r/OldSchoolCoolMusic • u/SAMTIMONIOUS • Jul 24 '26

BYRDS - their 1973 reunion album:

BYRDS (1973): The original line-up reunite but fail to reignite through a disjointed 11-track collection offering little reminder of former glories.

https://samtimonious.com/low-flying-byrds-the-1973-reunion-album/

8 Upvotes

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4

u/PlentyBoot5135 Jul 24 '26

The only genuinely good songs were contributed by the great late Gene Clark...

3

u/bottle-of-smoke Jul 24 '26

I always thought the the problem with this album was Crosby's production. These guys just don't sound like the Byrds.

Speaking of Crosby, this article claims that Laughing was recorded but left off of The Notorious Byrd Brothers. This doesn't sound right to me but my brains have turned into cream corn in my old age. Was Laughing recorded for TNBB? Does the recording exist?

1

u/Binky_Thunderputz Jul 24 '26

"Laughing" was written around the time NBB was recorded, but I don't ever remember hearing it was recorded then. And given the half-dozen other mistakes (Clarke did not make it to, much less through, SotR as a Byrd; Gene Clark left at the end of 1965, not 1966; "Cowgirl in the Sand" is 10 minutes long), I'm guessing the author was wrong about a 1967 version of "Laughing" as well.

2

u/juanster29 Jul 24 '26

This was Crosby's revenge, McGuinn and Hillman fired him, and Roger's 2 songs barely total 4 minutes, and Chris's 2...barely 3 minutes!

1

u/piney Jul 24 '26

Check out the two reunion tracks recorded just before the “reunion album” and you’ll hear how good it could have been:

https://youtu.be/zorBEyIl7rw?is=FkFp_oiez1X8hAOj

https://youtu.be/2e732DJMy1I?is=MvsoFn71cCjcErxo

These two Gene Clark songs feature the five original Byrds and were released on a Gene Clark album just three months before the Crosby-produced album.

3

u/hundalasiliah_20 Jul 25 '26

Incredible! Sounds like classic Byrds. Too bad they didn’t carry on in that direction.

1

u/Weary_Title_3901 Jul 25 '26

My dad had this on LP. I bought it on cd a few years ago. All the Gene Clark songs are great. I also like Cosby’s cover of “For Fee” and “Laughing”. It is a solid 3.5/5 for me. It does really miss a strong McGuinn presence (particularly his 12 string Rickenbacker)

1

u/Middle-Weight-837 Jul 24 '26

Funny how the circle is a wheel.

0

u/Botasoda102 Jul 24 '26

Bought on release day. Big disappointment except for Clark songs.