The Byrds’ The Notorious Byrd Brothers (2007)

It was weird to be reading this 33-1/3 volume by Ric Menck at the beginning of this year when David Crosby died. The Byrds have mostly been a blind spot for me, though I’ve come to like all the hits quite a bit over the years: “To everything there is a season.” Menck’s book is practically a template for how these things are done: the first half sets the context with a history of the artist to that point, and the second half takes up the album track by track. For me it was the history that was most useful. It’s concise and to the point, although it may be less useful for fans who already know it. But I learned a lot that was still resonating when Crosby died. The Notorious Byrd Brothers had no hits and it was virtually all new to me when I started listening to it while reading. I had a hard time finding anything in the album to hold onto, but Menck ranks it very highly, comparing it favorably to Blonde on Blonde and Revolver. A musician himself, associated with Velvet Crush and the Springfields among others, Menck is clearly the right person for this job. I’m not sure I agree with him that NBB is anywhere near the Dylan or Beatles albums but the enthusiasm is infectious. I like the way Menck sprinkles in personal details of his record-buying and listening history, which are relatable. I can listen closely to the NBB tracks under his direction—a few were already standing out even before I got to Menck’s track-by-track rundown. So it’s a perfectly competent entry in the 33-1/3 series (though with more than the usual number of typos I’ve seen in these things). But it also suggests that “perfectly competent” on another level may mean “for fans only.” Or maybe my resistance to the Byrds just runs that deep. The best audience for this book might be someone already onboard with them but maybe dubious about this album. Maybe they haven’t got to it yet. It could be a book that opens up the whole album for someone. Odd point: So far it’s the only Byrds album in the 33-1/3 series, which surprised me, all things considered. It’s not really their most emblematic, is it? Anyway, n.b., for fans only.

In case the library is closed due to pandemic, which is over.