This week's throwback was the first great album of 1968, a revolutionary year in both world politics and music. As such, it has an interesting narrative behind it. Notorious Byrd Brothers was defined by gorgeous pop harmonies, inventive utilization of synths, samples, distortions, psychedelic rock and country-rock. Everything a modern rock needed to have, this one had it. Yet, this big harmonious record was preceded by a big fight among brothers.
Byrds have started making this album in the summer of 1967. They were a quartet then, an experienced group who manifested anthological Younger Than Yesterday and Fifth Dimension. When Gene Clark joined them, the world was rich with Mr.Tambourine Man and Turn!Turn!Turn!
Four months mater, the quartet became a duo. David Crosby and Michael Clarke have left the band. While Clarke was replaced with a better drummer, the lack of sensibility and jazz-craftsmanship of David Crosby was a threat to the future existence of The Byrds. David was against the psychedelic cover of Dusty Springfield’s Goin Back. He also didn't want to release his own song Triad. Gene Clarke returned to the group for about three weeks and contributed to the song Get To You. Other members, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman were on their creative pinnacle, ready to craft music masterpieces.
Crosby was somewhat right - Triad sounded much better when performed by Jefferson Plane, and Goin Back was not well received by the critics. On the other hand, he admitted that he was on heroin at that time, so that is why he wasn't an easy person to work with.
The Byrds were also struggling with PR. Mastodonic single Eight Miles High (1966) was partially censored because of its narcotic hints, while no one cared when they wrote a song about speed titled Artificial Energy. Commercially, the band failed with Notorious Byrd Brothers, but it became a cult classic. When you listen to MGMT's Oracular Spectacular or King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, you will realize that their arrangements and solutions would not be possible If there wasn't this record.
