Byrds Untitled CD

Includes liner notes by Roger McGuinn, Jim Bickhart, Derek Taylor.

Originally released as the two-album set UNTITLED, this double disc includes an entire album's worth of unreleased material. Split between live cuts of vintage Byrds material and newer studio songs, disc one features new member Skip Battin's contributions along with songs originally written by Roger McGuinn for an aborted Broadway remake of Ibsen's PEER GYNT. Guitarists McGuinn and Clarence White are the in-concert driving forces throughout Dylan covers ("Positively 4th Street"), early hits ("Hey Mr. Spaceman"), and newer songs ("Lover Of The Bayou").

Battin proved his value by writing a stirring anti-war anthem ("Welcome Back Home") and a song about the environment ("Hungry Planet"), which he co-wrote with McGuinn. Elsewhere, McGuinn lends the stirring "Chestnut Mare" and the poignantly introspective "All The Things." White pumped up the country/blues side of the Byrds by taking a rare vocal on both Lowell George's "Truck Stop Girl" and Leadbelly's "Take A Whiff On Me." The wealth of Byrdsian artifacts on disc two include alternate versions of existing songs ("All The Things," "Yesterday's Train"), previously unreleased gems (Lowell George's "Willin'" and "White's Lightning Pt. 2"), and even more live goodies ("Old Blue" and "My Back Pages").

By the time their tenth album rolled around, the Byrds were nearing the end of their aesthetic tether, having pushed their brand of folk/country/rock just about as far as it could go, from their Dylan-worshipping days to the Gram Parsons "cosmic cowboy" period to McGuinn's precocious synthesizer experiments. This album, originally a double LP with one record recorded live and one in the studio, is more of a look back at where the Byrds had been and a celebration of their innovations than a step forward, but it's still full of worthy tunes and the effortless musical interaction of McGuinn, Clarence White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons.

The live half features a searing, (then) side-long version of "Eight Miles High" that presents the free-form jamming side of the band. There are also spirited runs through Byrds classics like the jokey "Mr. Spaceman" and the jaded "So You Want to Be a Rock 'N' Roll Star." The highlight of the studio half, which finds the band successfully mining the rootsy vein they'd been exploring on the last several albums, is the breathlessly exciting "Chestnut Mare," featuring a spoken section, some David Crosbyish weirdo chord progressions, and a trademark McGuinn chorus.

The Byrds: Clarence White (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Gene Parsons, Skip Battin (vocals); Gram Parsons (background vocals); Roger McGuinn.

Liner Note Authors: Derek Taylor; Jim Bickhart; David Fricke; Johnny Rogan.

The Byrds: Clarence White (vocals, guitar, mandolin); Gene Parsons, Skip Battin (vocals); Roger McGuinn (guitar); Gram Parsons (background vocals).

Additional personnel: Byron Berline (violin); Terry Melcher (piano).

Q (3/00, p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...has the lovely 'Chestnut Mare' and cannot be entirely discounted..."
Mojo (Publisher) (2/00, p.102) - "...the band sound thoroughly reinvigorated. The live material...is stunning....the studio half is equally impressive....essential."