Younger Than Yesterday [CD]

I remember Penny Valentine in Disc and Music Echo writing of the original vinyl release "the Byrds are back with a sound as warm and as creamy as sunflowers" and thats just how it sounds to me....the original beautifully clean clear production has been greatly enhanced by this remaster and the addition of some excellent bonus tracks makes one of the great albums of the 60`s even more desirable...1967 produced a lot of outstanding records but this one shone like a beacon.... as George Harrison remarked "i feel sorry for the people who didn`t buy it!"

1967 was a vintage year for pop music and this album, one of the finest Byrds albums, reinforces my belief about just how much great music was released in that year, although all the tracks were actually recorded in 1966.. It was not especially successful at the time of its release, failing to make the top twenty of the American album charts, but it has aged well and may be better appreciated now than in 1967.

The album is notable for the emergence of Chris Hillman as a songwriter as well as great songs written or co-written by Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. The other notable feature is that this was the last album before the group went through a period of high staff turnover. Four of the original five were together for this album, the only absentee being Gene Clark. David Crosby was to depart during the recording of the next album after this and others followed later.

The album opens with So you want to be a rock'n'roll star (about the Monkees, whose music has stood the test of time, confounding their critics) - this song was a top thirty hit in America. It was the only hit although another single (Have you seen her) was released, which is probably why the album was not originally very successful.

Bob Dylan only contributed one song (My back pages) although two versions of it are included here. The other songs were all written or co-written by members of the Byrds. Of the remaining songs, I particularly like Everybody's been burned, Renaissance fair, Time between and Lady friend, but this is a great album from start to finish.

If you enjoy their music enough to want more than just a hits collection, this is a good place to start collecting their original albums.

The departure of singer-songwriter, fear of flying victim, Gene Clark from The Byrds' ranks and a reluctance to rely on Bob Dylan material had coincided with a blossoming of the composing skills of Roger McGuinn and David Crosby shown on the group's previous outing "Fifth Dimension". This was a strong collection and it boded well for the sustained future of the band, despite the loss of a key member. This next album, "Younger Than Yesterday" did not disappoint, in fact this ever-evolving unit pushed on boldly to pastures new, continuing to innovate and broaden their musical horizons. It turned out to be the finest hour of this incarnation of The Byrds (McQuinn, Crosby, Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke) and one of the best records of it's era.

Roger McGuinn continued to contribute songs, collaborating with David Crosby as well as with bass player Hillman and also with his fellow science fiction fancier Bob `R J' Hippard. This latter partnership produced the novelty "CTA-102", one in the series of `space rock' songs. McGuinn and Crosby gave us "Why" (a left-over song from the previous album, albeit re-recorded) and "Renaissance Fair" (which was obviously more to do with David than Roger). The McGuinn/Hillman team produced the hit single, the most well-known track here, "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star". This was a comment on the manufactured-for-television group, The Monkees, and was complete with dubbed on screaming girls, recorded during The Byrds 1965 British tour.

It was, however, the solo writing offerings from Crosby and from Hillman that are of special note, for very different reasons. David Crosby had become the most adventurous song smith by far, both with his melodies and chordal structures in addition to his poetic lyrics. Songs seemed to be bursting out of him at this point and it was becoming a struggle for him to get them fair inclusion. On this album he managed to get the superb jazz-flavoured torch song "Everybody's Been Burned" in place along with the maligned "Mind Gardens", a puzzling proposition, ridiculed by some. It now appears a brave piece, David's cool clear tenor voice over Roger's backwards twelve-string. The avant garde caught us off guard, as indeed it should.

Such was Crosby's output that a further two great compositions were excluded from the original LP. These were "Lady Friend" which was issued as a (flop) single probably only remembered by the faithful, and the startling "It Happens Each Day" which had to lay dormant for over twenty years. Both are found as bonus cuts on this reissue. (Another song "Triad", to be found as an extra track on the next of this essential series, "The Notorious Byrd Brothers", with a controversial message of sexual liberation, convenient legend had it, was deemed a step too far and was a significant factor in David's dismissal from the group.)

The rise of Chris Hillman's songwriting ability was the big surprise here. Not previously credited as a composer (except on the funky instrumental group jam "Captain Soul" - presumably the riff was his) he brought forth no less than four fine efforts. These included his impressive debut "Time Between" (a hint of country things to come with "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" and later, The Flying Burrito Brothers) and arguably his finest solo composition, "Thoughts And Words".

Vocally, this Byrds were stronger than ever. Three part harmony of McGuinn, Crosby and now Hillman present and correct and all three taking expressive, passionate leads. Michael Clarke had become a more than competent, straight ahead drummer and Chris Hillman's bass playing was evermore melodic and innovative while always anchoring proceedings. Crosby and McGuinn's guitar interplay was at a zenith, the former being THE rhythm guitarist and the latter keeping on his twelve-string jingle-jangle magic in addition to summoning up inventive solos especially on Chris` "Have You Seen Her Face" (playing Crosby's six-string) and on David's "Everybody's Been Burned"(a special spine-chiller, underpinned by springy, growling bass).

Roger's guitar raga's out on "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star" and is glorious on the one none-Byrds composition, the solitary nod back to Bob Dylan, a creditable reading of Mr Zimmerman's goodbye to protest, "My Back Pages". Here, the group (especially McGuinn) show themselves yet again to be most worthy interpreters of Dylan. Think on, the list of artists whose cover versions of Bob Dylan songs have really ever added to, or `bettered' the original is short. The Byrds, The Band, Jimi Hendrix. After them, we're struggling. Nobody does Dylan like Dylan (as the ancient publicity claimed) except maybe a select chosen few.

A couple of notable guest musicians add to the excellence on show. Wizard bluegrass-rooted guitarist Clarence White, destined to become a full-time Byrd himself in the near future, provides his unique brand of electric string-bending on "Time Between"; while jazzer Hugh Masekela adds meandering trumpet power to the mix on "So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star".

This is a highly recommended album from 1967. This high flying Byrds at their peak with a mind-boggling variety of top-notch songs executed in grand style. What we have here is remarkably energetic music that never tires. Music for yesterday, today and tomorrow.