A tribute to The Byrds. The Third Volume features songs that The Byrds recorded during the Fifth Dimension and Younger Than Yesterday era. This is a RRO Digital Download ONLY Release.

10 MP3 Songs
POP: Jangle Pop, ROCK: Psychedelic



Details:
TIMELESS FLYTE-A TRIBUTE TO THE BYRDS!
The largest tribute EVER to the Byrds, this is Volume 3- "Eight Miles High" in a four volume series featuring great artists of today's Rock, Jangle Pop, Country and Alternative contemporary scene interpreting great Byrds classic songs.

John Einarson, author of "Mr. Tambourine Man-The Life And Times Of Gene Clark, writes:

Imagine a world with no Byrds.

What if the Byrds had never existed?

How would the course of popular music have unfolded had Kansas country boy Gene Clark, fleeing the narrow confines of the New Christy Minstrelsâ homogenized folk-pop in early 1964, not chanced upon another ex-folk acolyte, Chicago-born Jim (Roger) McGuinn formerly with the Limeliters and Bobby Darin, at the Troubadour?

And if yet another folk music refugee, LA brat David Crosby, had not chipped in a harmony part to their Peter & Gordon-style duo? Or die hard bluegrass aficionado Chris Hillman had remained with The Hillmen, content to peel off rapid fire mandolin solos; or if Michael Clarke had not been walking down that street or that beach (depending on whoâs telling the story) and not been spotted by Crosby?

How would the music world, both then and now, have suffered from the absence of this seminal California group?

While a handful of folkies had already begun testing the uncharted electric folk waters once the Beatles hit these shores, it was the Byrds who defined the signature sound universally identified as folk-rock â that chiming jingle-jangle Rickenbacker electric 12-string and rich harmonic blend. They were the avatars of a new style, direction and substance, popularizing a wholly original genre of rock music for the plethora of artists who followed in their wake. Their sterling electric Donât Worry Baby-inspired rendition of Dylanâs rambling folk chestnut Mr. Tambourine Man gave courage to its creator to dive headfirst into the uncharted folk-rock waters himself.

With Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! The Byrds shifted rock ânâ roll away from pedestrian boy-girl, cars, surfing and beach bunny themes giving it a truly literary sensibility, a marriage of poetry to a British Invasion beat. Theirs was the new sound of California, steeped in folk roots pumped through Fender Dual Showmans to gyrating patrons at Ciroâs on the Sunset Strip. In doing so they influenced the kingpins themselves, The Beatles, who were unabashed Byrds fans (just listen to If I Needed Someone).

Virtually every recording artist since (not just those who wear their Byrds influences on their sleeves like REM, the Stone Roses and Tom Petty) owes a debt of gratitude to the Byrds for turning rock ânâ roll into a true art form. âI remember a promotion guy asking me for the lyrics to Mr. Tambourine Man so he could give it to a disc jockey in San Francisco,â recalls CBS promo man Billy James. âIt was poetry, it wasnât Sheâs So Fine.â

Not content to rest on these extraordinary accomplishments, the Byrds turned folk-rock on its ear in 1966 with Eight Miles High, an aural assault on the senses like nothing heard or conceived before or since. This was music without context, without borders, and, like a year earlier with folk-rock, without a name or label. Boldly integrating John Coltrane freeform jazz with Ravi Shankarâs hypnotic Indian ragas in the fluid guitar lines of McGuinnâs Rickenbacker, once again it was the Byrds pointing the way to what would be known variously as raga-rock, acid-rock, and ultimately psychedelia a full year before all those San Francisco groups became synonymous with that epithet. âThe guitar break was obviously a tribute to John Coltrane,â McGuinn acknowledges. âThatâs one of my favorite guitar things Iâve done.â

Even before the psychedelic wave crested, it was the Byrds again at the forefront bringing it all back home to a simpler roots-based American music, daring to bridge the deep cultural divide that separated rock music and country music by embracing both Nashville and Bakersfield on an album that marks ground zero for country-rock and later alt.country and Americana: 1968âs landmark Sweetheart of The Rodeo. While others were content to wet their feet in country music, dabbling in its familiar textures, the Byrds dove in all the way.

With Sweetheart of The Rodeo and the albums that followed it, the Byrds became the first top echelon group to wholly embrace and legitimize country music making it hip for the hippies and leading the way for all the SoCal A&M/Asylum Records stable to follow. âIt all begins with the Byrds,â asserts Hillman on the roots of country-rock, âand I will argue that point with anybody. We took the ball downfield and the Eagles took it into the end zone for ten touchdowns.â

This time though it wasnât McGuinnâs Rickenbacker but newcomer Gram Parsonsâ heart-on-his-sleeve voice and Clarence Whiteâs distinctive stringbender twang defining an entirely fresh, innovative sound that propelled the group through several albums. Todayâs crop of country music artists werenât weaned on Hank, Lefty and Buck but on the Byrds and their many offshoots, and through them connected the dots back to their traditional roots.

So where would popular music be today without the Byrds? Folk-rock? Acid-rock? Psychedelic-rock? Country-rock? Alt. country? And all those inspired and influenced by their music, including the artists on this tribute? Enough said.

And what of the Byrdsâ offspring? Without their success as his springboard Crosby might never have hooked up with Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young â and maybe no Stills and Young either as the Buffalo Springfield got their earliest breaks via the patronage of the Byrds). Master of the minor key melancholy ballad, Gene Clark would never have teamed up with Douglas Dillard in their trailblazing Expedition, nor duet with Carla Olson on their seminal â80s roots album. âNew Countryâ would not have been transformed by Chris Hillmanâs hit making Desert Rose Band. Country-rockâs own ill-starred Hank Williams, Gram Parsons might have continued to toil in the woefully neglected International Submarine Band. Nor would he and Hillman have hitched their wagons as revered country-rock renegades the Flying Burrito Brothers. Clarence White may have remained a respected yet largely anonymous session player; not to mention Firefall, McGuinn, Clark & Hillman, CPR, Thunderbyrd, Firebyrd and on and on.

The Byrdsâ body of work remains both influential and essential, not preserved in amber or trapped in some nostalgia time warp, as vital today as it was some 40 years ago. Their music continues to resonate across generations, eras, timelines, and cultures. âThat music is greater than any of us,â notes latter day Byrd John York on the bandâs legacy, âbecause when weâre all gone people will still be playing Turn! Turn! Turn!â

âThe thing that [manager] Jim Dickson drilled into our heads,â offers Hillman, musing on the enduring impact of the Byrds, âwas, âGo for substance. Go for depth in your material.â And he was absolutely right. He used to tell us, âDo something youâre going to be proud of in ten years.â Thatâs a very important concept to instill in nineteen or twenty year old kids.â

McGuinn concurs. âIâm very proud of our work together. Like Dickson said we did work that not only stands up ten years later but forty years later.â
John Einarson is author of âMr. Tambourine Man: The Life and Legacy of The Byrdsâ Gene Clarkâ (Backbeat Books, 2005)

SOME LINER NOTES ON THE SONGS AND ARTISTS ON "EIGHT MILES HIGH"

ERIC SORENSEN, noted "jangle" rock journalist and Project Manager for this disc offers a track by track commentary for this Third Volume of TIMELESS FLYTE- A Tribute To The Byrds (Eight Miles High):

âEight Miles Highâ â Les Fradkin. This complex song cannot be covered by just anyone, and Lesâ version proves that he understands the complexities ⦠and he could have recorded this entire compilation himself. Itâs hard to believe that it has been 40 years since the original version of this song ruled the AM airwaves.

âRenaissance Fairâ â Andrew Gold. Multi-track artist Andrew Gold turned this assignment into a stunning opus featuring the music from the Byrds song and another âfirstâ that he experienced at a 1960s Renaissance Fair. Andrew is also a member of the Byrds of a Feather all-star band that performs Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and CSNY songs. Lucky are the handful of L.A. fans who have seen this band perform live!

"Mr. Spacemanâ â Dave Zane

âSo You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Starâ â Les Fradkin. From Les' successful CD "Goin' Back."

âHave You Seen Her Faceâ â Bedsit Poets. Edward Rogers and Amanda Thorpe team up as the Bedsit Poets to treat listeners to a Merseybeat interpretation of this upbeat Byrds tune. Check out their full-length disc and you will discover further their fondness for 60s-influenced pop music.

â5Dâ â Bill Kaffenberger. I have stood in line behind Bill Kaffenberger waiting to have merchandise autographed by Roger McGuinn. I used to read the Mid-Atlantic reports that Bill would write for âFull Circle,â the Byrds fanzine. I even purchased Byrds items from Bill via eBay ⦠but I never met Bill in person until I read about his first album on the Byrds website and I discovered that he lived near me in northern Virginia. I have since enjoyed several of Billâs local coffeehouse performances, and I have written about both of his Byrds-influenced CDs in my INTERNET column. Bill is a Roger McGuinn disciple, and it was only natural that Bill chose a McGuinn composition for this project.

âI Know My Riderâ â Bobby Sutliff. Without sounding like a broken record, I will describe Bobby Sutliff as one of the sweetest guys in the indie pop music scene (the description applies to several others as well!) Bobby may be too humble to admit this himself, but he deferred to the requests from other artists for other tracks ⦠and selected this track from the Byrds box set (it was never included on any of the Byrds 1960s albums) as his track for this tribute project. Bobbyâs version of âI Know My Riderâ is spot-on, and he deserves our âTeam Playerâ award for his willingness to put the interest of the entire project ahead of his own wishes while delivering a top-notch track.

âI Know My Riderâ â Bobby Sutliff. Without sounding like a broken record, I will describe Bobby Sutliff as one of the sweetest guys in the indie pop music scene (the description applies to several others as well!) Bobby may be too humble to admit this himself, but he deferred to the requests from other artists for other tracks ⦠and selected this track from the Byrds box set (it was never included on any of the Byrds 1960s albums) as his track for this tribute project. Bobbyâs version of âI Know My Riderâ is spot-on, and he deserves our âTeam Playerâ award for his willingness to put the interest of the entire project ahead of his own wishes while delivering a top-notch track.

âEverybodyâs Been Burnedâ â Girls Say Yes. Jim Huie said he tried to channel David Crosby into his vocals on this song. Paisley Pop recording artists Girls Say Yes turn in a very respectful take of this AOR track.

âThoughts And Wordsâ â Bob Harris. Imagine a psychedelic-era Byrds tune given a contemporary acappella treatment that reminds me of the Nylons ⦠and you have an inkling of Bob Harrisâ creative interpretation of this song.

âWhyâ â Jim Dessey. Dessey turns in a fresh, crisp and chiming version of this under-rated Byrds song.