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Bobby Dylan vs. The Byrds


LC

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OK, How's this for a lineup. McGuinn, Petty, Clapton, Young, Harrison and Dylan, with Steve Cropper and GE Smith backing 'em up on guitar. I like everything except Clapton's solo, which seems a bit out of place, to me.

Hmmm, I'm not all that keen on Bob's vocal, either, but we'll give him a pass because he wrote this great song.

I'm beginning to think there must be something wrong with me, because I seem to be the only person alive that doesn't care for Clapton's playing. I know he's a great "technician', but his guitar playing doesn't move me. I find Neil Young's solo much more appealing, in all it's rawness, on this one.

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Eric Carmen said:

OK, How's this for a lineup. McGuinn, Petty, Clapton, Young, Harrison and Dylan, with Steve Cropper and GE Smith backing 'em up on guitar. I like everything except Clapton's solo, which seems a bit out of place, to me.

Awesome! Now those are some serious players. And I love Neil; and he really gets into it here. Thanks for posting this one!

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PS: That's interesting about Clapton. I like him enough -- but there are other guitarists that "move" me more, like Wally, and George, and Lindsey Buckingham.... I actually haven't bought many Clapton albums over the years (what a huge catalog!), although Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is one of my all-time favorite albums. Also, I loved what he did for the George Harrison tribute concert a few years ago -- great DVD set to watch.

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Hollies, that close-up view of McGuinn playing "Turn Turn Turn" on a 12-string is a real treat. It also led me to this nice (recent) interview video with McGuinn, where he recalls, at about 1:15, how the Beatles inspired the Byrds. He talked about how he and other members of the band went to see A Hard Day's Night, and after getting a look at Harrison's 12-string guitar, he immediately traded in his 6-string Rick for a 12-string.

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And... if this doesn't make you smile, nothing will. (It's Dylan joining the Byrds for "Mr. Tambourine Man" at a c. 1990 concert. I like when McGuinn slides over to share a mic with Dylan. David Crosby is obviously enjoying this one.)

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I agree about Eric Clapton's solo. Way too slick for me. I felt the same way about his appearance on the "Blue Suede Shoes" DVD with Carl Perkins and George Harrison. The blues based solos seemed out of place compared to the great rockabilly solos by Carl, George, and Dave Edmunds.

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  • 13 years later...
On 1/20/2009 at 10:45 AM, LC said:

And... if this doesn't make you smile, nothing will. (It's Dylan joining the Byrds for "Mr. Tambourine Man" at a c. 1990 concert. I like when McGuinn slides over to share a mic with Dylan. David Crosby is obviously enjoying this one.)

A bump for a great old thread, where the Byrds are celebrated by a few of us. This video is so great—Bob Dylan sauntering on stage, mid-song. Have you ever seen musicians having so much fun?

The thread is also noteworthy because Eric listed his seven favorite Byrds songs. We have become list-crazy in recent years....

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Gene Clark was a friend and once told me that Doris Day's son, producer Terry Melcher, had the Wrecking Crew perform the musical tracks for Mr. Tambourine Man & the B side, Gene's  ethereal composition, I Knew I'd Want You.

Gene said that only McGuinn was allowed to play with the Wrecking Crew.  The rest were too inexperienced.

Terry did allow the band to play their own instruments on the rest of the album, but he wanted that debut single to be perfect.

Interesting to note that EC cited errors on the tracks not recorded by the Wrecking Crew.  Guess Terry was right!!!

I am completely enamored of Gene's gorgeous & seductive voice which was silenced much too soon.

Gene's voice paired with McGuinn's talent gave a new life to Dylan's catalog.

Dylan's versions are iconic.

The Byrds' versions are beautiful.

I like the Byrds' catalog, but the post Gene era lacks that ethereal quality that only his voice and songwriting could give.

"If you wanna be a Byrd, you gotta fly, man."

 

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I agree with your assessments here, Susie. That's awesome that Gene Clark was a friend—how cool! How did your paths cross? 

I was just nosing around YouTube and I stumbled upon this great old song. I remember the first time I ever heard it—I would have bet you millions on the spot that it was George Harrison's new single (it was from 1979, and I knew George had a new album coming out). It's so Harrison-esque, I couldn't believe it was actually McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman ("Don't You Write Her Off Like That"). Of course, I was hearing it that first time at my college pub, so... I didn't have the benefit of audio clarity. Still...

 

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