The Byrds
1966
Tracks
1. 5D Fifth Dimension
2. Wild Mountain Thyme
3. Mr Spaceman
4. I See You
5. What's Happening
6. I Come And Stand At Every Door
7. Eight Miles High
8. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
9. Captain Soul
10. John Riley
11. 2 4 2 Foxtrot (The Lear Jet Song)
Amanda: The book was on the defensive for including this album in the list. A lot of people think this album is uneven and The Byrds' worst work. Which of course, means that I loved it because my taste in music is just awful.
I prefer the term "varied" over "uneven". The song "John Riley" is completely different than "5D Fifth Dimension" but they are both fantastic. The Byrds have such calming, unique voices. I did like their previous album better, but that is not to say that this album sucked. It is just underrated. Brie called me a hipster yesterday when we were watching Nightmare on Elm Street. Does this solidify your claim, Brie?:)
RATING:
Brie: Question: why is this album so bad? Well, I don't have an answer for you. There is a track called "What's Happening?!?!". Yeah, I'm asking myself the same question. The only good song on the album was "Eight Miles High". I actually found myself laughing at how absurd it is that we have to listen to this. I mean, come on! Fifth Dimension is so half-assed and unimpressive. And why would the critics who put together the 1001 book include The Byrds' worst album? Next! (The next album is actually Blonde On Blonde!!!) There are butterflies in my stomach because of how excited I am. :)
Actually, I take back calling you a hipster. After all of this time being your best friend, I still have no idea what your taste in music is. Also, you didn't get defensive when I called you that, so you are definitely not a hipster. (Ironically, they say you can tell if someone is a hipster by calling them a hipster, then if they freak out they are a hipster, but if they don't mind being called a hipster, they are not a hipster.... so, yeah.) Woah, I typed 'hipster' an overwhelming amount of times in this paragraph. Sorry about that.
RATING:
The main problem is the other band members had not yet developed as songwriters to make up for the departure of Gene Clark. David Crosby begins to do so with "What's Happening" which I liked a lot. And "Eight Miles High" is a very great recording. The rest is pretty ho-hum. They lack direction, for example the traditional songs were a good idea but the strings production on them was not.
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