The Byrds
The Notorious Byrd Brothers (Columbia/Legacy 65151)

Here's an album that virtually every rock critic over 40 will insist is "a record of great beauty and visceral tension, a dynamic and accurate reflection not only of the technicolor social uproar that inspired the music – but also of the artistic ferment and personality crisis that ultimately blew the Byrds apart."

That quote is just one of many overwritted run-on superlatives bestowed upon this fiercely mediocre album by David Fricke, who seems to never want a sentence to end, almost more than me when I'm reviewing stuff, but minus the charming potty mouth.

Indeed, I would love to get on board with pretentious windbags like Fricke and declare The Notorious Byrd Brothers to be a masterpiece of 60s pop, and am consistently bewitched by Legacy's ongoing reissue project of the Byrds albums, a clear case of a label doing things totally right.

The packaging is exquisite, the cover art is great, the sound is immaculate, the bonus tracks are well-chosen and carefully programmed, the liner notes provide proper context for all the cuts. About the only thing I don't like about the Byrds CDs is the music.

This album is 1968 personified, chock full of phased guitars and vocals, go-go horns, hippie-dippy harmonies, and all the pedestrain "social commentary" you'd expect from a bunch of Americans associated with David Crosby.

Much of the album is very listenable, but none of the songs can be called great, and overall it strikes me as the sort of album that resounds deeply if you were "there." It reminds me a lot of the movie 1969, of which I remember virtually nothing except that it was totally insufferable and hugely shallow.

I mean, anyone listening to a song called "Change is Now" or "Draft Morning" and thinking "That's a powerful social statement, dude," is bound to be a foggyheaded ol' hippie or a seriously misguided classic rock teen. I find deeper messages in haiku composed by 8-year olds.

All that said, I must say that the album has a definite flow, and despite its period trappings it is a very solid album for what it is. The record was made during a period (one of many) of flux for the Byrds, who had already seen founding memeber Gene Clark leave the group and would see David Crosby and Michael Clarke also leave the group while Notorious was being recorded.

The critics paint it out like a work of genius under duress, a masterpiece borne out of frustration and the inspiration of change. I say, it's a 60s rock record, and that's what it will always be, as the members of the hippie generation die out and only poseurs are left to carry the flag for old-tradition rock criticism.

Perhaps the Loud Bassoon Record Guide will be the 21st century standard reference guide, and the inevitable backlash against our manipulative flag-waving for Willie Bobo and Klaus Nomi will result in a generation of people discovering anew the subversive pleasures of Jimi Hendrix and The Who. It all comes back around, I guess. Affirmative action always gets the shaft.

The remaining Byrd brothers (Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman) do a fair job of keeping the album together, and employed session musicians for much of it, which may account for its being more smooth than most of the other Byrds albums. But there's no getting over idiotic songs like the sci-fi "spook-out" "Space Odyssey" or the "message song" about speed that opens the album ("Articficial Energy").

The trademark McGuinn guitar sound is in place, and the Byrds' harmonies are always good, but more melodies would have helped. I've listened to this album many times, but I would not be able to hum any of the songs when it is not playing. Some of them are very good in a 60s rock sort of way ("Get to You," "Change is Now," "Old John Robertson"), but on the whole I'd rather listen to something like the Left Banke if I must hear nasal pop of yore.

The bonus tracks that flesh out the reissue are welcome, although not wonderful. "Moog Raga" is as hideous as its title, and the instrumental "Bound to Fall" will not restore anyone's faith in guitar bands. David Crosby's creepy "Triad" is a pretty good song, though it doesn't quite have the "charged air of sexual challenge" that David Fricke sees in it.

Still, any song advocating three-way relationships can't be all bad, much as it might anger Dr. Drew of "Loveline." I only wish that Crosby had recorded it in a super-slick Phil Collins-produced version as a follow-up single to "Hero." The 00s needs more free love!

Alternate versions of "Goin' Back" and "Draft Morning" are fine, and an instrumental version of "Change is Now" (entitled "Universal Mind Decoder") is a great argument for the preeminence of the Rickenbacker as the only rock guitar worth hearing.

Two hidden bonus tracks follow the album, one a radio promo for the album, the other a long segment of studio chatter that documents the tense atmosphere of the sessions as the band start working on a tune and just start name-calling after about 90 seconds.

Anyone who's ever been in a band will appreciate this Spinal Tap moment, as McGuinn, Crosby, Clarke, and Hillman all start swearing at each other and talking about "egos." Further proof that the drummer is always the problem, but the guitarists are never the solution. Easily my favorite part of the CD, if only to see that even bands as revered as The Byrds were just fragile fucking kids like every other band.

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Review by DEF

–SECOND OPINION–

Perhaps DEF just left the "A" out when signing up for a pen name. I think it's easy to characterize Notorious as being a period piece based on one or two songs, but it's strength (like alot of The Byrds output) is that it holds up so well over time. It also proves the point that great music is not dependant solely on great lyrics.

It's a cohesive record with fine musicianship and singing, and good production. There are no breathtaking highs, or disappointing lows, just a really good listening experience. If I had to give one CD to a young person today to introduce them to The Byrds, this would be it.

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Review by DTB (courtesy alt.music.byrds)