Byrds (album) - Background

Background

By 1972, The Byrds' guitarist and leader, Roger McGuinn, had grown dissatisfied with the current version of the group. As the only member to have remained consistent since the band's inception in 1964, McGuinn had steered The Byrds through a dizzying array of line-up changes during the late 1960s. The band's membership had finally stabilized in 1970 but by early 1972 dissension was brewing due to disagreements over band members' pay. As a result of this, Gene Parsons (the band's drummer since 1968) was fired by McGuinn in July 1972 and replaced by stand-in session musician John Guerin. The Byrds continued to tour and record sporadically throughout 1972, but no new single or album was forthcoming.

Concurrently, the four ex-members of The Byrds who, along with McGuinn, had comprised the original mid-1960s line-up of the band were, to an extent, at loose ends: David Crosby had completed his recording and touring obligations for the Graham Nash/David Crosby album; Chris Hillman's work with the Stephen Stills' helmed band Manassas was winding down; Gene Clark's critically lauded but financially unrewarding solo career was in need of a boost; and Michael Clarke had been without a band since the demise of The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1971. Furthermore, none of the careers of the five original band members—with the exception of Crosby—had been as financially rewarding as during the mid-1960s heyday of The Byrds.

Tentative discussions between the five original members of the band, regarding a possible reunion, had taken place as early as July 1971, around the time that the then current line-up of The Byrds were recording their final album, Farther Along. News of these discussions was leaked to the British music press and in late January 1972, one week after the UK release of Farther Along, the front page of Disc and Music Echo proclaimed "Original Byrds To Reform?" The attendant article suggested that the reunion album would be a one-off project and that the current line-up of The Byrds would continue to tour and record, with no question of disbanding.

Meanwhile, with the successful supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on indefinite hiatus, while the individual members worked on other projects, managers David Geffen and Elliot Roberts had seen their attempts to bring a new CSNY album to the marketplace thwarted. In the absence of any new Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young product, Geffen became acutely aware that a historic reunion of the original Byrds could prove to be highly lucrative for all concerned. Thus, in mid-1972, Geffen weighed in with a substantial offer to the five original members to record a reunion album for his Asylum label.

The reunion actually took place in early October 1972, beginning with a rehearsal at McGuinn's house, where the band initially worked on one of the guitarist's new songs. Significantly, the group played none of their old material during this first rehearsal but instead concentrated on selecting suitable songs for a new project. All five musicians were encouraged by the rehearsal and felt sure that they could recreate the magic of The Byrds' golden era. Consequently, they agreed to commence the recording of their first album together in seven years, with the last time that all five had worked together as The Byrds being early 1966, prior to Gene Clark's departure from the band. However, the reunited group were determined that the internal conflict that tore them apart during the 1960s would not be allowed to rear its head again and so, it was agreed that they would not be a band in the traditional sense, but rather a loose arrangement of solo artists, akin to the modus operandi of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With considerable leverage from David Geffen, McGuinn managed to secure permission from Columbia Records—to which he was still contracted—to record a one-off album for Asylum. As part of the deal, Clive Davis, the president of Columbia Records, specified that McGuinn and Crosby would be required to record a joint album together for Columbia, to be released in 1973. However, this planned Crosby/McGuinn album failed to materialize, due to Davis being fired from Columbia shortly after the exchange deal was struck. While the original quintet prepared to record the reunion album, the existing Columbia line-up of The Byrds, featuring McGuinn, Clarence White, Skip Battin, and John Guerin, continued to make concert appearances in the United States.