Fifth Dimension

Musician - "I like the sound better here. The guitar interplay emerges with greater warmth and clarity, without over-thinning the wash..." NME - 8 (out of 10) - "...heralds a newly psychedelic Byrds hung up on the archetypal acid-fixation with the unknown...and utter confusion....it's faultless." Entertainment Weekly - "...illustrates why the best Byrds music still inspires musicians....And while time hasn't enhanced the group's forays into psychedelia....there are enough keepers to make you forgive their occasional tendency to fly into walls." - Rating: B Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...`I See You' boasts the floaty groove, stammering guitar and jazzy chords that were coming into the repertoire of the early psychedelic groups..." Melody Maker - Recommended - "...`Eight Miles High' will always breathe the same rarefied air, always hum with vividly altered perceptions. Age cannot wither it..." Q - Included in Q Magazine's "Best Psychedelic Albums of All Time" issue. CD Buyer's Guide - "This is probably their finest" Blender - 4 stars out of 5 -- "McGuinn stepped up his game...playing spark-showering lead guitar that lifted ideas from John Coltrane's modal jazz improvisations."

Although the Byrds' Fifth Dimension was wildly uneven, its high points were as innovative as any rock music being recorded in 1966. Immaculate folk-rock was still present in their superb arrangements of the traditional songs "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley." For the originals, they devised some of the first and best psychedelic rock, often drawing from the influence of Indian raga in the guitar arrangements. "Eight Miles High," with its astral lyrics, pumping bassline, and fractured guitar solo, was a Top 20 hit, and one of the greatest singles of the '60s. The minor hit title track and the country-rock-tinged "Mr. Spaceman" are among their best songs; "I See You" has great 12-string psychedelic guitar solos; and "I Come and Stand at Every Door" is an unusual and moving update of a traditional rock tune, with new lyrics pleading for peace in the nuclear age. At the same time, the R&B instrumental "Captain Soul" was a throwaway, "Hey Joe" not nearly as good as the versions by the Leaves or Jimi Hendrix, and "What's Happening?!?!" the earliest example of David Crosby's disagreeably vapid hippie ethos. These weak spots keep Fifth Dimension from attaining truly classic status. ~ Richie Unterberger|