Search - Byrds :: Nashville West

Why?

03/29/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This bargain-priced compilation features a mix of selections spanning the period from "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" to "Untitled" (the sole exception is "Satisfied Mind" from the second album, which is also the only cut on the album which features all the members pictured on the cover). Most of the material is rather good, but the song selection could have been better. Skip Battin's "America's Great National Pastime" is certainly out of place, as is "Life in Prison", the first because it is one of Skip Battin's well-intentioned but lame efforts, and the second because there is much better material from the same album which was excluded on this one. This album is OK for the bargain-minded casual listener seeking a Byrds country-rock sampler, but not for the serious Byrds fan (who probably has all this material on other albums)."

Not bad, but not great either...

David Bennett | Ohio, United States | 08/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a typical budget release. The songs are few (only 10, totaling a little over 30 minutes), the songs do not in any way represent a definitive collection, and the album cover pictures the original Byrds lineup even though that lineup appears on only one song, "Satisfied Mind." The strength of this album is that it can cheaply (for 6.99) complement the songs on the box set. Four of the songs on Nashville West are not on the boxed set, yet these four songs are while perhaps uneven, are decent country-rockers. "Great National Past Time," "Yesterday's Train," "Satisfied Mind," and "Life in Prison" are the ones not on the box set. "Old John Robertson" is a different version than the box set; the one here includes the Moog solo. The other 4 songs are classic Byrds country standards, such as "Hickory Wind," and "Truck Stop Girl." For true fans these songs are available elsewhere, but for the newcomer or owner of the box set only, this CD might just be what is needed. The album actually gives writing time to each member of the country-rock Byrds line-up (except John York; there is no song he wrote). Not bad, but not great."