The Byrds Younger Than Yesterday

This is the fourth album by the Byrds, with Jim McGuinn (lead guitar/vocals), David Crosby (guitar/vocals), Chris Hillman (bass/vocals) and Michael Clarke (drums) joined by a number of studio musicians to help to build upon their 12-string, folk/rock sound with elements of psychedelia and jazz.

These elements are immediately apparent on their hit from the album, "So You Wanna Be a Rock'n'Roll Star". The 12 string dominates, but there is definitely a psych feel (growing out from "Eight Miles High") and the trumpet gives it a bit of a jazzy tone, with terrific counter melodies that enhance the song rather than overpower it. Bassist Hillman rises to prominence on this record, with writing credits and lead vocals on four numbers (he previously had only co-written one), including the Beatles-esque "Have You Seen Her Face". McGuinn returns for his more psychedelic take on their sound in "CTA-102" that has an extensive sound effect section and he co-writes the San Francisco-sounding, harmony-enhanced,  "Renaissance Fair" with Crosby. Hillman's "Time Between" adds some country influences, anticipating upcoming changes in their style, and Crosby closes side one with "Everybody's Been Burned", a nicely written tune which highlights his terrific voice and reminds me of some of his work with CSN&Y, such as "Guinnevere".

Side two opens with Hillman's trippy-pop, "Thoughts and Words", in which McGuinn experiments with a bit of backwards guitar, and Crosby also goes psych (again, maybe some Jefferson Airplane influence?) in "Mind Gardens", with layers of backwards instrumentation, and a bit of resistance from the other members who thought it was overly self-indulgent. They are back to their original feel with a very traditional Byrds-y take on Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages", which always served them well in the past, but simply reached #30 in the charts this time. "The Girl With no Name" continues with Hillman's country-ish feel and the album concluded with the McGuinn/Crosby composition, "Why", a fave of mine and previously released (in a different version) as the B-side of "Eight Miles High" - more incredible harmonies, melodies and 12-string work.

The CD has a number of extra tracks, starting with Crosby's "It Happens Every Day", a sweet, slow, harmony-drenched tune, followed by the uptempo folk/pop of Hillman/McGuinn's "Don't Make Waves", alternative takes of "My Back Pages" (with prominent organ instead of 12-string) and "Mind Gardens" (the acoustic guitar taking more dominance), Crosby's wonderful "Lady Friend" (excellent , superbly catchy tune in the "old school" Byrds style, with some extra instruments added on) and the CD comes to a close with the McGuinn/Hillman "Old John Robertson", which initially sounds like the Byrds with a country feel but throws in an odd bridge and ending just to keep you on your toes.

Pretty solid and stellar record all the way through for those who enjoy this kind of mix of folk, pop, country and pysch!