Byrdmaniax

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Byrdmaniax
Studio album by The Byrds
Released	June 23, 1971
Recorded	June 2 & October 6, 1970 and January 9–January 24, 1971
Genre	Rock
Length	34:04
Label	Columbia/Legacy
Producer	Terry Melcher
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (B-) link Rolling Stone (Not Rated) link
The Byrds chronology
Untitled (1970) Byrdmaniax (1971) Farther Along (1971)

Byrdmaniax is an album by American band The Byrds, released in 1971. It remains one of their most poorly received album releases, largely due to the heavy strings, horns, and gospel chorus overdubbed onto the songs by producer Terry Melcher and arranger Paul Polina, reportedly done while The Byrds were on the road and without their approval.^[1]

Upon release, Byrdmaniax did much to undo the critical standing The Byrds had earned thanks to Ballad of Easy Rider and (Untitled),^{[citation needed]} and it faded quickly from the public's consciousness, only reaching forty-six in the United States^[2] in a short chart stay, and failing to reach the United Kingdom charts at all.^[3]

Two of Roger McGuinn's songwriting contributions are collaborations with lyricist Jacques Levy from the aborted country-rock musical Gene Tryp, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt.^[4] "Kathleen's Song", one of the best-loved of the Tryp tunes, was in fact a leftover from the (Untitled) sessions. Promo copies of that record actually included the song (under the abbreviated title "Kathleen") on the sleeve track listing, although it was absent from the disc itself.^[5] The other two McGuinn compositions on the album are the subtle, modal acoustic ballad "Pale Blue" and the commercially unsuccesful, quasi-gospel single, "I Trust".

The Fats Domino pastiche, "Tunnel of Love", is an adaptation of a poem called The Garden of Love by William Blake.^{[citation needed]}

As well as being issued in the standard stereo format, Byrdmaniax was also released in 1971 as a Quadraphonic LP by the Japanese CBS Sony label (catalogue number SOPL-34001).^[6] The quadraphonic version of the album features a noticably different mix to the standard stereo version.

Byrdmaniax was remastered and re-issued in 2000 with four bonus tracks. These include a version of Gene Clark's "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better", sung by Clarence White (White had played guitar on Clark's original 1967 solo recording of the tune), a stripped-down version of "Pale Blue" and a version of Dylan's "Just Like a Woman" (which The Byrds had also recorded during the (Untitled) sessions). The final bonus track, actually a hidden track, is an alternate (first-take) version of "Green Apple Quick Step", featuring Clarence White's father on harmonica. This tune is also referred to as "Byrdgrass".

Personnel

• Roger McGuinn - guitar, vocals
• Clarence White - guitar, vocals
• Skip Battin - bass, vocals
• Gene Parsons - drums, vocals
• Paul Polena, esq. - strings, horns & reeds
• Sneaky Pete - steel guitar
• Byron Berline - fiddle
• Larry Knechtel - pianos & organs
• Terry Melcher - piano on "I Trust"

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Glory, Glory" (Art Reynolds) – 4:03
2. "Pale Blue" (Roger McGuinn, Gene Parsons) – 2:22
3. "I Trust" (McGuinn) – 3:19
4. "Tunnel of Love" (Skip Battin, Kim Fowley) – 4:59
5. "Citizen Kane" (Battin, Fowley) – 2:36

Side 2

1. "I Wanna Grow up to Be a Politician" (McGuinn, Jacques Levy) – 2:03
2. "Absolute Happiness" (Battin, Fowley) – 2:38
3. "Green Apple Quick Step" (Gene Parsons, Clarence White) – 1:49
4. "My Destiny" (Helen Carter) – 3:38
5. "Kathleen's Song" (McGuinn, Levy) – 2:40
6. "Jamaica Say You Will" (Jackson Browne) – 3:27

2000 CD reissue Bonus Tracks

12. "Just Like a Woman" (Bob Dylan) - 3:56
13. "Pale Blue" (Alternate Version) (Roger McGuinn, Gene Parsons) - 2:33
14. "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better" (Gene Clark) - 2:44
15. "Green Apple Quick Step" (Hidden Track) (Gene Parsons, Clarence White) - 3:19

Singles

1. "Glory, Glory" b/w "Citizen Kane" (Columbia 45440) 20 August 1971

References

1. ^ www.allmusic.com[1]
2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Pop Albums 1955-2001
3. ^ Brown, Tony (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press.
4. ^ Fricke, David (2000). Byrdmaniax (2000 CD liner notes)
5. ^ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. ISBN 0-95295-401-X
6. ^ users.skynet.be/byrdsflyght[2]