David was one of the greats. A founder member of the Byrds and then Crosby Stills Nash and Young. His singing voice, harmonies and songs have been part of my life forever!
An uncompromising character who set the tone.
Today’s music to keep me IiiINNnnsssaaAAnNNNnEEe – The Byrds – 8 Miles High
Today’s Music to keep me SsssAAAANnNEEe in Isolation – The Byrds – Notorious Byrd Brothers
Today’s Music to keep me SssSSAaAAANNnnNEEEe in Isolation – The Byrds – Fifth Dimension
Today’s Music to keep me SssSsAaaaaANNnnnNeeee in Isolation – The Byrds
The Byrds – I wasn’t Born to Follow
I always think of the Easy Rider film when I hear this. It really captures the feel of those times. A time of mysticism, back to nature and turning our backs on the war machine of capitalist greed that society have evolved into.
Ironically they immediately followed.
“Wasn’t Born To Follow”
Oh I’d rather go and journey where the diamond crest is flowing
And run across the valley beneath the sacred mountain
And wander through the forest, where the trees have leaves of prisms
And break the light in colors that no one knows the names of
And run across the valley beneath the sacred mountain
And wander through the forest, where the trees have leaves of prisms
And break the light in colors that no one knows the names of
And when it’s time I’ll go and wait beside a legendary fountain
Till I see your form reflected in its clear and jeweled waters
And if you think I’m ready, you may lead me to the chasm
Where the rivers of our vision flow into one another
I will want to dive beneath the white cascading waters
She may beg, she may plead, she may argue with her logic
And mention all the things I’ll lose
That really have no value in the end she will surely know
I wasn’t born to follow
Today’s Music to keep me SANE in Isolation – The Byrds
It’s always interesting to me to hear bands that make transitions. A lot of bands get stuck in a rut. Fifty years on and they are still playing the same stuff but some bands, like the Beatles and Stones, constantly pushed the boundaries, reinventing themselves. The Byrds were like that.
I love three of their phases and hated the last two.
They started off as a jangly Folk-Rock band (rather copying and building on the Searchers) who specialised in electric versions of Dylan songs as seen on their first couple of albums.
Then they moved into a psychedelic phase.
The third phase was a kind of spacey Acid-Rock Underground style which culminated in their best album – Notorious Byrd Brothers.
That was followed by what I see as their worst album – Sweetheart of the Rodeo – and a dive into Country Rock and Jesus.
So today I will be playing a lot of early Byrds very loud!! I shall dig their harmonies. A top band.
Today’s Music to keep me SANE in Isolation – the Byrds
The Byrds rose to fame doing electrified covers of Bob Dylan songs complete with jangly guitar (which had a lot to do with the Searchers I always thought). I loved those songs.
They had a big influence on the development of the West Coast Acid Rock scene, developing a spacey psychedelic style. It was their harmonies that brought the music to life.
The Notorious Byrd Brothers was, for me, the epitome of their style. They took it all to new heights. Sadly it was the time when they were falling apart. Crosby was booted out.
After that they went downhill. I never liked the impact of Gran Parsons and then all that Jesus stuff. Jesus wasn’t alright with me. But they still had their moments.
I often get this album out and give it a play. A great album with no dud tracks. It captured the atmosphere of those heady days for me!
So today I’ll be playing my Byrds loud!! I’ll be flying high! Try to catch us if you can!