Younger Than Yesterday
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Younger Than Yesterday
Studio album by The Byrds
Released February 6, 1967
Recorded November 28ÐDecember 8, 1966
(except "Why": February 21, 1966)
Length 29:11
Label Columbia Records/Legacy
Producer(s) Gary Usher
Younger Than Yesterday is the fourth album from the folk-rock group The Byrds, released in February of 1967 on Columbia Records, catalogue item CL 2642 in mono, CS 9442 in stereo. It peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart during a stay of 24 weeks, and made it to #37 in the United Kingdom. As per previous history, the band released a lead single ahead of the album, "So You Want to Be A Rock and Roll Star" on January 9, its highest chart position being #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two additional singles were taken from the album, "My Back Pages" and "Have You Seen Her Face," making it to #30 and #74 respectively, "My Back Pages" the final time the band broke the Top 40 in the United States.
History
Settling into their new existence as a quartet, Roger McGuinn and David Crosby continued to hone their songwriting skills, and Michael Clarke, initially hired for his looks, had matured into a competent and at times impressive drummer. Probably the most surprising development was the emergence of Chris Hillman as the band's third writer, jumping from a shared credit for an instrumental on the previous LP to four full credits on this album, as well as a co-write of the lead single. That single, an acerbic but good-natured swipe at the success of manufactured rock bands like The Monkees, suggested certain ironies due to the pre-fabricated elements of the Byrds' own career, leading some fans to mistake it as autobiographical. Hillman's bass playing is on full display as he constructs a series of variations on the main riff, the production rounded out by the sound of screaming teenage girls, taped at a Byrds show in Bournemouth, England during the band's 1965 UK tour. South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela contributed the clarion trumpet solo on "Rock and Roll Star;" both he and the Byrds would appear in late spring at the seminal Monterey Pop Festival.
Sessions for this album marked the beginning of a successful relationship with past Brian Wilson foil Gary Usher, who would go on to produce the band's next two albums as well. Hillman's country-rock flavored songs, "Time Between" and "The Girl with No Name," the latter about a young lady actually named Girl Freiberg, featured the sterling country chops of Clarence White. Both songs anticipated the future direction of the band in both style and personnel, as White would be the constant in the band opposite McGuinn during its latter-day country-influenced line-up.
Crosby's skills had improved rapidly, his moody jazz-influenced "Everybody's Been Burned" the first holistic example of his artistic voice seen in later work, notably his unique debut solo album. His ambitions expanded equally, however, beginning turmoil that would eventually lead to Crosby's dismissal from the group. McGuinn had fashioned a brilliant Dylan cover, and at the behest of manager Jim Dickson the band placed their version of Dylan's disavowal of topical folk-protest "My Back Pages" on Yesterday over Crosby's objections.[1] The fourth time the band dipped into the well of his fourth album, the track is often cited as one of their strongest Dylan interpretations. By contrast, Crosby had insisted upon the inclusion of two tracks, one the band detested, "Mind Gardens" derided by McGuinn as having no "rhythm, meter, or rhyme."[2] The album closed with Crosby's second resolution, an alternate recording of "Why" cut during Fifth Dimension sessions; a lesser attempt than the great b-side to "Eight Miles High," Crosby pushed for its inclusion despite the availability of other new material.[3] Related to these disagreements or not, the band obstructed another song composed by Crosby, "Lady Friend," from appearing on Yesterday, eventually recorded and issued instead as a single on July 13, four weeks after Crosby's guest appearance with Buffalo Springfield at Monterey Pop.[4] During the Byrds' set at that event, in between numbers Crosby digressed on the fallacies of the Warren Commission Report, and on the benefits of LSD, which infuriated McGuinn.[5] Friction between Crosby and his bandmates mounted.
Despite the album's moderate chart performance, its critical stature has grown substantially over the years. In 2003, the album was ranked number 124 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Younger Than Yesterday was remixed and remastered at 20-bit resolution as part of the Columbia/Legacy Byrds series, reissued in an expanded form on April 30, 1996. The six bonus tracks included both sides of the "Lady Friend" single, another exemplary Crosby track puzzlingly left off the album "It Happens Each Day," a throwaway written for a Tony Curtis/Claudia Cardinale film vehicle of the same name, "Don't Make Waves," and an instrumental "Mind Gardens" as a hidden track.
Personnel
Roger McGuinn, vocals, guitars
David Crosby, vocals, guitars
Chris Hillman, vocals, bass
Michael Clarke, drums
Additional personnel
Clarence White, guitars
Hugh Masekela, trumpet
Vern Gosdin, acoustic guitar
Track listing
"So You Want to Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star" (McGuinn/Hillman) Ð 2:05
"Have You Seen Her Face" (Hillman) Ð 2:40
"C.T.A.-102" (McGuinn/R.J. Hippard) Ð 2:28
"Renaissance Fair" (Crosby/McGuinn) Ð 1:51
"Time Between" (Hillman) Ð 1:53
"Everybody's Been Burned" (Crosby) Ð 3:05
"Thoughts and Words" (Hillman) Ð 2:56
"Mind Gardens" (Crosby) Ð 3:46
"My Back Pages" (Dylan) Ð 3:08
"The Girl with No Name" (Hillman) Ð 1:50
"Why" (McGuinn/Crosby) Ð 2:45
1996 Reissue Bonus Tracks
"It Happens Each Day" (Crosby) Ð 2:44
"DonÕt Make Waves" (McGuinn/Hillman) Ð 1:36
"My Back Pages" (Dylan) Ð 2:42 (alternate version)
"Mind Gardens" (Crosby) Ð 3:17 (alternate version)
"Lady Friend" (Crosby) Ð 2:30 (A-side single)
"Old John Robertson (Hillman/McGuinn) Ð 5:06 (B-side single) / "Mind Gardens" (Crosby) (instrumental - take 1)
Release history
Date Label Format Country Catalog Notes
February 6, 1967 Columbia LP US CL 2642 Original mono release.
CS 9442 Original stereo release.
1989 Columbia CD US CK 9442
April 30, 1996 Columbia/Legacy CD US CK 64848 Reissue containing six bonus tracks and a stereo remix of the entire album.