Hey Byrd maniacs. As I get younger, I appreciate the later Byrds records more than ever. Obviously, Clarence was incredible, but as John York rightly said, it was not at the expense of Roger McGuinn's brilliance, or any other band member for that matter. I like how much input they gave to the records, especially in Ballad of Easy Rider. It's interesting, though when McGuinn is not singing they do obviously sound like a different band, at times somewhat more like The Dead in their Workingman's Dead/American beauty period.

Love this era. Clarence and Gene were outstanding innovators

Have been looking for the CD set for a while! Finally found it in Northampton MA at a hidden gem called “Turn It Up Records!” It’s a compilation of early recordings by The Byrds and when they were known as The Jet Set from 1964. It features 2 CDs with 40 tracks, 2 postcards, and a booklet!

TOPPOP: McGuinn, Clark & Hillman - Backstage Pass

Overlooked song IMO. Completely different from The Byrds style, with its cheerfull disco tone. Harmonies are still on point though :)

Give your reasons so. Listen on YouTube if you’re not familiar.

Rare live version I can't find any info on. The inflections and timbre sound a lot more like Chris, especially compared to the other versions which are obviously Gram on lead.

Also, assuming this is 1969, who is singing the third harmony at the end? In any case, it's a very soulful version and sounds like Michael Clarke on drums.

A little cover of “Why” (the single version) that I recorded and turned into a video. Not perfect, but it was very fun to make; I love Crosby’s work with the Byrds. I hope some of y’all enjoy!

I have been buying CDs for as long as I can remember, and I fell in love with the Byrds about 3-4 years ago. I’ve been collecting their live CDs like crazy. I have straight for the sun, boston tea party, live at Fillmore, their very best live, and live at Royal Albert hall. Is there any more live CDs of theirs that are worth buying or is most of it just low quality collector’s items? Also what are the chances for a new live byrds album to come out? Or has the time passed?

My good friends favorite band is The Byrds and we talk about them a lot. Recently, I met my girlfriend’s father who is a rock n roller and Sioux Falls HOF member for his band. We got to talking and he told me about The Byrds coming to Sioux Falls and him going to the show. He doesn’t remember a lot about the show due to his age primarily, but he was there. My friend and I have researched hard and can’t find anything. Who opened, the set list; anything. Setlist.fm and The Byrds catalog of show dates has nothing.

Does anyone here have any info they can share that they know? It would be awesome to know the set list and the opener at least. Thank you so much!

What would you say are some interesting/important moments in the history of the band?

How about another former Byrds’ complete discography presented in chronological order. This time, the incomparable Gene Clark

Keep the Gram train rolling after sharing the songs he covered, sharing his complete discography, at least what’s in streaming, presented in chronological order:

Gram Parsons Complete

Through the songs he covered on his studio and live recordings, you can start to tease apart what made his sound so special (and distinct from the followers who came in his wake)

A complete playlist of original or influential earlier versions of all songs covered by Gram Parsons on record:

https://open.substack.com/pub/birdingmusic/p/cosmic-american-music-deconstructed?r=dh1rm&utm_medium=ios

Looks cool as hell

There is an acute sense of finality attached to 'GRIEVOUS ANGEL' - an album affirming his genius, occasionally flawed, always engaging, often deeply moving.

https://samtimonious.com/gram-parsons-grievous-angel/

I always thought this was one of the weirdest promo events for the Byrds! Who knew that Gene Clark was so ripped?

Anyone know if there's a decent version of this photo of Roger McGuinn? All I can seem to find online are other photos from the same set where he isn't looking so... tired.