3 Byrds Land in London [Live]

Disc: 1

1. Kansas City Southern - Gene Clark

2. Denver or Wherever - Gene Clark

3. Release Me Girl - Gene Clark

4. Hula Bula Man - Gene Clark

5. Hot Burrito #2

6. Rise and Fall

7. Nothing Gets Through to You

8. Rollin' and Tumblin'

9. Playing the Fool

10. Quits

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Lover of the Bayou

2. American Girl

3. Mr. Spaceman

4. Why Baby Why/Tiffany Queen

5. Golden Loom

6. It's Gone

7. Chestnut Mare

8. Dixie Highway

9. Shoot 'Em

10. So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star - McGuinn, Clark & Hillman

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Product Description:
This Two CD Set features the Entire Concert Recorded Live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Tracks:

Kansas City Southern - Gene Clark
Denver or Wherever - Gene Clark
Release Me Girl - Gene Clark
Hula Bula Man - Gene Clark
Hot Burrito #2
Rise and Fall
Nothing Gets Through to You
Rollin' and Tumblin' - Chris Hillman
Playing the Fool - Chris Hillman
Quits - Chris Hillman
Witching Hour - Chris Hillman
It Doesn't Matter - Chris Hillman

Tracks:

Lover of the Bayou - Roger McGuinn
American Girl - Roger McGuinn
Mr. Spaceman - Roger McGuinn
Why Baby Why/Tiffany Queen
Golden Loom - Roger McGuinn
It's Gone - Roger McGuinn
Chestnut Mare - Roger McGuinn
Dixie Highway - Roger McGuinn
Shoot 'Em - Roger McGuinn
So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star - McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
Mr. Tambourine Man - McGuinn, Clark & Hillman
Eight Miles High - Gene Clark, Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn

Album Details

This Two CD Set features the Entire Concert Recorded Live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Customer Reviews:

Clark and Hillman rule.......2006-07-22

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.

I was there.......2001-07-02

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.

Enjoyable Revelations Here.......2001-06-20

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.).

GREAT GUITAR BY RICK VITO OF THUNDERBYRD.......2000-10-13

THE ROGER MCGUINN band on this CD features Rick Vito on lead guitar. The selection of songs make a great jump-off for his guitar style which is reminiscent of Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler. What we have here is a clean cluster of guitar breaks with even and charismic accenting. Pay particular attention to the song "LOver Of the Bayou". I e-mailed Rick Vito about this particular performance and he responded by telling me that his style has changed over the years and that he found a recent listening of this 1977 recording,"moving". Rick went on to play with Fleetwood Mac. Definately check out this CD.

From BYRDS Fan's in CALIFORNIA.......2000-04-08

This CD had some of the best songs we have heard by THE BYRDS. Some of the songs had the sounds of the early years of the (four members) BYRDS Group. Some of the songs were also some of worst songs we think we have heard by THE BYRDS. The songs by Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd Band sounded the best and the last three songs sung by McGuinn/Hillman/ Clark were like the BYRDS of the late 60's and 70's. The sound quality was not that great. If you are a truly a BYRDS fan you probably would miss out if you did own this set.

Average customer rating:

3BYRDSLANDINLONDONTOWNE
Ex Byrds take off in 1977

3 Byrds Land in London
Byrds
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000009FMF
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Tracks:

Kansas City Southern-Gene Clark
Denver Or Wherever-Gene Clark
Release Me Girl-Gene Clark
Hula Bula Man-Gene Clark
The Witching Hour-The Chris Hillman Band
It Doesn't Matter-The Chris Hillman Band
Lover Of The Bayou-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
American Girl-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Mr Spaceman-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Why Baby Why/ Tiffany Queen-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Golden Loom-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
It's Gone-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Chestnut Mare-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Dixie Highway-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
Shoot 'Em-Roger McGuinn's Thunderbyrd
So You Wnat To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star-McGuinn,Hillman,Clark
Mr Tambourine Man-McGuinn, Hillman, Clark
Eight Miles High-McGuinn, Hillman, Clark
Hot Burrito #2-The Chris Hillman Band
Rise And Fall-The Chris Hillman Band
Nothing Gets Through To You-The Chris Hillman Band
Rollin' And Tumblin'-The Chris Hillman Band
Playing The Fool-The Chris Hillman Band
Quits-The Chris Hillman Band

Album Description

Collection featuring solo material from each of these threeByrds, as well as the three together performing the Byrds'classics 'So You Wanna Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star', 'Mr.Tambourine Man' & 'Eight Miles High' live in London, 1978.24 tracks total. 1997 release on Strange Fruit. Doubleslimline jewel case. The full title is '3 Byrds Land InLondon '77'.

Customer Reviews:

3BYRDSLANDINLONDONTOWNE.......2006-10-29

good sounding recording. as big of a fan of rogers that i am my reason for buying this set was for the gene clark tracks. gene's solo from 77 was his first since 74's masterpiece no other. gene never got his due. the mcguinn/clark/hillman record came out after this. that disc had some nice tracks but was way to cold. anyways grab this its so nice to have it on cd now.

Ex Byrds take off in 1977.......2005-10-13

This is a great live CD, especially Roger McGuinn;s Thunderbyrds
he was still trying to get his solo career off the ground at this time in 1977 and owed tons of money for his solo albums
that were not moving out of the record stores - he finally hit rock bottom in 1979 two years later, You can hear the
passion in his performance here - It rocks man = This is my favorite Live CD - because of McGuinn's hard rockin live show
he was trying to survive in a out of control nose dive

The 1970's was not very kind to 60's Rock Icons at this time
the business ate them up and spit them out with over produced
studio productions and costs with no promotions.

He had a heavy headwind against him with the likes of other artists albums: Frampton Comes Alive, Rumors, Saterday Night Fever, Breakfest in America, and many others with sales in the millions.

He was the best on this BBC show it really Rocks man

Music Album:

Music Album