The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the fifth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in January 1968 on Columbia Records (see 1968 in music). Musically, the album represents the pinnacle of The Byrds' psychedelic experimentation, with the band blending together elements of folk rock, psychedelic rock, country music, electronic music, baroque pop and jazz on many of the songs. Of these disparate styles, the subtle country and western influences evident on a number of tracks pointed towards the full-blown country rock direction that the band would pursue on their next album. In addition, The Notorious Byrd Brothers saw the band and record producer Gary Usher making extensive use of a number of studio effects and production techniques, including phasing, flanging, and spatial panning. The Byrds also introduced the sound of the pedal steel guitar and the Moog modular synthesizer into their music for the first time on the album, making it one of the first LP releases on which the Moog appears.

Recording sessions for the album took place throughout the latter half of 1967 and were fraught with tension, resulting in the loss of two members of the band. Rhythm guitarist David Crosby was fired in October 1967 and drummer Michael Clarke left the band midway through recording, returning briefly before finally being dismissed after completion of the album. Additionally, original band member Gene Clark, who had left the group in early 1966, rejoined for three weeks during the making of the album, before leaving again. Author Ric Menck has noted that in spite of these changes in personnel and the conflict surrounding its creation, The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the band's most cohesive and ethereal-sounding album statement.

Upon its release, the album reached #47 on the Billboard Top LPs chart and #12 on the UK Album Chart. A cover of the Gerry Goffin and Carole King song "Goin' Back" was released in October 1967 as the lead single from the album to mild chart success. Although The Notorious Byrd Brothers was critically praised at the time of its release, it was only moderately successful commercially, particularly in the United States. However, the album is today widely considered to be one of The Byrds' best LP releases, as well as their most experimental and progressive.