57. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

Artist: The Byrds
Album: Mr. Tambourine Man
Year: 1965

The Byrds are a band I'm pretty familiar with going into this project. I have a collection of their greatest hits, as well as a few of their albums: 5th Dimension, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Their music pretty much spans the gamut from classic oldies to folk-pop, psychedelia, and even country once Gram Parsons got on board. Past The Beatles, The Byrds may have had the greatest and/or longest-lasting influence of any 1960's band. Bands like R.E.M. would not have existed, or at least would not have sounded the same, without the guitar sound The Byrds perfected two decades prior.

Believe it or not, I hadn't heard The Byrds' debut, Mr. Tambourine Man, but many of these songs were recognizable to me, either from the greatest hits album I have, or from AM radio.

The Byrds' classic sound shows up fully-formed right out of the gate on this album. "Mr. Tambourine Man," penned by Bob Dylan (his version appeared on Bringing It All Back Home), features The Byrds' signature jangly 12-string guitar sound pioneered by Roger McGuinn as well as tremendous vocal harmonies. It's one of the band's quintessential songs and offers the template for their early sound.

This album, otherwise, is a little bit schizophrenic. There are some absolutely gorgeous folk songs here ("Chimes of Freedom," "Here Without You") but some of the poppier numbers just don't fit. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "All I Really Want to Do" are great pop songs, but they feel a bit lightweight for the proceedings here. They feel a little older and out of place. "It's No Use" features the psychedelic sound that the band would become known for in the coming years. It's a fantastic song, as are most of these tunes.

I really can't get over how much "Here Without You" sounds like Fables of the Reconstruction-era R.E.M., or maybe Sister Lovers-era Big Star, or maybe even Thirteen-era Teenage Fanclub. I love it. This very well may be one of the best songs of the 1960's.



Rating: Worth repeated listens