20 Essential Tracks From The Box Set: 1965-1990

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During the ’60s, the Byrds were one of the consistently interesting groups that expanded and changed their sound with nearly every record. This 20 track sampler of the admirable 4-CD boxed set features a good chunk of what made the Byrds an impressive bunch. From the first chiming 12-string guitar notes of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” to the hyper-real psychedelia of “Eight Miles High” to the country rock of “Goin’ Back” and “Chestnut Mare,” they always found their footing. The four tracks from their 1990 reunion are for fanatics only and the absence of any excellent Gram Parsons material is disappointing. However, the rest is simply life changing. –Rob O’Connor

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The Byrds: Gene Parsons (vocals, guitar, banjo, drums); Jim McGuinn [a.k.a. Roger McGuinn], David Crosby, Gram Parsons, Clarence White, John York (vocals, guitar); Chris Hillman, Skip Battin (vocals, bass); Gene Clark (vocals, tambourine); John Jorgenson (guitar, mandolin, bass); Al Kooper (keyboards); Michael Clarke, Kevin Kelley, Stan Lynch (drums). Additional personnel: John Hartford (guitar, banjo); Lloyd Green, Jaydee Maness, “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, Red Rhodes (guitar); Byron Berline (fiddle); Earl P. Ball, Terry Melcher (piano); Larry Knechtal, Van Dyke Parks (keyboards); Roy M. Huskey (bass); Jon Corneal, Jim Gordon (drums). Comilation producers: Don DeVito, Bob Irwin. Includes a revised version of box set liner notes by David Fricke. Formed in Los Angeles in 1964, the Byrds hit with their first single, a vibrant take on Bob Dylan’s “Mr.Tambourine Man,” in 1965, introducing the term “folk-rock” into the rock vocabulary. With a sound marked by soaring, multi-part harmonies and 12-string Rickenbacker guitar, the Byrds racked up several more hits over the next two years, including a chart-topping interpretation of Pete Seeger’s “Turn, Turn, Turn.” Personnel changes and internal disputes, combined with changing musical fashions, caused their popularity to dwindle in the late ’60s. The greatest achievement of their later years was SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO (1968). That hybrid of country and rock (influenced by new guitarist/singer Gram Parsons) was largely responsible for the Eagles and their kin. In 1972, Roger McGuinn, the only remaining original member, disbanded the Byrds. The original lineup reunited in 1973 for one ill-received album. The members remained musically active, with David Crosby the most visible. Although ex-Byrds occasionally worked with one another, the deaths of Gene Clark (1991) and Michael Clarke (1993) ended the possibility of another full-scale reunion. The Byrds’ sound and spirit lives on in McGuinn’s solo work and in the music of the countl