The Byrds “Untitled” 

 

This is another of those one live lp and one studio lp lps. The live lp shows what a piss-poor live act The Byrds were. Weak vocals, uninspired rhythm section, tinny sounding lead guitar like it’s played through a practice amp with all the settings on treble. I do not know when and where it was recorded but surely they could have chosen a night when Roger McGuinn did not sound like he has a sore throat. 

 

They play some of their hits on the live side. “So You Want To Be a Rock’n’Roll Star” is, of course, the world’s most patronising song. They stumble their way through “Mr Tambourine Man” accompanied by some of the most inappropriate guitar accompaniment. On “Mr Spaceman” (and indeed on all the live tracks) the lead guitar imagines it is a shit-hot Nashville session pedal steel player. Unfortunately, it is mistaken in this belief. Worst of all, the whole of side 2 of the lp is taken up with a 16-minute version of “Eight Miles High”. A great and innovative single is turned into a miasma of fetid turgidness. It is thoroughly uninteresting. Unbelievably, it incorporates a bass solo. Amon Duul showed on “Yeti” how to make extended extemporising interesting. As did Cream throughout their live career. The Byrds show why you should need a government licence before being allowed anywhere near this sort of shenanigans. I have a theory that because of the influence of jazz, American rock musicians imagined themselves capable of similar flights of lengthy explorations. However, they lack the technical knowledge to base their improvising on any sort of modality or knowledge of harmony. Most importantly, they forget they are a rock band and the chief signifier of which is a knowledge of dynamics and how to employ them. That is why non-American bands are far better at any sort of extended work (longer than 5 minutes, basically). 

 

The studio side is better. “Chestnut Mare” is a strange song that shows the influence on its writing of Jacques Levy, a theatre director who would late collaborate with Bob Dylan on his “Desire” lp. The singer of the song compares the titular horse to being just like a wife, which is a tad strange to say the least. He also wants to make the horse/wife his brand which suggests an unwoke dynamic. However, the song does have a strong chorus and is memorable. The same cannot be said for most of the other songs on the lp. The tunes are forgettable, the playing is uninspired and the vocals are listless. The overall effect is soporific. Compare this with what The Rolling Stones were doing at the same time with similar material. Where The Byrds are polite and respectful of the material, wanting to play it well and make it sound good, the Stones attack the songs and sound the more convincing for it. The Byrds do not sound as if they believe in what they are singing and playing. It is forgettable in that you forget what you are listening to while it is still playing. A poor and pointless record. 

 

They look like wankers on the cover too.   

 

 Amon Duul II “Yeti” 

 

Quite surprised the first time I heard this as it is quite beat groupy. The vocals distinguish it by using a variety of techniques from atonality to spoken declaration to operatic. They vary in pitch and tone as does the group often in the middle of a song. The overall effect is very entertaining. 

 

The drums are given a good whack throughout the lp. The drummer is not a massively good time keeper but shows plenty of enthusiasm. The guitarists take a solo whenever they feel like it regardless of whether there is any singing going on or not. Then a violin appears but is used to complement the group’s efforts rather than used in a “hey look I can play violin” way that many other groups do. Similarly, the organ rarely features in the front of the group’s noise. The whole sound is very much a group effort with everyone contributing equally. It does not sound like the guitar player came in to rehearsals and said “I have a new song to teach you”. Each musician takes responsibility and ownership of their own parts. Fitting as the group came out of communal living. 

 

There is a Hawkwind feel to much of the material in the way the group improvises around a tonal centre, although the ‘Duul are better musicians than the ‘Wind. Interestingly, the bass player on “Yeti” (Dave Anderson) would leave the group straight after and join Hawkwind playing on the latters’ “In Search of Space” lp. He would later set up Foel Studios where The Fall would record “Fiery Jack” and Young Marble Giants “Colossal Youth”. Pink Floyd are the other group that springs to mind in listening to this lp, although the ‘Duul achieve more rhythmic interest than the ‘Floyd’s thump. 

 

“Yeti” consists of one lp of songs and one lp of improvisations although there is little difference between the two, other than length of performance. The improvisations are not free but maintain a tonal and rhythmic centre and could easily be inserted into the songs on the other lp.  

 

The production of the lp is a little bit murky, the drums in particular lose a bit of impact and power. But the sound is thick overall and careful listening enables the individual instruments to be picked out. The group display significant control over their dynamics. 

 

What else? It’s great. Fantastic cover too. 

 

 

 

 

 

George Harrison "All Things Must Pass" 

 

George Harrison demonstrates how many of his song the other Beatles would not let him sing by recording a triple lp. This record seemed to be everywhere in the early 70s. I have not fact checked but it feels like the most successful triple lp ever in terms of sales and chart placings. I always wondered what it sounded like. 

 

I think all those purchasers of this record were just glad to have a Beatles-sounding lp again, after all the experimentation from "Sgt Peppers" onwards. Some of the songs are quite short and catchy with a solid 4/4 beat. So far, so gear. 

 

The lp was produced by Phil Spector, so most of the songs have roughly a thousand instruments and voices on them, rendering the, fairly weak, material overblown. Harrison sounds like he had been listening to a lot of Bob Dylan, and even collaborating with him on some of the songs. "All Things Must Pass" is part of a series of albums from The Band's first two lps to Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" and "New Morning" to Derek and the Dominoes' "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" to probably lots of others that I cannot immediately think of that defined a strand of rock music formed on song-based material, often building up from strummed acoustic guitars. Lyric concerns could be specific, like The Band's, or general, like Harrison's here. This strand of rock ultimately led to The Eagles and adult-orientated rock and formed a sort of counter weight to the more outre ambition and general foolishness exhibited by the progressive rock bands.  

 

I think that if I had heard this record during the early 70s I would have liked it a lot more than I do hearing it now. There is nothing on the record that I find an exciting or a challenging listen. Even the more pleasant songs (and there are lots of these) leave me a bit meh. Although undoubtedly sincere, Harrison's voice always sounds diffident to me. It is a thin and weedy instrument. Overall, I am not convinced by the lp. A lot of the songs sound very Bob Dylan influenced or are actual Dylan covers. Much of the material is overblown and over long.