byrdsongs, xli

Untitled would have made a kick-ass single LP, as opposed to the overstuffed double LP it became. I’ve said this before but double LPs never turn out well, or at least there’s never an instance I can think of - whether the record in question is a live or studio recording - where the two record set wouldn’t have been better as a single LP.  Perhaps it’s just that I have a short attention span, but my hierarchy is as follows: The 45RPM single is preferable to an LP; an LP is vastly preferable to a double LP; and a double LP greatest hits collection is superior to a box set, especially one that’s loaded with bad outtakes, and farts, and everything else the record companies use to extract maximum value out of back catalogues. But now that everything is digitized, these issues are all pretty much moot.  And yet I continue to get exercised by them, as if arguing with a windmill, or an empty chair.  …If it had been my choice to make, I would have cut out all the live stuff on Untitled, with the exception of tonight’s track, and I’d have additionally cut out the dull-as-a-doorknob seven-minute Skip Baitin song that closes the album, and then you’d be left with a really great record, solid and tight.  As it is, Untitled is still my favorite of the Clarence White-era Byrds albums.  The studio material is generally a pleasing fusion of folk and country rock, giving off a relaxed vibe perfect for staying in and rolling a number on a Saturday afternoon.  Lover of the Bayou is the one live track on the record I like and is actually one of my all-time favorite Byrdsongs.  I don’t think I’ve ever heard two guitars blend more exquisitely. McGuinn’s rhythm guitar chimes out with its usual loveliness.  I could listen to his Ricky everyday and never get enough of it. But it’s really the passion and fury of White’s slithery Telecaster that makes the song sizzle and pop.  Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a fine hand for the Byrds!