Preflyte Plus

サイケデリック･ミュージック/カントリーロックに大きな影響を残したザ･バーズの、コロムビア契約以前のインスト/デモ/アコースティック音源などのレコーディングを集めたCD2枚組みコレクション作品。以前『The Preflyte Sessions』としてサンデイズド･レコーズからリリースされた40トラックに、さらに未発表デモ音源など20分ものボーナストラックを追加収録する。

This double CD brings together all of the early Byrds rehearsals/demos found on the Preflyte and In the Beginning releases, and adds quite a bit more. As such, it stands as the definitive document of the birth of the group and how they sounded prior to recording the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single for Columbia at the beginning of 1965. For that reason alone it would be essential for any Byrds fan. But even for non-fanatics, there's a great deal of excellent music here to enjoy, even if the songwriting is more Beatles-like than it would be on the Byrds' early albums, and the performances more tentative. If you already have Preflyte and In the Beginning, what you really want to know is what's been added. To begin with, there are four pre-Byrds solo David Crosby electric rock cuts, also produced (as everything here was) by early Byrds manager Jim Dickson. Two of those, "Come Back Baby" and "Willie Jean," have shown up on other compilations, but "Jack of Diamonds" and Dino Valenti's "Get Together" have not. "Get Together" is particularly intriguing, kicking off with a weird "Twist and Shout"-like intro. Then there are no less than 14 additional previously unreleased alternate takes by the Byrds themselves, although unfortunately just one of these (an instrumental run-through of "The Times They Are a-Changin'") was not available in a different version, or different versions, on Preflyte or In the Beginning. None of these additional, multiple versions, alas, are as good as the ones that were first heard on those prior collections, though there are some interesting minor differences, like the bluegrass-type fractured guitar solo on a take of "You Movin'." Also, three of the new takes are just instrumental backing tracks without vocals. Still, it's great to have all of this material in one place, and the 50-page booklet of essays and photos is another major bonus. ~ Richie Unterberger|

A blip in the Byrds' discography that could easily be missed, as all of the songs from these pre-Mr. Tambourine Man sessions are also found on the much more widely available In the Beginning. Byrds fans really need to track this down, though, because six of the 11 cuts are actually entirely different versions than the ones that appear on In the Beginning, and in some cases the differences are substantial. "You Showed Me," in particular, appears here in a bare-bones, almost acoustic version with a heart-wrenching Gene Clark vocal; this is the sound of the Byrds at their very birth in the nest. It's a matter of taste, but the takes of "She Has a Way" and "Here Without You" on Preflyte are clearly superior to the ones used on In the Beginning, though the arrangements are very similar. Originally released on the small Together label, this was reissued on Columbia a few years later; the Columbia pressing is much easier to find, can still be easily (and affordably) found in used stores, and has enough otherwise unavailable quality material to make the search worth the effort. ~ Richie Unterberger