Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
| Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Byrds | ||||
|
Publication |
||||
| Label (s) | Columbia | |||
|
Format (s) |
CD, LP |
|||
|
Title (number) |
10 |
|||
|
running time |
34 min 54 s |
|||
| occupation |
|
|||
|
||||
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is the seventh studio album by the American folk rock band The Byrds , the eighth if you include their greatest hits album. It was released on February 3, 1969 on the Columbia Records label . In the United States the album only reached # 153 on the pop charts, the lowest chart position for a Byrd album in the US, in the UK it surprisingly reached # 15. It was also the first Byrds album that was mercilessly panned by most critics. Stylistically, the album was somewhere between the country rock of Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the psychedelic rock of previous albums.
After Chris Hillman , Gram Parsons and Kevin Kelley left the band after recording Sweetheart of the Rodeo , Roger McGuinn was the last permanent member of the Byrds to stay. Clarence White, who had already played as a session musician on the previous three Byrds albums , has now been hired by McGuinn to replace Parsons. John York, who had already toured with The Mamas and the Papas , joined as bassist, and McGuinn hired Gene Parsons, who was not related to Gram, as drummer. The album was produced by Bob Johnston , who was best known for his work with Bob Dylan .
Two singles preceded the album's release, Drug Store Truck Drivin 'Man / Bad Night at the Whiskey and Child of the Universe / Candy , neither of which were charted. In addition , a cover version of Dylan's Lay Lady Lay was released as a single on May 2 , which was not included on any Byrds album, but contained Old Blue as the B-side.
history
After the Byrds failed to win new fans in the country music camp with their album Sweetheart Of The Rodeo , Roger McGuinn worked out a new concept for the band's future program in 1968.
First of all, personnel problems had to be solved. Gram Parsons had already quit before the Sweetheart LP was released and the Byrds had continued to work as a trio. Now the drummer Kevin Kelley has been fired and replaced by Gene Parsons. At the same time the guitarist Clarence White, who had already worked as a session musician on earlier Byrds LPs as well as on Gene Clark's first solo LP , was recruited. White, like Gene Parsons, had a long country music background and insisted on including appropriate musical elements in the program. Finally, shortly before new studio recordings, founding member Chris Hillman left the group and had to be replaced by bassist John York.
McGuinn's new concept was to reduce the previous diverse musical elements of the Byrds (rock, pop, country and electronic rock) to country rock and heavy electric rock.
Single: Bad Night at the Whiskey / Drug Store Truck Drivin 'Man
The Byrds' next single shows McGuinn's new strategy most clearly. The song on the A side, Bad Night At The Whiskey , with a dominant rhythm section and bluesy guitar, comes from McGuinn's pen and belongs to the new “heavy” direction of the Byrds. It also corresponds most closely to the contemporary taste of 1968/1969, when the blues became increasingly popular , especially through guitar virtuosos like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix , and jam sessions replaced the short songs. The background vocals, which sound like a monk choir, are reminiscent of an earlier recording by the Byrds, Gene Clark's If You're Gone from 1965.
The back of the Drug Store Truck Drivin ' Man was part of the Byrds ' country program. McGuinn wrote the song in early 1968 with Gram Parsons on a tour of England. It targeted Ralph Emery , a prominent Nashville DJ at the time , who had given the Byrds a negative review after they had appeared on his radio show the previous March.
A year later, the song was performed by Joan Baez , along with Jeffrey Shurtleff and Richard Festinger, at the Woodstock Festival , and dedicated to the then Governor of California , Ronald Reagan .
Album: Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
The title of the new album also expresses the duality of the new strategy. The back of the record sleeve shows the band members taking off their astronaut suits and then riding horses into the sunrise in cowboy suits.
The songs begin with This Wheel's On Fire , a hitherto unreleased song by Bob Dylan. As with Bad Night At The Whiskey , White's distorted blues guitar and rhythm section are in the foreground. The sound of the last track on the album, Medley: My Back Pages / BJ Blues / Baby, What You Want Me To Do , is also very similar , a jam session in the style of the time.
With Old Blue as the second track, the lighter and acoustic side of the Byrds follows. Bob Gibson had this traditional folk song on his program years earlier. Your Gentle Ways Of Lovin 'Me from the pen of two friends of Gene Parsons, Gary Paxton and Gib Guilbeau , who played with him and Clarence White in the Nashville West formation , is even more influenced by country rock . The only instrumental track on the album was dedicated to this group, Nashville West , a bluegrass with a dominant electric guitar solo by White.
Three of the next songs consist of a combination of electrical and acoustic elements. In King Apathy III, McGuinn first expresses his aversion to the big city rock scene ( Los Angeles ) and his desire for a healthier country life.
The other two songs with similar stylistics were planned as part of the score for the film Candy (1968). The title song Candy didn't make it there, but instead Child Of The Universe , which McGuinn had written together with the film music composer Dave Grusin . For the film, an orchestral part was added to this song, which is missing on the Byrds album.
The album was produced by Bob Johnston, who had previously produced very successful LPs for Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash . Even with later work with Leonard Cohen ( Songs From A Room ) and Simon & Garfunkel ( Bridge over Troubled Water ) he knew how to satisfy both artists and buyers. In 1968 he ventured into the production of rock bands. This led to results that were particularly criticized by the musicians themselves. These include the albums Truly Fine Citizen by the group Moby Grape and Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde . The main points of criticism were the intensive addition of reverb in the mix and the lead guitar parts pushed into the background.
In 1997, Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde was re-released on CD. There the songs were remixed (re-mastered) and these versions correspond more to the original ideas of the musicians. In addition, some outtakes such as Stanley's Song and some alternative versions of the songs were also performed on this CD .
Single: Lay Lady Lay / Old Blue
In February 1969, the Byrds recorded their next single with Lay Lady Lay . Again it was a Dylan cover and again Bob Johnston was the producer. Johnston added a female backing choir to the mix without consulting the band. Background choirs with gospel elements were in line with contemporary tastes (see With A Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker or After Midnight by Eric Clapton), but triggered further dissatisfaction among the Byrds. The band's next productions were therefore taken over by Terry Melcher , who had also produced the first two Byrds albums.
Summary
Dr.Byrds & Mr.Hyde came into being at a troubled time for the band. For one thing, Roger McGuinn was the last remaining founding member of the Byrds and had to decide whether music should continue to be made under this name. He decided to do it and signed qualified fellow musicians who, with their instrumental skills, led the group into the 1970s. On the other hand, it had to be clarified how it should continue musically. It was the Byrds themselves who made country music popular among young people. McGuinn himself was rather skeptical about this genre. His original plan from late 1967 to record a double album with contributions to the history of American music was still relevant to him. The influence of Clarence White and Gene Parsons as well as the emerging country rock wave finally convinced him to create the rest of the program from a mixture of country and blues influenced pieces.
Track list
A side
- This Wheel's on Fire (Bob Dylan / Rick Danko ) - 4:44
- Old Blue ( Traditional ; Arrangement: Roger McGuinn) - 3:21
- Your Gentle Way of Loving Me ( Gary Paxton / Gib Guilbeau ) - 2:35
- Child of the Universe (D. Grusin / Roger McGuinn) - 3:15
- Nashville West (Gene Parsons / Clarence White) - 2:29
B side
- Drug Store Truck Drivin 'Man (Roger McGuinn / Gram Parsons) - 2:37
- King Apathy III (Roger McGuinn) - 3:00
- Candy (Roger McGuinn / John York) - 3:38
- Bad Night at the Whiskey (Roger McGuinn / J. Richards) - 3:23
- Medley: My Back Pages / BJ Blues / Baby What You Want Me to Do (Bob Dylan / Roger McGuinn / John York / Gene Parsons / Jimmy Reed ) - 4:08
Republication
On March 25, 1997 , Columbia released the album on CD with the following bonus tracks :
- Stanley's Song (Roger McGuinn / RJ Hippard) - 3:12
- Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan) - 3:18
- This Wheel's on Fire (Bob Dylan / Rick Danko) - 3:53 (alternative version)
- Medley: My Back Pages / BJ Blues / Baby What You Want Me to Do (Bob Dylan / Roger McGuinn / John York / Gene Parsons / Jimmy Reed) - 4:18 (alternative version)
- Nashville West (Gene Parsons / Clarence White) - 2:05 (alternative version)