Post by gremashlo on Feb 27, 2011 9:06:43 GMT -5
Just HAD to share this one!
In 1965, the music workd was undergoing massive changes--the English Invation was in full force; the Motown Sound was throbbing though the airwaves; and the folk music scene was fighting to the last. And, there was the Byrds--a blend of folk, Beatlemania and Dylan.
Like many of the new groups, they had their core writing unit, but unlike the Beatles and Stones, the prospered on reworking older folk tunes...of which "Mr. Tambourine Man" proved to be their masterwork, making them a musical phenomenon.
However, the flip side was a subtle homage to young love, and not really 'folk' at all--but to me fully represents the "Byrd sound"..."I Knew I'd Want You".
With Gene Clark on a rare lead vocal (and with David Crosby's incredible harmonization), the whole Byrd experience is on display--the Rickenbacker guitar, the harmonies, the smooth rhythms...plus the use of 6/8 time is unusual for a 'rock' song.
Something I never noticed until I read the YouTube comments is that the Moody Blues supposedly "lifted" a great deal of this for "Nights in White Satin"--if so, that makes me like both songs even more.
Sadly, Clark was shuttled back as a writer (mostly b-sides and album tracks, though his tunes were often peformed on television, such as this "Shindig" set) as McGuinn's work was more prominent and considered more commercial (odd, considering the times and how being 'commercial' was considered rather insulting). Ultimately Clark's deaded fear of touring (mostly due to phobias about flying) would lead to drinking and drug use to overcome the traumas, and would lead to his leaving of the Byrds at their peak--a move the group never quite recovered from.
Before that happened, Clark would co-write and sing one of the Byrds' most legendary (and controversial) songs, "Eight Miles High"--about a flight to England to see the Small Faces in concert, but was taken to be entirely about getting stoned. Sad, because "I Knew" gets too little respect, as does Clark, who died from the alcoholism that developed from his very fears of flying and touring...
In 1965, the music workd was undergoing massive changes--the English Invation was in full force; the Motown Sound was throbbing though the airwaves; and the folk music scene was fighting to the last. And, there was the Byrds--a blend of folk, Beatlemania and Dylan.
Like many of the new groups, they had their core writing unit, but unlike the Beatles and Stones, the prospered on reworking older folk tunes...of which "Mr. Tambourine Man" proved to be their masterwork, making them a musical phenomenon.
However, the flip side was a subtle homage to young love, and not really 'folk' at all--but to me fully represents the "Byrd sound"..."I Knew I'd Want You".
With Gene Clark on a rare lead vocal (and with David Crosby's incredible harmonization), the whole Byrd experience is on display--the Rickenbacker guitar, the harmonies, the smooth rhythms...plus the use of 6/8 time is unusual for a 'rock' song.
Something I never noticed until I read the YouTube comments is that the Moody Blues supposedly "lifted" a great deal of this for "Nights in White Satin"--if so, that makes me like both songs even more.
Sadly, Clark was shuttled back as a writer (mostly b-sides and album tracks, though his tunes were often peformed on television, such as this "Shindig" set) as McGuinn's work was more prominent and considered more commercial (odd, considering the times and how being 'commercial' was considered rather insulting). Ultimately Clark's deaded fear of touring (mostly due to phobias about flying) would lead to drinking and drug use to overcome the traumas, and would lead to his leaving of the Byrds at their peak--a move the group never quite recovered from.
Before that happened, Clark would co-write and sing one of the Byrds' most legendary (and controversial) songs, "Eight Miles High"--about a flight to England to see the Small Faces in concert, but was taken to be entirely about getting stoned. Sad, because "I Knew" gets too little respect, as does Clark, who died from the alcoholism that developed from his very fears of flying and touring...
