Mr. Tambourine Man (remastered)

by

The Byrds

Edit

What a debut! The Byrds only released two albums and a handful of singles with Gene Clark--until a rather abysmal reunion in the early 1970's--but what a couple of albums they are! "Mr. Tambourine Man," their first release, would of course be hailed as one of the penultimate folk-rock records, with the group so aptly adapting the songs of Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to a radio-friendly audience. Yet, for me, it's not how the group performs the title track, "The Bells of Rhymney," "Spanish Harlem Incident" or even "Chimes of Freedom," but the quality of their original material, the bulk of which was penned by Gene Clark! Clark's amazing "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" has become a rock and roll classic, and "Here Without You" beautifully exemplifies its composer's darker, poetic side. Clark and McGuinn, the team that penned The Turtles' "You Showed Me," would co-write "You Won't Have to Cry" (not to be confused with "You Don't Have to Cry" by Crosby, Stills and Nash) and the lesser known "It's No Use." With the success of their first LP under their belts, the group would appear to offer more of the same with "Turn! Turn! Turn!" but Clark would emerge as an even more powerful force with compositions "Set You Free This Time," "She Don't Care About Time" and the hauntingly brilliant "The World Turns All Around Her!" Lesser known track "If You're Gone" would precede Clark's last songwriting credit on a Byrds recording with "Eight Miles High" on their "Fifth Dimension" LP. With Clark's departure, group members David Crosby and Roger McGuinn would be allowed to spread their wings and soar as celebrities and songwriters in their own right, and Crosby's ultimate departure would likewise permit bassist Chris Hillman to step forward before leaving to form The Flying Burrito Brothers, Souther, Hillman and Furay and the Desert Rose Band, then completing a musical full-circle by again reuniting with Clark and McGuinn for two releases and a brief tour. It having been common practice in the early to mid 1960's for session musicians to play on the company predicted hits, such would be the case with much of "Mr. Tambourine Man," but The Byrds would prove themselves to be competent enough musicians and capable performers that this would not be the case with subsequent releases. I love every line-up that's existed of The Byrds, from Gene Clark to Gram Parsons and John York to Clarence White and Skip Battin, with drummer Gene Parsons himself providing exceptional all-around musicianship and serving as a steadying force while the group forged its way into country-rock after a brief dalliance with psychedlic music. But again coming full-circle, it would be this cornerstone from the folk-rock years and the group's debut that holds the dearest place in my heart and serves as the best starting point for future Byrds fans.

The Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man has been overvalued as the groundbreaking classic that gave birth to folk rock in 1965. Although it is obviously true that the misty, yet catchy, title track (one of four written by Bob Dylan) was the first time traditional American folk music crossed paths with British Invasion-type poprock; most of the Byrds' debut consists of a fairly typical version of the pop of the day. Byrds originals, such as "It's No Use," "You Won't Have to Cry" and "I`ll Feel a Whole Lot Better," are basic sixties poprock songs with a little added jangle. Even two Dylan covers, "Spanish Harlem Incident" and "All I Really Want to Do" were two of the master-songwriter's poppiest. The Byrds' discovery of folkrock is only evident in three excellent cover songs: the title track; "Chimes of Freedom," another Dylan composition and Pete Seger's "The Bells of Rhymney." These are the landmark recordings that pleasingly placed the brave words of folk masters in front of fine Beatles-ish riffs and the Byrds would expand on the style with their own excellent, folkrock compositions later in their career. Their debut's originals, however, are not folky by any definition. They are simple, ingenuous, starry-eyed sixties pop, which is not necessarily a bad thing. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" is one of popular music's best break-up songs. "I Knew I'd Want You" and "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" feature beautiful vocal harmonizing. But "It's No Use," "Here Without You," "You Won't Have to Cry" and all of the bonus tracks offered on this edition (Does anyone really need the single edit of "All I Really Want to Do" or a vocal-less track the group abandoned thirty years ago?) are throw-aways. True, the Byrds innovated folkrock in 1965 but that does not mean that their first album is a filler-free classic that does not sound at all dated. It is merely a respectable, somewhat conventional pop album that gets their career off to a decent start.