Although Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, and Chris Hillman were founding members of the Byrds, when they reunited as a trio at the end of the 1970s they seemed determined to create a sound that did not remind listeners of the earlier group. Though their music was still mainstream pop/rock with folk antecedents, it sounded like contemporary '70s studio rock, even to the point of including a song with a disco arrangement, "Release Me Girl." More important, the trio's vocal blend, heavily augmented by the voices of John Sambataro and Rhodes, Chalmers & Rhodes, did not remind listeners of the Byrds. The major reason for this was the back seat that McGuinn, the virtual leader of the Byrds, took in the new group. He had only two compositions, to Hillman's three and Clark's four, on the record, and they were his only lead vocals. Otherwise, his reedy tenor faded into the background, with Clark and Hillman singing lead most of the time.
But if the group didn't sound like the Byrds, they often did sound like the Eagles, the group that had inherited the Byrds' mantle in the '70s. Hillman's "Sad Boy," for example, could have passed for a Glenn Frey-led Eagles song. Ironically, and perhaps deliberately, given record company machinations, the single released from the album was McGuinn's "Don't You Write Her Off," which rose into the Top 40, taking the album with it. But what probably helped the group and the album most was that in 1979 more than two years had passed since the last Eagles album, leaving fans hungry for a soundalike. If the trio had an appealing sound, however, they lacked substance.
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
1. Long Long Time (Chris Hillman, Ramsey, Rick Roberts) - 3:11
2. Little Mama (Gene Clark) - 4:17
3. Don't You Write Her Off (Bob Hippard, Roger McGuinn) - 3:19
4. Surrender To Me (Rick Vito) - 3:37
5. Backstage Pass (Gene Clark) - 4:28
6. Stopping Traffic (Chris Hillman, Knobler) - 3:20
7. Feelin' Higher (Gene Clark, Jim Messina) - 5:22
8. Sad Boy (Chris Hillman) - 4:05
9. Release Me Girl (Gene Clark, Thomas Jefferson Kaye) - 3:55
10.Bye, Bye Baby (Bob Hippard, Roger McGuinn) - 3:58
Musicians
*Chris Hillman - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
*Gene Clark - Vocals, Guitar
*Roger McGuinn - Guitars, Vocals
*Paul Harris - Keyboards
*Joe Lala - Percussion
*Donna Rhodes - Vocals
*John Sambataro - Guitar, Vocals
*George Terry - Guitars, Piano
*Greg Thomas - Drums
*Charles Chalmers - Vocals
*Sandra Chalmers - Vocals
*Mike Lewis - Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
1964 The Byrds - Preflyte (2012 Edition)
1968 The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (Double Disc Set)
1969 The Byrds - Live At Fillmore
1971 The Byrds - Live At Royal Albert Hall
1973 Byrds - Byrds
1973 Roger McGuinn - Roger McGuinn (2013 Edition)
1967 Gene Clark - Echoes
1968-69 Dillard And Clark - Fantastic Expedition / Through The Morning, Through The Night (MFSL remaster)
1971 Gene Clark - White Light
1972 Gene Clark - Roadmaster (2011 Remaster)
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