Preflyte

Preflyte
Compilation album by The Byrds
Released July 29, 1969
Recorded Mid-1964 – November 1964, World Pacific Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Genre Pop, folk rock
Length 25:38
Label Together
Producer Jim Dickson
The Byrds chronology
Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde
(1969)
----
The Byrds Play the Songs of Bob Dylan
(2001)		 Preflyte
(1969)
----
The Preflyte Sessions
(2001)		 Ballad of Easy Rider
(1969)
----
Sanctuary III
(2001)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 1973 Columbia Records reissue. Art by Barry Windsor-Smith

Preflyte is a compilation album by the American folk rock band The Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records (see 1969 in music).[1] The album is a collection of demos recorded by The Byrds (then named The Jet Set) at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles during 1964, before the band had signed to Columbia Records.[2] As such, the music on the album predates the release of The Byrds' debut single for Columbia, a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", which topped the charts in America and the United Kingdom during 1965.[2] The album's title is a deliberate misspelling of "pre-flight", meant to emulate the misspelling of "birds" that the band had used for their name.

Preflyte peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Top LPs chart upon its initial release and outsold The Byrds' most recent studio album, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde.[3][4] It was less successful in the United Kingdom, however, where it failed to enter the UK Albums Chart when it was issued there in 1973.[1][5] The album was later reissued in America by Columbia Records and again charted, this time reaching number 183.[3] The album is notable for including a number of previously unreleased songs that had not been recorded by The Byrds during their stint with Columbia Records. The album also includes early demo versions of the songs "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "I Knew I'd Want You", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all of which appeared in re-recorded form on the band's 1965 debut album.[6]

In 2001, Sundazed Records released an expanded, double CD compilation of tracks from the World Pacific era, titled The Preflyte Sessions.[7] In 2012, Floating World Records reissued the Sundazed collection, with an additional eight bonus tracks, under the title Preflyte Plus.[8] Tracks from The Byrds' World Pacific sessions were also repackaged on the In the Beginning album in 1988.

History

Initially inspired by the success of The Beatles, folk singers Jim McGuinn and Gene Clark began playing as a duo in Los Angeles folk clubs in early 1964 and were soon joined by fellow folkie, David Crosby.[9] The trio named themselves The Jet Set, a name chosen by McGuinn and inspired by his love of aeronautics.[10] Crosby introduced McGuinn and Clark to his associate Jim Dickson who had access to World Pacific Studios, where he had been recording demos of Crosby.[10] Dickson was impressed enough by the trio to take on management duties for the group and to utilize World Pacific as a rehearsal studio, where he recorded the band as they honed their craft and perfected their blend of Beatles pop and Bob Dylan-style folk.[2][11]

Dickson arranged a one-off deal with Elektra Records' founder, Jac Holzman, for two songs from the World Pacific sessions, "Please Let Me Love You" and "Don't Be Long", to be released as a single on Elektra in October 1964.[12] In an attempt to cash in on the British Invasion that was then dominating the U.S. music scene, the single was issued under the suitably British sounding pseudonym of The Beefeaters but it failed to chart.[13] Both songs on The Beefeaters' single featured McGuinn, Clark and Crosby, along with "Wrecking Crew" session musicians Ray Pohlman on bass and Earl Palmer on drums.[13] Soon after, The Jet Set expanded their ranks to include drummer Michael Clarke and bass player Chris Hillman.[13] The rehearsal and recording sessions at World Pacific studios came to a close when The Jet Set (soon to be renamed The Byrds) signed a recording contract with Columbia Records on November 10, 1964.[2]

In 1969, the manager of rock music for RCA Records on the West Coast, Dick Moreland, heard about the existence of these early demo recordings by The Byrds from Jim Dickson and immediately told producer Gary Usher about them.[14] Usher, who had produced The Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday, The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo albums, had recently formed Together Records with colleagues Curt Boettcher and Keith Olsen.[15][16] Prior to the formation of Together, Usher had been involved with the Columbia Records' release of Conspicuous Only in its Absence, a collection of previously unheard live recordings by the psychedelic band, The Great Society (featuring Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane).[14] The album had enjoyed moderate success and Usher was keen to continue issuing previously unreleased, historically significant material on his new record label.[14] Usher met with Dickson and was able to acquire all of The Byrds' World Pacific tapes that still existed for a reasonable sum.[14] The tapes were then edited and compiled into an eleven track running order, before being remixed and mastered by Keith Olsen.[14]

Dickson approached the five original members of The Byrds in order to have them sign a letter of permission to authorize the release of these early recordings.[4][17] David Crosby was initially reluctant to sanction the release but he was eventually persuaded by his friend and singing partner, Graham Nash, who convinced Crosby of the musical worth and historical value of the recordings.[17] Dickson later recalled Nash's involvement during a 1977 interview: "Graham Nash said that the songs were charming baby pictures. You have to get a little older before you can tolerate seeing your baby pictures out there. We were all babies once! Graham just charmed David's socks off."[17] With the permission of all five original members of the band secured, Together Records released the album in July 1969 with a great deal of publicity.[14] As a collection of previously unreleased demo recordings, Preflyte can be seen as one of the earliest examples of issuing outtakes by popular artists, a practice that is now commonplace in the reissue market.[14]

Music

Of the eleven songs included on the album, seven had never before been released by The Byrds. These previously unreleased songs included five written solely by Gene Clark: "The Reason Why", "She Has a Way", "For Me Again", "Boston", and "You Movin'". Of these, "She Has a Way" had been re-recorded by The Byrds during sessions for their debut album, Mr. Tambourine Man.[18] However, this Columbia recording of the song was discarded at the eleventh hour and remained unreleased until its appearance on The Byrds' archival album, Never Before, in 1987.[18][19] "The Reason Why", a brooding, Beatles and Everly Brothers influenced ballad, and the melancholy "For Me Again", would both be jettisoned from the band's repertoire by early 1965 to make way for higher quality material.[18] The uptempo "Boston" and "You Movin'" were never seriously intended for release by the band and had been written purely to give fans something to dance to during The Byrds' early concert performances.[18] A further two Clark compositions included on Preflyte, "Here Without You" and "I Knew I'd Want You", had appeared in re-recorded versions on the band's debut album, with the latter also appearing on the B-side of the "Mr. Tambourine Man" single.[20] In total, there were nine songs included on Preflyte that were either written or co-written by Gene Clark, highlighting his early songwriting dominance over the group.[6]

The album also featured the Crosby and McGuinn penned "The Airport Song", a hauntingly romantic composition with subtle jazz overtones, highlighted by Crosby's crystal-clear lead vocal and Gene Clark's wistful harmonica playing.[18] The song was inspired by the time that Crosby and McGuinn had spent hanging out at Los Angeles International Airport, watching the planes come in to land.[18] The album also included two McGuinn and Clark compositions, "You Showed Me" and "You Won't Have to Cry", the latter of which had already appeared in a different version on the band's debut album.[6][20] "You Showed Me" had not been released by The Byrds but a cover of it had been a hit single for The Turtles in early 1969 and had peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18][21]

The embryonic version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" included on Preflyte illustrated how the song sounded prior to its recording as the band's debut single for Columbia Records.[18] McGuinn's distinctive Bach-inspired guitar intro is already present but Crosby's harmony singing displays signs of uncertainty.[18] Perhaps the most striking difference between the version of the song found on Preflyte and the more famous Columbia recording is Michael Clarke's use of a militaristic drumming style throughout the song.[18] This military band style of drumming was abandoned when the song was recorded for the Columbia single on January 20, 1965, with session drummer Hal Blaine adopting a standard rock beat instead.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Classic Rock[22]
entertainment.ie[23]

Preflyte was released on July 29, 1969 in the United States on Together Records (catalogue item ST-T-1001) but it was not issued in the United Kingdom until January 1973, when it was released by Kim Fowley's Bumble record label (catalogue item GEXP 8001).[1] It was then reissued later in 1973 in the U.S. by Columbia Records (catalogue item C 32183).[1][24] The 1973 Columbia reissue of the album features alternative cover artwork by British comic book artist Barry Windsor-Smith, depicting the five original members of The Byrds as futuristic astronauts.[25] Upon initial release, sales of Preflyte were fairly good in the U.S., resulting in the album outperforming The Byrds' most recent studio offering, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde.[4] The album managed to climb to No. 84 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in 1969 and again charted at No. 183 when it was reissued by Columbia Records in 1973.[3]

The album was met with mixed reviews upon release, with Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone magazine criticizing the sub-standard sound quality of the recordings but also noting that the songs on the album "still overflow with that unique unschmaltzy beauty and lyricism that has been The Byrds' trademark."[4] Lenny Kaye, writing in Jazz & Pop magazine, praised the album, noting that "One of the more interesting things about Preflyte is the consistency of The Byrds sound, especially when compared with their later post-Tambourine Man days."[4] In more recent years, Classic Rock reviewer Rob Hughes praised "the purring harmonies, the extraordinary songcraft of frontman Gene Clark and the smooth exhalations of what became the California folk-rock sound", despite the fact that The Byrds had "yet to become competent musicians".[22] Andrew Lynch, writing for the entertainment.ie website, described the album as "a fascinating slice of pop history and a pretty good album in its own right too."[23]

In 1988 Rhino Records released another compilation of recordings from The Byrds' 1964 World Pacific sessions, entitled In the Beginning, which consisted largely of previously unreleased recordings.[1][26] The first CD release of Preflyte came in 2001 from Alan McGee's Poptones record label.[6] Later that year Sundazed Records released a 2 CD compilation of tracks from the World Pacific era titled The Preflyte Sessions.[7] This double CD compilation included all of the tracks originally released on Preflyte, along with other tracks that had first appeared on In the Beginning and fourteen previously unreleased recordings.[7] The Preflyte Sessions included four David Crosby recordings made at World Pacific studios in 1963 and 1964, before the formation of The Jet Set.[7] In tandem with the release of The Preflyte Sessions, Sundazed also issued a 7" single featuring previously unreleased 1964 recordings of "You Movin'" and "Boston", neither of which were included on The Preflyte Sessions album.[27] As of 2010, the two World Pacific recordings of "You Movin'" and "Boston" found on this single have not been released on CD. In 2006, Sundazed Records reissued the original Preflyte album in a remastered edition.[28]

In 2012, Floating World Records issued another compilation of the World Pacific recordings titled Preflyte Plus.[8] This release was essentially a re-release of the earlier Sundazed 2 CD compilation, but with an additional eight previously unreleased tracks.

Track listing

Side 1

  1. "You Showed Me" (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:05
  2. "Here Without You" (Gene Clark) – 2:30
  3. "She Has a Way" (Gene Clark) – 2:34
  4. "The Reason Why" (Gene Clark) – 2:34
  5. "For Me Again" (Gene Clark) – 2:32
  6. "Boston" (Gene Clark) – 2:07

Side 2

  1. "You Movin'" (Gene Clark) – 2:10
  2. "The Airport Song" (Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 2:03
  3. "You Won't Have to Cry" (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:17
  4. "I Knew I'd Want You" (Gene Clark) – 2:19
  5. "Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bob Dylan) – 2:20

The Preflyte Sessions track listing

Disc one

  1. "The Reason Why" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:38
  2. "You Won't Have to Cry" [Electric Version] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:17
  3. "She Has a Way" [Version #4] (Gene Clark) – 2:29
  4. "You Showed Me" [Electric Version] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 1:53
  5. "Here Without You" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:28
  6. "Don't Be Long" (Jim McGuinn, Harvey Gerst) – 1:58
  7. "I Knew I'd Want You" [Electric Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:14
  8. "Boston" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:15
  9. "Tomorrow Is a Long Ways Away" [Electric Version] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby) – 1:59
  10. "For Me Again" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:39
  11. "It's No Use" [Version #2] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:20
  12. "You Movin'" [Version #3] (Gene Clark) – 2:08
  13. "Please Let Me Love You" (Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, Harvey Gerst) – 2:25
  14. "The Airport Song" (Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 2:03
  15. "Mr. Tambourine Man" [Electric Version] (Bob Dylan) – 2:25
  16. "She Has a Way" [Version #3] (Gene Clark) – 2:33
  17. "I Knew I'd Want You" [Electric Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:31
  18. "Boston" [Instrumental Track] (Gene Clark) – 2:15
  19. "You Showed Me" [Instrumental Track] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:06
  20. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" [Instrumental Track] (Bob Dylan) – 2:26

Disc two

  1. "The Only Girl I Adore" (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:26
  2. "Tomorrow Is a Long Ways Away" [Acoustic Version] (Gene Clark) – 2:01
  3. "You Showed Me" [Acoustic Version] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:04
  4. "I Knew I'd Want You" [Acoustic Version] (Gene Clark) – 2:18
  5. "You Won't Have to Cry" [Acoustic Version] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:21
  6. "Mr. Tambourine Man" [Acoustic Version] (Bob Dylan) – 2:14
  7. "Willie Jean" (Hoyt Axton) – 2:08
  8. "Come Back Baby" (Ray Charles) – 2:26
  9. "Jack of Diamonds" (traditional, arranged David Crosby) – 1:46
  10. "Get Together" (Dino Valenti) – 2:34
  11. "She Has a Way" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:23
  12. "Here Without You" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:29
  13. "For Me Again" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:32
  14. "It's No Use" [Version #1] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 2:17
  15. "You Movin'" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:10
  16. "Boston" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:09
  17. "She Has a Way" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:32
  18. "You Movin'" [Version #2] (Gene Clark) – 2:12
  19. "The Reason Why" [Version #1] (Gene Clark) – 2:31
  20. "It's No Use" [Version #3] (Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark) – 3:38
    • NOTE: this song ends at 2:09; at 2:18 begins "Studio Chat"

The Preflyte Plus track listing

The 2012 CD reissue titled Preflyte Plus is essentially the same compilation as The Preflyte Session 2-disc set, with the following songs added to the end of disc 2:

Personnel

NOTE: Sources for this section are as follows:[13][18]

Release history

Date Label Format Country Catalog # Notes
July 29, 1969 Together LP US ST-1-1001 original release.
January 1973 Bumble LP UK GEXP 8001
April 27, 1973 Columbia LP US C 32183
1973 Ariola LP Holland 86 468 IT
July 9, 2001 Poptones CD UK MC5044CD
December 3, 2001 Poptones LP UK MC33150441LP
December 17, 2001 Sundazed CD US SC 11116 The Preflyte Sessions expanded release.
December 18, 2001 Sundazed LP US LP 5114 The Preflyte Sessions expanded release.
February 21, 2006 Sundazed CD US SC 6234
February 27, 2012 Floating World CD UK FLOATD6122 Preflyte Plus: reissue of the earlier Sundazed compilation with extra tracks.
June 14, 2012 Air Mail Archive CD JPN AIRAC 1659/61 Preflyte – Complete Edition: Blu-spec CD reissue of the Together, Bumble and Columbia releases of Preflyte in miniature replica LP sleeves.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 548–549. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Fricke, David. (2001). The Preflyte Sessions (2001 CD liner notes).
  3. 1 2 3 "Preflyte - Billboard Albums Data". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 218–219. ISBN 1-906002-15-0.
  5. ↑ Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-7119-7670-8.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Preflyte review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "The Preflyte Sessions review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  8. 1 2 "Preflyte Plus catalogue listing". Floating World Records. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
  9. ↑ "The Byrds Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  10. 1 2 Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 33–36. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  11. ↑ "In The Beginning". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  12. ↑ Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 17–20. ISBN 1-906002-15-0.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Foster, Joe. (2001). Preflyte (2001 CD liner notes).
  15. ↑ "The Gary Usher Discography". The Original Gary Usher Web Page. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  16. ↑ "The Byrds/Curt Boettcher/Gary Usher". Come With A Smile. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  17. 1 2 3 Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. p. 290. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 49–52. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  19. ↑ "Never Before". ByrdWatcher: A Field Guide to the Byrds of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  20. 1 2 Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 543–545. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  21. ↑ "The Turtles Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  22. 1 2 Hughes, Rob (March 2012). "The Byrds - Preflyte". Classic Rock (168): 108.
  23. 1 2 "Preflyte review". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  24. ↑ Umphred, Neal. (1990). The Byrds (1990 CD box set liner notes).
  25. ↑ "Record Covers Drawn By Comic Artists - W". Platenhoezen Ontworpen Door Striptekenaars. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
  26. ↑ "In The Beginning review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  27. ↑ "You Movin'/Boston 7" Vinyl Single". Sundazed Records. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  28. ↑ "Preflyte CD Reissue". Sundazed Records. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  29. ↑ Dickson, Jim (2007). "Sixties Transition". Sixties Transition (CD booklet). Various Artists. Sierra Records.

Bibliography

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