byrdsongs, xlvii

The final two Byrds records, and really the last three if you count the official reunion album of 1973, are not good. Each of them has some worthwhile nuggets for those of us who are obsessive fans, but there’s no need to bother unless you’re a freak. What makes Byrdmaniax and Farther Along so depressing is that they sound like bad corporate country rock. Call it ccr, not to be confused with CCR, who were cr-ish but not ccr, if you can dig what I’m sayin’. Don’t get me wrong. There’s been some good ccr. The Eagles have their moments, in small doses. Same goes for Poco, and Manasas. And then there's this, of course, with its crunchy riff that takes you by surprise. But those last two Byrds records are bad ccr. The music sounds tapped out and aimless. Roger McGuinn should have packed it in after Untitled, or at least he should have stopped making records and just toured (they were still an amazing live band up to the end). I know this is probably not realistic as tours are generally in suport of records, unless you’re the Grateful Dead. And, let’s face it, there’s only one Grateful Dead. The point is moot in any case. Byrdmaniax and Farther Along were released, and both were critically panned, rightfully so.  But I try to put a positive spin on things when it comes to the Byrds, and I chose to interpret those two records as follows: The Byrds were compelled to make ccr records because ccr was the thing at the time. But they were not capable of making records that would sound corporate and convincing. That’s the thing about the Eagles. There isn’t a shadow of self doubt in their music. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or tolerate them on occasion, you’ve gotta admit that they make supremely confident music. That’s the problem with them, really. There’s a douchey arrogance there that grates after awhile. And there’s never any question whatsoever that the Eagles’ number one priority is to make shitloads of money. Even when they’re self-conscious, it’s not a self-consciousness that warms you to the band at all. It almost seems like the opposite is true, that they’re actively trying to alienate you from their world. But the Byrds were better than that (remember this is my interpretation of things and may or may not bear any resemblance to reality). So when the marketplace demanded ccr, they sounded like they were phoning it in...because they were phoning it in.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it… Jamaica Say You Will is one of my favorite Jackson Browne songs. He made some pretty good (and hyper-self-conscious) ccr-ish records, btw. I much prefer his version of the song, but the Byrds do an ok enough rendition. Such is the degree to which the Byrds had fallen from grace by 1971. The one song I like from Byrdmaniax is merely ok enough…