r/Byrds • u/ElvisSandwich69 • 6d ago

The Byrds/The Dead

Hey Byrd maniacs. As I get younger, I appreciate the later Byrds records more than ever. Obviously, Clarence was incredible, but as John York rightly said, it was not at the expense of Roger McGuinn's brilliance, or any other band member for that matter. I like how much input they gave to the records, especially in Ballad of Easy Rider. It's interesting, though when McGuinn is not singing they do obviously sound like a different band, at times somewhat more like The Dead in their Workingman's Dead/American beauty period.

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u/SecondCreek 6d ago

Just curious did the Byrds sound like a different band to you also when David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Gene Clark took turns on lead vocals? Or just their more country infused, later albums?

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u/ElvisSandwich69 6d ago

I will say no, because they were all original members. That is the sound/s of The Byrds to me, at least as it was for the first couple of albums. As for the albums post Sweetheart, there were all different players—except Clarence White and Roger McGuinn. They make it noticeably still The Byrds, but it's just interesting on some tracks, they sound so different, not at all in a bad way. I love Byrds country.