Artist: The Byrds
Album: Younger Than Yesterday
Year: 1967
The Byrds have been kind of hit and miss for me so far. I thought Mr. Tambourine Man was pretty fantastic (especially the non-singles), but 5th Dimension was, aside from a couple songs, mostly a throwaway. Younger Than Yesterday is an album I had not heard before, but seems to be regarded by some as The Byrds' best, so I was eager to listen.
This album shows The Byrds generally following the same formula that worked for their prior albums. There are poppy singles like "So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star" and "Why," some psychedelia ("Time Gardens," "Renaissance Fair"), gentle folk-rock ("Have You Seen Her Face"), and some that approach country music ("Time Between"). At this point I think I can say I don't much care for the band's overtly "pop" side. Those songs are too sickeningly saccharine for my palate. Their folkier stuff like "Time Between," "My Back Pages," "The Girl with No Name," and "Have You Seen Her Face" are all really nice, gentle Simon & Garfunkel-esque tunes.
As far as this one belonging to the 1001 albums, I think it's kind of a mistake. Same with 5th Dimension, although that one I can understand more since it was one of the original psychedelic albums, with "Eight Miles High" and whatnot. This album is a fine collection of songs, a quite good one in fact, but it doesn't really add anything significant to the band's sound. Plus, I'm of the opinion that their best sets of songs are yet to come. For now, Younger Than Yesterday was a pleasant album to listen to, but I'd have to say it was far from essential.
Rating: Worth a listen
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