The Byrds - "Fifth Dimension" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, 1966 (Columbia)

The Byrds are a classic band that had a busy and successful career.  From 1965 to 1967 at the very least the David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Jim (Roger) McGuinn and Gene Clark years were the prominent landscape of their classic sound, which in a nutshell would be their harmonies, Jim's 12-string electric guitar, and a relationship between folk and psychedelic music.  On paper, it sounds perfect to me, but in actuality, I have always had a problem with The Byrds. 

I liked them, but compared to my friends for the last few decades or so, who see them perhaps as the most important band, I, on the other hand, found them conventional.  As a young teenager, I bought their albums up to "Younger Than Yesterday," but when they turned to country on the next album, "Sweethearts of Rodeo," I couldn't deal with that identity nor sound.  But even before "Sweethearts" there is something about their overall sound that was pleasing, but not fitting in as a band, or a singular identity, and that I have always found troubling.  I recently purchased an original mono copy of "Fifth Dimension," which was my favorite Byrds album as a young tot, and I still remember playing this album over and over again in my bedroom on a very cheap and portable turntable.  The density of McGinn's great 12-string electric guitar freak-outs in the midst of Crosby and others perfect harmonies or folk-related ballads was an interesting relationship between noise/chaos and rigid pop/folk melodies.   I have thought that McGuinn was going one direction and the rest of the band to another part of the world.  Even though Crosby's songwriting had an Eastern drone, it was never as fascinating as The Beatles experimental approach to the drone, or of course, the music being made by John Cale, Tony Conrad in New York City around that time. 

Still, the one song that is a massive standout on "Fifth Dimension" is "Eight Miles High." A work of beautiful perfection that is either a fearful look at flying or a narcotic reaction - but for me, it works as a musical version of a phobia for being in a metal machine in the sky.  The opening cut on side one is "5D (Fith Dimension)" with Van Dyke Parks on organ, is a great swell of sounds, with a wonderful McGuinn vocal.  The rest is enjoyable filler.  Like a lot of bands during that period, they also do a version of "Hey Joe" which is lame compared to The Leaves, Love, and the brilliant Jimi Hendrix version that will come out later either that year 1966 or in 1967.  

I understand the importance and stance of The Byrds, and why they are so beloved by their fans, but for me, they never went far enough with their sound.  Los Angeles had a fantastic run of great music/bands at this time, and when you compare The Byrds to either Buffalo Springfield or the great Love, they come off as weak and an afterthought.  Still, I find some pleasure in their rubble. 

The Byrds - "Turn! Turn! Turn!" b/w "Eight Miles High" 45 rpm Single, Vinyl, Reissue (Columbia)

Without a doubt, the Los Angeles band The Byrds are probably the most respected band in my small world of record fiends.  We had the first Byrds album when it first came out, and I have to presume that my dad bought it.  He didn't play it that much, but I listened to it a lot.   One couldn't avoid the presence of The Byrds in Los Angeles during 1965 and 1966.  For one, the connection they had with Bob Dylan was a serious relationship between those who followed Dylan's career at the time, and also radio stations like KRLA and KHJ played Byrds music a lot.   To this day I have told people I admired The Byrds, and one has to because of their ability to do certain types of musical styles throughout the years.  From folk to psychedelic to country, they seemed to adopt musical landscapes like one changing their kaftan in the morning to work clothes for the ranch by the afternoon.   It's strange for me to write this, but they are probably my most unfavorite Los Angeles band. 

I have admired their recordings, and I have purchased their albums to the point (in its original releases) up to "Younger Than Yesterday."  The truth is I never really cared for these albums.  Perfectly crafted pop songs and some are even beyond that, for instance, the great "Eight Miles High."  A brilliant melody, with incredible guitar work from McGuinn, it's a beautiful piece of music.  I have always taken the song at heart that it is about flying above the ground, and not drugs.  If it was about drugs, I feel that imagery would have cheapened the song.  I prefer the thought of someone reflecting on a flight, or about landing on the ground.  "Turn! Turn! Turn!" an older song by The Byrds, and adopted by Pete Seeger from the Book of Ecclesiastes, is lush and the perfect vocalization is a sound to admire.  My aesthetic is to crush that sort of beauty, and I preferred the sound of the rave-up of The Yardbirds.  To me, that was sound that I could identify with, due to my young angst at the time.  

For decades I have always had a problem with David Crosby.  I don't know him, but he still struck me as an annoying presence in the pop music world.  I never liked his clothing style or hair, nor do I like his voice that much.  The only thing I do like about him (artistically) is that he once made music with Les Baxter, during his exotica days.   Nor do I care for his solo recordings, or the songs he wrote for CSN&Y.   The songs he wrote for The Byrds were horrible.  Saying that I know there are at least three or four generations of music lovers who disagree with me.  I respect that and them as fans and music lovers.  Still, "Eight Miles High" is a work of perfection.  And for that reason alone, I hesitantly admire The Byrds for that single recording.