The Byrds - 1973 Byrds (reunion)

Byrds is the 12th album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in March 1973. It was recorded as the centerpiece of a reunion between the five original members of The Byrds: Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, ChrisHillman, and Michael Clarke. The last time that all five members had worked together as The Byrds was in 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. During the reunion, the current, latter-day line-up of the band continued tomake live appearances until February 1973, with McGuinn being the only member common to both versions of the group.

00:00 Full Circle (Gene Clark) – 2:43
02:43 Sweet Mary (Roger McGuinn, Jacques Levy) – 2:55
05:39 Changing Heart (Gene Clark) – 2:42
08:22 For Free (Joni Mitchell) – 3:50
12:13 Born to Rock 'n' Roll (Roger McGuinn) – 3:12
15:26 Things Will Be Better (Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor) – 2:13
17:40 Cowgirl in the Sand (Neil Young) – 3:24
21:05 Long Live the King (David Crosby) – 2:17
23:24 Borrowing Time (Chris Hillman, Joe Lala) – 2:00
25:25 Laughing (David Crosby) – 5:38
31:05 (See the Sky) About to Rain (Neil Young) – 3:49

Roger McGuinn – guitar, banjo, Moog synthesizer, vocals
Gene Clark - guitar, harmonica, tambourine, vocals
David Crosby - guitar, vocals
Chris Hillman – electric bass, guitar, mandolin, vocals
Michael Clarke – drums, congas, percussion

Additional Personnel
Wilton Felder - electric bass on "Cowgirl in the Sand"
Johnny Barbata - drums on "Cowgirl in the Sand"
Dallas Taylor - congas, tambourine


Upon its release, Byrds received generally poor reviews, with many critics bemoaning a lack of sonic unity and the absence of The Byrds' signature jangly guitar sound among the album's shortcomings. Nonetheless, the album reached #20 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and was also moderately successful in the United Kingdom, where it reached #31. In the U.S., Byrds was the band's highest charting album of new material since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!, which had also been the last Byrds' album to feature Clark as a full member. Three of the album's songs, Full Circle, Things Will Be Better, and Cowgirl in the Sand, were released as singles during 1973 but none of these releases became hits. Byrds is notable for being the last studio album to be recorded by the band to date.