Greatest Hits

Very relaxing c.d.

Was in grade school (1960's) when some of the songs on this CD (Mr. Tambourine Man; Turn.! Turn.! Turn.! (To Everything There Is A Season); All I Really Want To Do; and Eight Miles High) was played on the radio (after listening to the CD; found out that more songs were played on the radio). There are 11 songs as well as 3 Bonus Tracks on this CD.Worth the purchase.!!

item arrived on time , in excellent condition

These days it seems (at least to those of us who are aware of how things were many decades ago) that recording artists tend to put out new recordings at a snail's pace, or close to it, at least when it comes to "physical media" (CDs and vinyl). Sure, some may be faster, but generally that seems to be the case. They rarely put out more than one album in a year, and it can be about two years before you get their next album (sometimes more --- in fact, sometimes a LOT more). However, back in the '60s it was a different story, as artists were (generally, anyway) far more prolific in the "physical records" department (of course, back then there was no "downloading" of music). For one prime example, by the time of the original release of the Byrds' first "hits" collection in the summer of '67, the Beach Boys, who had been around for "only" about six years, had put out enough albums to count on THREE hands (if you include "live" and Chirstmas albums), as well as (by my count) around 20 or so singles!Maybe the Byrds, who had only been around for about three years (the first "Byrds" record came out in '65), didn't crank out stuff (at least not albums) at the rate the Beach Boys did, but it's still kind of amazing (looking back from all these years later, when things are so different) that by August of '67, they had already put out four albums and about a dozen singles (hit and non-hit), including two #1s! (Their first #1 was their first record under the "Byrds" moniker; their only record before that one, in '64, was under the name "The Beefeaters" --- a name they thankfully didn't decide to keep!)That was enough for their label, Columbia, to put together a "hits" compilation by the group. It contained, of course, the two #1 smashes "Mr. Tambourine Man" (written by one B. Dylan) and "Turn! Turn! Turn!," as well as nine other tracks, including "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" (one of the group's best B-sides; really should have been an A!), "Eight Miles High," "Rock 'N' Roll Star," and more. A couple of the tracks, "Bells Of Rhymney" and "Chimes Of Freedom" (another Dylan song), were album-only songs, while "All I Really Want To Do" (Bob AGAIN) was the album version instead of the single version (which is much less common), and "My Back Pages" (yet ANOTHER Dylan song --- gee, did the Byrds like Dylan or something? LOL) was in its "complete" album form rather than the single edit. The other two songs on the collection were "Mr. Spaceman" and "5D."If there were any Byrdfans who had issues with the concept of buying an LP consisting of Byrdsongs they already owned, there were apparently plenty who didn't, as the compilation went to #6 on the album chart.The comp was quite good in '67, and it is made better here by the inclusion of three bonus tracks, "It Won't Be Wrong" (a VERY Beatle-esque number), "Set You Free This Time" (one of Gene Clark's best and wordiest songs), and "Have You Seen Her Face" (a great song by Chris Hillman, who had, by the time of the original release of the collection, surprisingly emerged as a songwriter, and quite a competent one at that), all of which were released on singles (the first one as a B-side).However, the three bonus tracks don't do very much to extend the length of the comp, which means it's still a relatively short one for a CD (about 40 minutes), and they don't do anything to extend its chronological scope --- the group's career didn't exactly end in '67. Still, it is a worthy collection of tracks by the first two incarnations of the group (the first with Gene Clark, and the second without), which I must admit may just be my favorite ones, especially the first. (One other song that would have fit in with the others on this collection and made a great bonus track is David Crosby's song "Lady Friend"; maybe it wasn't a hit, but not all of the tracks that ARE here were either, really!)If you're looking for a truly extensive and/or career-spanning Byrdcomp, you'll have to look elsewhere. But this CD is worth it if you'd like to have a not-very-long collection of some of their "earlier" stuff.[Edit: Apparently, at least one reason that the Beach Boys were so prolific was because their contract demanded a LOT of albums in an absurdly short (even for the '60s) period of time! I was unaware of that fact when I wrote this review; still, it's remarkable how they actually managed to fulfill that obligation!]

Best music ever

Updated October 20, 2014All the songs on this album are not "hits" in the accepted meaning of that term. Even so, this is a great collection of early songs by the Byrds and the addition of three new selections to the original album is a plus for the listener, especially "Have You Seen Her Face," a wonderful song by the underrated Chris Hillman.Several of the Byrds' covers of Dylan songs are on this album and "Chimes of Freedom" is one of my favorites as is "My Back Pages." Roger McGuinn gives us some of the roughness of Dylan's style and adds to the mix the signature Rickenbacker guitar sound the Byrds are famous for.Pete Seeger's great adaptation of Ecclesiastes, "Turn, Turn, Turn" is on this album and is a true "greatest hit." This song solidified the Byrds as a musical force to be reckoned with after their initial success with "Mr. Tambourine Man," which begins the CD.A few quirky "hits" are included, like "Mr. Spaceman" and "Eight Miles High." These oddities give the album contrast and seem at first out of place, but grow on the listener, at least this listener, over time. In fact, this CD has great variety.One of the treasures on this CD is Pete Seeger's "The Bells of Rhymney." The Byrds do a great job with this wonderful song, which impressed George Harrison of Beatles fame. Many other artists covered this song. If readers of this review want to hear something special, go to YouTube and type in John Denver Bells of Rhymney.The original Byrds, McGuinn, Crosby, Hillman, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke, did not stay together long. Gene Clark was the first to leave and his picture is not on the album cover. BTW, that was a major loss for the Byrds. Gene was a fine singer/songwriter. Then Crosby left; McGuinn did his best to hold the group together and the reformed band did have some musical, if not commercial success after the initial breakup when Gram Parsons signed on.Listeners who want to follow the entire career of the Byrds are advised to get their Boxed Set of songs to see how far the group progressed before the final breakup.For those people who have heard the Byrds' mentioned as a great band but who have listened to little of their music, this is an excellent place to get acquainted with a sampling of their unique sound. In my opinion, this is a truly classic CD that is one of the greatest "Hits" albums ever recorded. I have given this album as a gift many times and it is always much appreciated.