, Produced by The Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
4. My Back Pages (B.Dylan)
Recorded: Felt Forum March 1,1970. Produced hyThe Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
5. Take A Whiff On Me (H.Ledbetter-J.Lomax-A.Lomax)
Recorded: Fillmore East, September 23,1970.
Previously unissued live recording
6. Jesus Is Just Alright (A.Reynolds)
Recorded: Fillmore East September 23,1970
Previously unissued live recording
7. This Wheel's On Fire (B.Dylan-R.Danko)
Recorded: Fell Forum March 1,1970. Produced by The Byrds
Previously unissued live recording
Hidden Track - Amazing Grace
PERSONNEL
The Byrds
Roger McGuinn - guitar, Moog synthesizer, vocals
Clarence White - guitar, mandolin, vocals
Skip Battin - electric bass, vocals
Gene Parsons - drums, guitar, harmonica, vocals
Additional personnel
Gram Parsons - backing vocal on "All the Things"
Terry Melcher - piano on "All the Things" and "Truck Stop Girl"
Byron Berline - fiddle on "You All Look Alike"
Sneaky Pete Kleinow - pedal steel guitar on "Yesterday's Train"
Gene Parsons / Skip Battin / Roger McGuinn / Clarence White
EQUIPMENT
-VPI HW-16.5 RCM
-Clearaudio Concept w/ Verify magnetic-bearing tonearm
-Clearaudio Concept MC Cartidge
-Musical Suroundings The Phonomena II preamp
-Zoom H4n
-Audioquest interconnects