This same comment pertains to but is less true of another folk ballad, “Wild Mountain Thyme.” The violins on both cuts are too loud, if they aren’t out of place altogether. However, the vocal lead is simply not strong enough to put it over. “John Riley” was a good idea it is, of course, a really beautiful ballad. That leaves us with three genuinely unusual cuts on the album. The jet sounds in the background simply do not come off. “Hey Joe” proves that McGuinn can really play the guitar, while “Captain Soul” should have stayed on the flip side of the “5D” single. In addition it is the only cut on which the sitar is used effectively in a Western melody. “Eight Miles High” (a song about a jet plane trip to London, according to McGuinn) is a fine tune, especially instrumentally (a pat on the back to Mike Clarke). The vocal, which is either by Crosby or McGuinn, is one of the best on the LP. I find the intrusion of the Eastern sound into a totally Western melody more an annoyance than anything else, both on this cut and especially on “What’s Happening.” The latter is a beautiful song by Dave Crosby but could have been done far more effectively without Indian-sounding instrumental breaks after each verse. “I See You” is a so-so uptempo tune and features the famous Byrds “raga-rock” (a term McGuinn jokingly coined himself). He does sing live, although formerly he did not.) (Through this whole record, I might add, it’s hard to tell when and if bassist Hillman is filling in the third vocal part. I can’t help but think that the old Byrds would have done it better. Spaceman” is a McGuinn original with nice words but no real melodic strong point. The title tune is a good number with McGuinn sounding better than I’ve ever heard him before, and Mike Clarke contributing a fine bit of rock-waltz drumming. ![]() (The album includes only one song with Gene-”Eight Miles High.”) For the first time, vocal solos are emphasized and, also a first, the instrumental patterns are varied, more so than in the past. Gene, whose lead vocals in the past included “Feel a Whole Lot Better” and “Set You Free,” was by far the best writer in the group, and although leader Jim McGuinn usually sang lead, Gene clearly had the best voice.Īs a result of Clark’s departure, Fifth Dimension has a sound quite different from previous Byrds records. Unfortunately, they recently lost vocalist Gene Clark, who has gone on to organize Gene Clark and the Group, and the new album suffers greatly from this loss. The more you listen to them, the more you realize there is to what they’re doing. Tambourine Man.” Their sonorous and overpowering (though technically simple) backgrounds have a way of just pulling the listener along. The Byrds have been personal favorites of mine since “Mr. This article originally appeared in Issue 5 of Crawdaddy in Sept.
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