Search - Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman :: 3 Byrds Land in London

Enjoyable Revelations Here

06/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It is easy to dismiss artists that we are traveling with in our lifetimes. We set up expectations as listeners and pigeon-hole the artists within the preconceived ideas we have formed of them over the years. So, when I ran across a copy of this CD, I sat down and deliberately set aside my expectations from all three involved. Clark opens up with 4 numbers and it is great to hear him sound so on the money. The band is tight and his vocals have a solid, rough quality that puts the songs up into the 4 star range. Hillman follows with an enjoyable set that covers almost every aspect of his career. (I would have liked to have heard the Souther, Hillman and Furay numbers that the notes mention, somebody needs to get those 2 albums remastered, Hello Rhino!). Like Clark, Hillman tends to be forgotten by many, but his work and talent helped people like Stephen Stills and Gram Parsons move in the direction they wanted to. The best surprise of the CD was the forcefulness of Rick Vito's guitar work on the McGuinn numbers. He really shines on "Lover of the Bayou" and seems to be pushing McGuinn to work a little harder. It was also nice to hear "Chestnut Mare" in a different arrangement. The Byrds numbers do seem forced and a little hurried, but when you come down to it, it was nice of the three of them to go the extra mile. Buy this because of the excellence of the solo work, not for the Byrd numbers and you will not be let down. (In the rush to deify Gram Parsons, none of these gentlemen should ever be forgotten, especially Hillman.)."

I was there

robert williams | Florida | 07/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As it says ...I was there. The album captures that absolutely incredible feel of being at a one off event. The first night as the only time they played together. Being a student in the UK in the late 60s I was lucky to see the Byrds play quite few times between 70 and 72, therefore the line-up was not the originals. When I went to this concert the intent was to see them and hope the three originals would play together at some point. They did and I along with all the others there were given a rare treat. I found this CD in '99 and was given a breath of that magical event. This is a classic. If you are a true Byrds fan this is a must, an absolute must."

Clark and Hillman rule

running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 07/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard to say who's band put on the better performance for this two disc collection. Gene Clark leads things off with the brevity of a four track set, but it's an explosive one. Chris Hillman drops in next with an eight track contribution that's dripping with diversity, and casts him as the gentler, kinder rocker in the trio. Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd checks in last but not least, and despite rolling out a bevy of top notch compositions, he sounds more polished than I think he should, and at times coming off with perhaps less investment in this whole event than his predecessors. The McGuinn-Clark-Hillman reunion that tops off the collection, unfortunately, didn't even make the final cut. I will say this: I think the people who produced the disc got it right in leading off with Clark and Hillman. Disc one is easily the most entertaining of the two, while disc two gradually receeds through McGuinn into the reunion that probably shouldn't have been.



There are definite hightlights to be gleened from the montage, however. Clark's band leads off with the solid rhythm of 'Kansas City Southern' (emphatically pronounced as "SouthREN" by Clark in a thoroughly enjoyable, down-home dialect), and continues with his big guitar sound through 'Denver Or Wherever', the ballad 'Release Me Girl', and the fast-paced 'Hula Bula Man' (surely a Cajun cousin to McGuinn's Hunga Man from 'Lover Of the Bayou'). While the country-rock stylings of Clark emphasize the country over the rock, Chris Hillman reverses the order, prefering the rock over the country. There are highlights galore in this thoughtful set, including the sweet, familiar melody of 'Hot Burrito #2', the upbeat sound of 'Nothing Gets Through To You', the catchy use of horns and fat guitar runs on 'Playing the Fool', and most especially the closer, a fine medley of two of Hillman's finest compositions, 'It Doesn't Matter' and 'Bound To Lose', both of which appeared on the 1972 Manassas double album. In between these stellar tracks, Hillman offers soft country angst ('Quits'), average white-man angst ('The Witching Hour'), and spicy instrumental contributions from fiddle ('Rise and Fall') and slide guitar on the romantic ballad 'Rollin And Tumblin'. Hillman's performance demonstrates just how much his professionalism is underrated.



Disc two offers nine tracks from Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd, including a two-song medley on track four. Two years previous to this series of concerts, McGuinn had revived his career by touring with Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, the mainstays of McGuinns catalog, songs such as 'Mr. Spaceman', 'Lover of the Bayou', and 'Chestnut Mare' don't appear as beneficiaries of that revival. The relatively lackluster renditions of these tracks begs the question why McGuinn felt compelled to release them. His early 1970's performances of these compositions with Clarence White and The Byrds are clearly superior. The best performances Thunderbyrd offers are the more subtle numbers such as 'Golden Loom', with its laid back country stylings, and 'It's Gone', a classic 1970's romantic ballad. The only other track of note is the cover of 'American Girl', with McGuinn proving he can imitate Tom Petty every bit as well as he imitates Bob Dylan... and that's a compliment indeed.



Of the three faux Byrds reunion tracks, the opening number, 'So You Want To Be a Rock and Roll Star' is the only one to carry it's own weight. The emotional jolt of 3/5 of the original Byrds line-up being on stage together for the first time in a decade wears off quickly however. 'Mr. Tambourine Man' is rather muddy in the middle, and the vocals sound more like yelling than singing. 'Eight Miles High', in total contrast to its nature, comes off tentative and lacking in energy and intensity.



If you're considering purchasing '3 Byrds Land In London', do so for the privilege of owning some of the best live recordings available of Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, and their solo bands. The McGuinn and faux-Byrds material on disc two is almost entirely superfluous. The packaging offers a modicum of images, and insights from Barry Ballard in the liner notes. There is probably much less to be said about these three bands touring together than you may suspect."