Untitled (The Byrds Album) - Reception

Reception

Upon its release, (Untitled) was met with almost universal critical acclaim and strong international sales, with advance orders alone accounting for the sale of 100,000 copies. The album's success continued the revival of the band's commercial fortunes that had begun with the release of their previous album, Ballad of Easy Rider. Many fans at the time regarded the album as a return to greatness for the band and this opinion was echoed by many journalists. Bud Scoppa, writing in the November 16, 1970 edition of Rock magazine, described the album as "easily their best recorded performance so far - in its own class as much as the records of the old Byrds were - and I think one of the best half-dozen albums of 1970." Ben Edmonds' review in the December issue of Fusion magazine was also full of praise: "(Untitled) is a joyous re-affirmation of life; it is the story of a band reborn. The Byrds continue to grow musically and lead stylistically, but they do so with an unailing sense of their past." Edmonds concluded his review by noting that "History will no doubt bear out the significance of The Byrds' contribution to American popular music, but, for the time being, such speculations are worthless because (Untitled) says that The Byrds will be making their distinctive contributions for quite some time to come."

Another contemporary review by Bruce Harris, published in Jazz & Pop magazine, declared that the album "brings The Byrds back as the super cosmic-cowboys of all time, and is without question their greatest achievement since The Notorious Byrd Brothers." However, Lester Bangs was less enthusiastic about the album in his review for Rolling Stone magazine: "This double album set is probably the most perplexing album The Byrds have ever made. Some of it is fantastic and some is very poor or seemingly indifferent (which is worse), and between the stuff that will rank with their best and the born outtakes lies a lot of rather watery music, which is hard to find much fault with but still harder for even a diehard Byrds freak to work up any enthusiasm about."

In the UK, Disc magazine awarded (Untitled) a top rating of four stars, commenting " is probably the most intelligent collection of songs ever assembled on a double LP... The Byrds show they retain all their imagination yet at the same time retain their unique sound." Roy Carr, writing in the NME, noted that "The Byrds still retain an artistry and freshness unmatched by most others in their genius. Even changes in personnel and direction haven't dulled their appeal or magical charms." Yet another complementary review came from the pen of Richard Williams, who described The Byrds' new album as "simply their most satisfying work to date" in his review for the Melody Maker.

Today, (Untitled) is generally considered by fans and critics to be The Byrds' best latter-day album. In his review for the Allmusic website, Bruce Eder attempted to evaluate the album's significance within the context of The Byrds' back catalogue: "listening to this album nearly 40 years later, it now seems as though this is the place where the latter-day version of the group finally justified itself as something more important than just a continuation of the mid-'60s band." In his 2000 review for The Austin Chronicle, Raoul Hernandez gave the album a rating of four stars out of five, describing it as "beginning with a biting live set before giving way to a studio side of crackling Americana fare." However, renowned rock critic Robert Christgau was disparaging of the album in a review published on his website: "The songs are unworthy except for the anomalous McGuinn showcase "Chestnut Mare," the harmonies are faint or totally absent, and the live performance that comprises half this two-record set...well, I'm sure you had to be there."

(Untitled) was remastered at 20-bit resolution as part of the Columbia/Legacy Byrds series. It was reissued in an expanded form with the new title of (Untitled)/(Unissued) on February 22, 2000. The remastered reissue of the album contains an entire bonus CD of previously unreleased live and studio material from the period. The six studio based bonus tracks on the reissue include alternate versions of "All the Things", "Yesterday's Train", and "Lover of the Bayou", along with the outtake "Kathleen's Song". The remaining eight bonus tracks are live recordings taken from The Byrds' concerts on March 1, 1970 at the Felt Forum and September 23, 1970 at the Fillmore East.