The Byrds: Mr.Tambourine Man

Year:1965
Rating:13


Now even though rock music was getting back on its feet in 1964, it wasn't fully standing up yet. The problem was that rock music was viewed by music snobs as "amaturish" and "immature". Now this may seem blasphemous but they had a point; rock lyrics at the time were very amaturish and immature. Now Bob Dylan had thoughtful lyrics but he was more of a folk musician than a rock star. Speaking of Dylan, his influence was showing in a lot of people at the time. Most notably The Beatles, as they started focusing more on the lyrics than they usually did. However, they didn't quite mix the values of rock and folk music together completely. So, you may ask; who did?

Well if you have to ask that, the answer will be obvious. (Hint: It starts with a B) I'm going to look at The Byrds debut album which is known to many people as the very first folk-rock album.

Like the Rolling Stones debut there are a lot of covers. 7 this time around, out of 12. (5 originals) Also similar to the Stones debut is that there are 3 different catergories of songs on here and the are as following: Bob Dylan covers, Traditional folk songs and of course, the originals.

The Dylan covers are the best cuts on here. The most famous being the title track originally on the album Brining It All Back Home which came out earlier the same year. It's a great cover obviously. The vocal harmonies are top notch and the guitars give the "jingle-jangle" that was missing from the original. Still however; I prefer the original because it's much more majestic and there is more lyrics. The Byrds actually only included the chorus and the 2nd verse on their version.

The other Dylan covers are great too. My personal favourite song on the album is Chimes Of Freedom, in fact it's the only Dylan cover I've heard that is on par with the original (not better though as some verses are missing and the atmosphere isn't as good) I think they took a greater advantage of the potential of the melody than Dylan did and the chorus is just wonderful with the harmonies. The other two, Spanish Harlem Incident and All I Really Want To Do, are great as well and bring the songs to their fullest potential. Albiet they are very short.

There are 3 other folk tunes on here. The best being the beautiful Bells Of Rhymny. McGuin's voice just takes me away on that one, and the melody ain't no sloth either. Don't Doubt Yourself Babe is very good too. Sounded kind of Bo Diddlyish. I'm not however a big fan of the closing track We'll Meet Again. It just comes across as filler.

Finally we get to the originals. The bands main songwriter was a guy named Gene Clark. He actually wrote around 50 songs for the band but only 5 of them appear here. Anyway, he was a Beatles fan and it shows as some of these songs sound Mersybeatish. Most notably I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better. Listen to it and tell me it doesn't kind of sound like The Beatles. 3-part harmonies, an incrediably catchy melody, crummy lyrics all in a big melting pot. Awesome! It's No Use also sounds sort of Beatlish. It's also the most rocking out song on here, this is still a pop album after all.

The other 3 aren't as good but I still like them. They carry the vibe of this album very well so they get my respect. This was a shorter review then normal but hey, listen, this is a great album. An essential album. Go buy it now, or maybe not. It doesn't to me but it may bore you. If you are, you know, sadistic or something like that.