The Byrds' fifth studio album The Notorious Byrd Brothers was released in 1968. Although it received critical praise upon its release, it only had mild commercial success. It is now often considered the Byrds' best album and the pinnacle of their experimentation--a mixture of psychedelia, folk rock, and country. It is also one of the first albums to make use of a Moog synthesizer. Midway through recording sessions, Roger McGuinn fired David Crosby from the band after a number of conflicts, but two of Crosby's songs remain on album. With drummer Michael Clarke also leaving during recording, Roger McGuinn and bassist Chris Hillman were the only official members of the Byrds after the album was released.
As experimental as the album is, the Byrds are able to perfectly blend this with their signature soothing harmonies and melodies to create an album that looks boldly to the future without being too challenging or discordant--"Artificial Energy" laughs at "Eight Miles High" for thinking it was challenging and the playing on "Wasn't Born to Follow" beats the playing on "Turn! Turn! Turn!" with ease. It also boasts a cohesion and direction that past Byrds' albums have failed to achieve. Fifth Dimension certainly had its own unique character, but it wasn't without filler and McGuinn's vision wasn't crystal clear like it is here. Additionally, the songwriting is superb--"Dolphin's Smile" is my favorite song Crosby has ever written and "Get to You" is my favorite Byrds lyric--and music is dense with significant, but not excessive, texture. Beautifully sequenced too. A- [Later: A]
