Sadly beautiful, this track is the last gasp from the original lineup of the Byrds (minus brooding genius Gene Clark). Written by David Crosby and an absolute flop of a single, a very sad exit for a glorious band. Crosby was fired right after this single was cut, and Chris Hillman & Michael Clark quit not too long after (all during the makings of their masterpiece "Notorious Byrds Brothers" LP). Of course, "The Byrds" continued on in name only (while I like a good chunk of the later stuff, it was a completely different group with different mindset and spirit).
This 45 is EXTREMELY hard to find and the reissues are usually (I think always, but I don't follow recent CD reissues) in stereo and don't sound anywhere near as good as this punchy 45 mix.
from 1967...
THE BYRDS - LADY FRIEND
I love this track! But Chris Hillman didn't quit during "The Notorious Byrd Brothers". He left the band after recording "Sweetheart Of The Rodeo".
ReplyDeleteAwesome tune, love this mix. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI often hear people put down David Crosby but I think he's great! Thx for posting.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite Byrds songs - and strangely enough it's a Crosby song. Strangely because I cannot stand most of his songs - Mind Gardens, Everybody's Been Burned, Triad, etc. make me cringe.
ReplyDelete