If you only know the Byrds from their famous early singles like “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Feel a Whole Lot Better”, this late model track from 1969’s Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde might just hit you like a ton of bricks.
In a band that existed from 1964-1973, the Byrds’ only constant wound up being Roger McGuinn, as they became as famous for line up changes and stylistic shifts as for their musical output. But what remains now after all that history is put away is the glorious music throughout their many iterations. Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde inaugurates the Clarence White-era of the band and follows directly after Gram Parsons‘ departure. So while the album still resonates with the influence of Parsons’ innovative country-rock synthesis on such tracks as the all-time great “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” and the traditional ode to a deceased hound dog “Old Blue”, the other tracks border on heavy metal, with White’s heavily distorted and piercing guitar solos soaring over McGuinn’s ominous doom & gloom vocals, all surrounded by John York’s thundering bass and multi-instrmentalist Gene Parsons thumping out a brutal rhythm on the skins. Tracks like “Whiskey” and the scorching cover of Dylan & Danko’s “This Wheel’s On Fire” come fascinatingly close to Led Zeppelin-esque heaviness almost simultaneous to the release of Led Zep I. But then the Byrds in all their incarnations were always trailblazers and at the sharp end of musical trends. From adapting Dylan into 3-minute chiming folk rock pop songs to the raga-inspired psychedelia of “Eight Miles High” to the amazingly unlikely and artistically significant Gram Parsons-Roger McGuinn country rock of Sweethearts of the Rodeo, the Byrds always seemed to be one step ahead of the pack even if they didn’t always reap the commercial rewards of such foresight. Reflecting the prevailing mood of pessimism at the end of the 60s, the late-era gem “Bad Night at the Whiskey” shows the Byrds still had plenty to offer the world of Rock ‘n Roll even if they couldn’t quite make up their mind which way they wanted to fly off to next.
