The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The last great Byrds album, reflecting a more grown up post Sergeant Pepper’s version of the band, with and without both Crosby and Clark at times. The songs are very strong and the sound is leaner and less lush, with old friend Rickenbacker buried and adding only the occasional sparkle. The effect is impressive and very worthy of inclusion In this exercise.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘺𝘳𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 is one of the more psychedelic albums I’ve come across from the late 1960s. Even by the standards of the era, the record has a dreamlike quality, blending folk rock, psychedelia, country influences, and studio experimentation into something that feels surprisingly cohesive.

What I like most is how subtle much of it is. Rather than overwhelming the listener with effects or lengthy jams, The Byrds weave their psychedelic ideas into concise, melodic songs. The result is an album that feels adventurous without losing its sense of direction.

It may not be the first album I think of when discussing psychedelic rock, but it’s one of the most rewarding. The more time I spend with it, the more there seems to be beneath the surface.

Another 60s album, yawn. How is this different from the others?
Also moog raga? White people dabbling in eastern music? F offffff
2*

I don't think I'm recognizing any of these tracks by title, though I can imagine I probably know a few of these. Otherwise, I've never listened to this album start-to-finish.

It's not bad, but I feel like the only thing I can say about this album is that I listened to it. There's not much particularly special going on here.

Probably the best album I’ve heard from these guys

By rights I should like this band and I do but I don’t love them. This was really lovely with intricate tunes and melodies but it didn’t give me a wow moment and its interesting that the only song that resonated with me was Wasn’t Born to Follow, not by them but by Goffin/King.

Pretty fascinated by this one and what they were going for, has a folky country feel but then gets increasingly psychedelic and strange as it goes on. Not all for me but I did enjoy it throughout

I love The Byrds but they released so much music in such a short amount of time, and that means some of the full albums kinda miss me. Some not so great songs on here.

Not an unenjoyable Byrds album at all, which caught me by surprise as neither of the other two I've heard have made a positive impression on me.

The improved production values, generally brighter songwriting and greater emphasis towards psychedelia, particularly as you approach the back end of the album, all contribute towards a more engaging listening experience for me. The arrangements here largely felt more free-form, textured, and, crucially, catchier, with a perceptible country twang to the instrumentation that, thankfully, doesn't seep through into the vocals.

Met heel veel moeite vond ik na het luisteren van de vier eerdere Byrds-platen die we kregen een positief punt. Met een vijfde plaat kan ik daar echt niet ineens een extra pluspunt bij toveren. Leuk dat deze lui gingen experimenteren met Moog en pedal steel quitar, maar het wordt er nauwelijks interessanter op. De hit was blijkbaar Goin' Back. Moeten we het echt hebben van dat gezapige nummer? Daar voegen de nieuwe instrumenten echt niets aan toe. Een ander populair nummer is Wasn't Born to follow. In de basis net zo gezapig. Maar zo'n twintig seconden draait het geluid inderdaad alle kanten op. Ok, hier volgen ze niemand, maar het is ook niet om aan te horen...

Standard fare 60's tunes. Not outstanding, but fine.

I enjoyed this one very much. One of the greatest surprises in this project so far. Solid 4 stars. Direct, distinctive, and inspired songs. I also enjoyed the lyrics. Some songs I particularly enjoyed: Goin' back, Draft Morning, Change is now, Old John Robertson, or Tribal Gathering.

The Good: We’re down with NBB, yeah, you know me!
The Bad: Dyslexia…
The Ugly: The scowl on my face…

Scowl, because I just clicked the bandname on the album review page, and was greeted with FIVE fucking album covers… 5IVE…
I honestly don’t know if I am going to be able to get through with the list if this keeps up.

Every day I wake up with a feeling of dread as to which album will be the source of disgust today… let me check… great, some unknown country singer of the early ‘00s

Did I enjoy this album? Not really. Then again, I think I zoned out at a certain point, lowered the volume a tad, and found myself listening to silence once the album was over.
Will I ever listen to this album again? Never say never. Not because I would like to, but sometimes shit happens, and we can not recall all the albums which have already been presented to us on this list.
Would I suggest this album to people as something they have to listen to before they die? No. Period.

2*

Decent album. Nothing exciting, but enjoyable enough. 3/5

Thankfully I had never heard of the Brothers Byrd and hopefully I never do in the future

Good album. Lots of variety, good production, quick runtime. The country songs are terrible, but that's the genre for you.

3.0/5.0: Good

i blinked and this was over. it didnt leave much of an impression either way.

It's only a couple of weeks since I had Younger Than Yesterday by The Byrds and this album has a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses. Mainly, you can have great songs and you can have musical experimentation, but you can't have both on the same track.

If ever there was a recording of its time and place this is it. Summer of Love, west coast California.

There's Vietnam, Drugs, Psychedelia, Tribal Love, Visions, Aliens, All of us Coming Together and all the hippy accoutrements.

It's sung in the sort of lush vocal harmonies that were big at the time (see also The Mammas and The Pappas and The 5th Dimension) and combines folk, jazz, rock and pop and drenches it all in more phasing and flanging and production tricks than seems possible.

Imagine "Revolver" but dial it up to 11.

It's all very trippy and of the moment, but I think its moment us well past.

Also:

"I'm coming down off amphetamine
I'm in jail coz I killed a queen." Really??

"Goin' Back" is obviously great, but I'm also partial to the psyched-out dreaminess of "Draft Morning", "Get to You", "Change Is Now", and "Tribal Gathering". McGuinn gets a bit McGuinny at times, but his guitar work on this album in particular is damn good. A solid mix overall of their classic jangliness, a hint of psychedelia, and a foreshadowing of *Sweethearts* to come.

4/5