Fifth Dimension (album)
Encyclopedia
Fifth Dimension is the third album
by the American rock
band
The Byrds
and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records
(see 1966 in music
). Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter
Gene Clark
. In an attempt to compensate for Clark's absence, guitar
ists Jim McGuinn
and David Crosby
stepped into the breach and increased their songwriting output. In spite of this, the loss of Clark resulted in an uneven album that included a total of four cover version
s and an instrumental
. However, the album is notable for being the first by The Byrds not to include any songs written by Bob Dylan
, whose material had previously been a mainstay of the band's repertoire.
The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top LPs
chart and reached #27 on the UK Albums Chart
. Two preceding singles
, "Eight Miles High
" and "5D (Fifth Dimension)
", were included on the album, with the former just missing the Top 10 of the Billboard singles chart
. Additionally, a third single taken from the album, "Mr. Spaceman
", managed to reach the U.S. Top 40. Upon release, Fifth Dimension was widely regarded as the band's most experimental album to date and is today considered influential in originating the musical genre of psychedelic rock
.
, The Byrds entered RCA
Studios in Los Angeles to record "Eight Miles High" and "Why
", two new songs that they had recently composed. Both songs represented a creative leap forward for the band and were instrumental in developing the musical styles of psychedelic rock and raga rock
. However, the band ran into trouble with their record company
, Columbia Records, who refused to release either song because they had not been recorded at a Columbia owned studio. As a result, the band were forced to re-record both songs in their entirety at Columbia Studios, Hollywood and it was these re-recordings that would see release on the "Eight Miles High" single and the Fifth Dimension album.
The re-recordings of "Eight Miles High" and "Why" were produced
by Allen Stanton, Columbia's West Coast
Vice President, who had recently been assigned to the band following The Byrds' decision to dispense with their previous producer, Terry Melcher
. Melcher had guided The Byrds through the recording of their first two folk rock
albums, which had included the international hit singles "Mr. Tambourine Man
" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", both of which had reached #1 in the U.S. charts. However, during sessions for the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, Melcher had found himself in conflict with The Byrds' manager, Jim Dickson, who had aspirations to produce the band himself. Within a month of the band's second album being released, Dickson—with the full support of The Byrds—approached Columbia Records and insisted that Melcher be replaced. However, any hopes that Dickson had of being allowed to produce The Byrds himself were dashed when Columbia chose Allen Stanton as the band's new producer. This decision was due to Columbia studio regulations specifying that only an in-house Columbia employee could produce records by the label's acts. Stanton would work as The Byrds' producer for the duration of the Fifth Dimension sessions
but would leave Columbia for A&M Records
shortly after the release of the album.
Following the re-recording of "Eight Miles High" in January 1966 and just prior to its release as a single in March 1966, the band's principal songwriter, Gene Clark, left the band. At the time, the official story regarding Clark's departure was that his fear of flying was preventing him from fulfilling his obligations with the group. However, it has become known in the years since then that there were other stress related factors at work, as well as resentment within the band that his songwriting income had made him the wealthiest member of the group. While the song "Eight Miles High" still featured the full participation of Clark, the remaining ten tracks on the Fifth Dimension album were recorded after he had left the band, although he does make a guest appearance on the song "Captain Soul".
"Eight Miles High", an early excursion into psychedelic rock. Musically, the song was a fusion of John Coltrane
-influenced guitar playing—courtesy of lead guitar
ist Jim McGuinn—and raga
-based musical structure and vocals, inspired by the Indian classical music
of Ravi Shankar
. Written mostly by Gene Clark in November 1965, while The Byrds were on tour in the U.S., the song was pivotal in transmuting folk rock into the new musical forms of psychedelia and raga rock. Regardless of its innovative qualities, however, many radio stations in the U.S. banned the record, believing the title to be a reference to recreational drug use
. The song's lyrics
actually pertained to the approximate cruising altitude
of commercial airliners and the group's first visit to London during their 1965 English tour.
The album also included the McGuinn penned songs "5D (Fifth Dimension)
" and "Mr. Spaceman
", with the latter being an early foray into country rock
and a semi-serious meditation on the existence of alien life. In spite of its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, both McGuinn and rhythm guitar
ist David Crosby were serious about the possibility of communicating with extraterrestrial life
forms via the medium of radio broadcast. McGuinn in particular felt that if the song was played on radio there was a possibility that extraterrestrials might intercept the broadcasts and make contact. However, in later years McGuinn realized that this would've been impossible since AM radio waves
disperse too rapidly in space. "5D (Fifth Dimension)", on the other hand, was an abstract attempt to explain Einstein
's theory of relativity
, which was misconstrued by many as being a song about an LSD trip
. In particular, Variety
magazine targeted "5D (Fifth Dimension)" shortly after its release as a single, claiming that it was one of a recent spate of pop songs to include veiled drug references in its lyrics. This resulted in some radio stations in America refusing to play the song.
McGuinn also penned the album's closing track, "2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)", which was an attempt to create an aural approximation of a flight in a Lear Jet. The song was inspired by the band's friendship with jet manufacturer John Lear and the title is a reference to the registration number of Lear's own personal jet, which was N242FT. The song makes extensive use of aviation sound effect
s, including an in-cockpit
recitation of a pilot's pre-takeoff checklist and the sound of a jet engine
starting up. While the song can be regarded as another of The Byrds' quirky album closers, like "Oh! Susanna
h" and "We'll Meet Again
" from their previous albums, Crosby and McGuinn actually took the song very seriously, arguing that it was an innovative attempt at incorporating mechanical sounds into a pop song
format.
One of Crosby's songwriting contributions to the album, "What's Happening?!?!", began his penchant for writing abstract songs asking irresoluble questions, a trend that has continued throughout his career with Crosby, Stills & Nash
and as a solo artist. During a 1966 interview, Crosby admitted that it was a strange song, noting "It asks questions of what's going on here and who does it all belong to and why is it all going on. I just ask the questions because I really don't know the answers." Like "Eight Miles High", the song exhibits the strong influence of Indian classical music with its droning guitar and melody
. "What's Happening?!?!" is also notable for being the first song written solely by Crosby to appear on a Byrds' record.
Both Crosby and McGuinn also collaborated on the jazzy "I See You", which represented another example of abstract lyrics coupled with raga-influenced, psychedelic guitar solos. Author Johnny Rogan
has commented that "I See You" was indicative of The Byrds' move away from the darkly-romantic songs of Gene Clark towards material that examined psychological states. The album also includes the instrumental "Captain Soul", a song credited to all four band members that grew out of an in-studio jam
of Lee Dorsey
's "Get Out of My Life, Woman" and which features Gene Clark playing harmonica
.
The cover versions on Fifth Dimension include the Billy Roberts
' song "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
", which would enjoy a brief vogue during 1966, with notable versions of the song being recorded by Love
, The Leaves
, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience
. The song was introduced to The Byrds by Crosby, who also sang lead vocals on their recording of it. Crosby, along with his friend Dino Valenti
, had been instrumental in popularizing the song within the larger Los Angeles music community. Consequently, the guitarist had been wanting to record the song with The Byrds almost since the band had first formed in 1964 but the other members of the group had been unenthusiastic. During 1966, several other L.A. based bands enjoyed success with "Hey Joe", leaving Crosby angered by his bandmates' lack of faith in the song. Finally the other members of The Byrds acquiesced and allowed Crosby the chance to record the song during sessions for Fifth Dimension.
Another cover version on the album, "I Come and Stand at Every Door", is perhaps the most macabre song in The Byrds' oeuvre. The song's lyrics, which were adapted from a poem by Nâzım Hikmet
, recount the story of a seven-year-old child who was killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
. The song describes how the child's spirit now walks the earth in search of peace in the nuclear age
. The two traditional folk songs included on the album, "John Riley
" and "Wild Mountain Thyme
", were both introduced to the band by McGuinn, who had learned them via recordings made by Joan Baez
and Pete Seeger
respectively.
, CS 9349 in stereo
) and September 22, 1966 in the UK (catalogue item BPG 62783 in mono, SBPG 62783 in stereo). It peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, during a chart stay of 28 weeks, and reached #27 in the United Kingdom. The album's front cover featured a photograph taken by the graphic design company Horn/Griner and also featured the first appearance of The Byrds' colorful psychedelic mosaic
logo. The preceding "Eight Miles High" single was released on March 14, 1966 in the U.S. and April 29, 1966 in the UK, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
and #24 on the UK Singles Chart
. A second single, "5D (Fifth Dimension)", was released on June 13, 1966 in America and July 29, 1966 in the UK, peaking at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but failing to chart in the UK. A third single taken from the album, "Mr. Spaceman", was issued on September 6, 1966 and reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 but again, failed to chart in the UK.
Upon its release, contemporary critical reaction to the album was somewhat tepid, although Hit Parader
described the album as "the third and best album from The Byrds." The Hit Parader review also made reference to the recent controversy surrounding the album's two preceding singles by suggesting "If your friendly neighborhood radio station banned 'Eight Miles High' and '5D' you can listen to them here and discover that there's nothing suggestive about them. The only danger in this album is that it might addict you to groovy music." However, journalist Jon Landau
, writing in Crawdaddy!
, was less complimentary about the album and cited the departure of Gene Clark as a contributing factor in its artistic failure: "Unfortunately, they recently lost Gene Clark and the new album suffers greatly from this loss." Landau concluded his review by opining that the album "cannot be considered up to the standards set by The Byrds' first two and basically demonstrates that they should be thinking in terms of replacing Gene Clark instead of just trying to carry on without him." In the UK, Disc
magazine was also critical of the album, bemoaning a lack of energy in the album's contents and commenting "Here then are those Byrds with the fresh eager exciting music sounding like tired and disillusioned old men looking back on the happy days. This is a sad sound indeed." In more recent years, Richie Unterberger
, writing for the Allmusic website, has described Fifth Dimension as "wildly uneven", noting that the album's short-comings prevent it "from attaining truly classic status."
Despite its inconsistency, Fifth Dimension is today regarded as a highly influential, albeit transitional, album that is musically more experimental than the band's previous recorded output. The album can also be seen as a testament to the rapidity with which pop music
was evolving during the mid-1960s. Like its predecessor, Turn! Turn! Turn!
, the album was made under trying circumstances, with the band scrambling to compensate for the loss of their main songwriter in the wake of Clark's departure. This resulted in an uneven album that included a total of four cover versions and an instrumental. However, the album actually contained fewer covers than either of their Clark-era albums did, as well as an absence of songs by Bob Dylan, whose material, along with Clark's, had dominated earlier Byrds' releases.
Fifth Dimension was remastered at 20-bit
resolution and partially remix
ed as part of the Columbia/Legacy
Byrds series. It was reissued in an expanded form on April 30, 1996, with six bonus tracks, including the RCA versions of "Why" and "Eight Miles High". The final track on the CD
extends to include a hidden promotional
radio interview with McGuinn and Crosby, dating from 1966. The interview is open-ended and formatted with gaps between the group's answers, whereby a disc jockey
could insert himself asking scripted questions, giving the illusion that The Byrds were being interviewed in person.
On April 26, 2005, Sundazed Records
issued a compilation of outtake
s from the Fifth Dimension recording sessions, titled Another Dimension.
The Byrds
Additional personnel
and Turn! Turn! Turn!
, which were remixed extensively, only a third of Fifth Dimension was remixed, although it is unknown exactly which tracks received this treatment. The reason for these remixes was explained by Bob Irwin (who produced these re-issues for compact disc) during an interview:
He further stated:
Many fans enjoy the partially remixed album because it is very close to the original mix in most cases and offers noticeably better sound quality. However, there are also a lot of fans who dismiss the remix as revisionist history
and prefer to listen to the original mix on vinyl
or the on the pre-1996 CD releases.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(see 1966 in music
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
). Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Gene Clark
Gene Clark
Gene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
. In an attempt to compensate for Clark's absence, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ists Jim McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
and David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
stepped into the breach and increased their songwriting output. In spite of this, the loss of Clark resulted in an uneven album that included a total of four cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s and an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
. However, the album is notable for being the first by The Byrds not to include any songs written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, whose material had previously been a mainstay of the band's repertoire.
The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top LPs
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and reached #27 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Two preceding singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Eight Miles High
Eight Miles High
"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and first released as a single on March 14, 1966 . The single managed to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart...
" and "5D (Fifth Dimension)
5D (Fifth Dimension)
"5D " is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by band member Jim McGuinn. It was released as a single on June 13, 1966 and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The song was also included on the band's third album, Fifth Dimension, released...
", were included on the album, with the former just missing the Top 10 of the Billboard singles chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Additionally, a third single taken from the album, "Mr. Spaceman
Mr. Spaceman
"Mr. Spaceman" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds and was the third track on their 1966 album Fifth Dimension. The song was initially written by band member Jim McGuinn as a "melodramatic screenplay" but it soon evolved into a whimsical meditation on the existence of extraterrestrial...
", managed to reach the U.S. Top 40. Upon release, Fifth Dimension was widely regarded as the band's most experimental album to date and is today considered influential in originating the musical genre of psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
.
Background
On December 22, 1965, shortly after the release of their second album Turn! Turn! Turn!Turn! Turn! Turn! (album)
Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk rock band The Byrds and was released in December 1965 on Columbia Records . Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string...
, The Byrds entered RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
Studios in Los Angeles to record "Eight Miles High" and "Why
Why (The Byrds song)
"Why" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Jim McGuinn and David Crosby and first released as the B-side of the band's "Eight Miles High" single in March 1966. The song was re-recorded in December 1966 and released for a second time as part of the band's Younger Than Yesterday...
", two new songs that they had recently composed. Both songs represented a creative leap forward for the band and were instrumental in developing the musical styles of psychedelic rock and raga rock
Raga rock
Raga rock is a term used to describe rock or pop music with a heavy Indian influence, either in its construction, its timbre, or its use of instrumentation, such as the sitar and tabla...
. However, the band ran into trouble with their record company
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Columbia Records, who refused to release either song because they had not been recorded at a Columbia owned studio. As a result, the band were forced to re-record both songs in their entirety at Columbia Studios, Hollywood and it was these re-recordings that would see release on the "Eight Miles High" single and the Fifth Dimension album.
The re-recordings of "Eight Miles High" and "Why" were produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Allen Stanton, Columbia's West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
Vice President, who had recently been assigned to the band following The Byrds' decision to dispense with their previous producer, Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher
Terrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
. Melcher had guided The Byrds through the recording of their first two folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
albums, which had included the international hit singles "Mr. Tambourine Man
Mr. Tambourine Man
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, which was released on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The Byrds also recorded a version of the song that was released as their first single on Columbia Records, reaching number 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and...
" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!", both of which had reached #1 in the U.S. charts. However, during sessions for the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, Melcher had found himself in conflict with The Byrds' manager, Jim Dickson, who had aspirations to produce the band himself. Within a month of the band's second album being released, Dickson—with the full support of The Byrds—approached Columbia Records and insisted that Melcher be replaced. However, any hopes that Dickson had of being allowed to produce The Byrds himself were dashed when Columbia chose Allen Stanton as the band's new producer. This decision was due to Columbia studio regulations specifying that only an in-house Columbia employee could produce records by the label's acts. Stanton would work as The Byrds' producer for the duration of the Fifth Dimension sessions
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
but would leave Columbia for A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
shortly after the release of the album.
Following the re-recording of "Eight Miles High" in January 1966 and just prior to its release as a single in March 1966, the band's principal songwriter, Gene Clark, left the band. At the time, the official story regarding Clark's departure was that his fear of flying was preventing him from fulfilling his obligations with the group. However, it has become known in the years since then that there were other stress related factors at work, as well as resentment within the band that his songwriting income had made him the wealthiest member of the group. While the song "Eight Miles High" still featured the full participation of Clark, the remaining ten tracks on the Fifth Dimension album were recorded after he had left the band, although he does make a guest appearance on the song "Captain Soul".
Music
Arguably the most famous song on the album was the hit singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"Eight Miles High", an early excursion into psychedelic rock. Musically, the song was a fusion of John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
-influenced guitar playing—courtesy of lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist Jim McGuinn—and raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
-based musical structure and vocals, inspired by the Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
of Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
. Written mostly by Gene Clark in November 1965, while The Byrds were on tour in the U.S., the song was pivotal in transmuting folk rock into the new musical forms of psychedelia and raga rock. Regardless of its innovative qualities, however, many radio stations in the U.S. banned the record, believing the title to be a reference to recreational drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
. The song's lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
actually pertained to the approximate cruising altitude
Cruise (flight)
Cruise is the level portion of aircraft travel where flight is most fuel efficient. It occurs between ascent and descent phases and is usually the majority of a journey. Technically, cruising consists of heading changes only at a constant airspeed and altitude...
of commercial airliners and the group's first visit to London during their 1965 English tour.
The album also included the McGuinn penned songs "5D (Fifth Dimension)
5D (Fifth Dimension)
"5D " is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by band member Jim McGuinn. It was released as a single on June 13, 1966 and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The song was also included on the band's third album, Fifth Dimension, released...
" and "Mr. Spaceman
Mr. Spaceman
"Mr. Spaceman" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds and was the third track on their 1966 album Fifth Dimension. The song was initially written by band member Jim McGuinn as a "melodramatic screenplay" but it soon evolved into a whimsical meditation on the existence of extraterrestrial...
", with the latter being an early foray into country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
and a semi-serious meditation on the existence of alien life. In spite of its tongue-in-cheek lyrics, both McGuinn and rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist David Crosby were serious about the possibility of communicating with extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
forms via the medium of radio broadcast. McGuinn in particular felt that if the song was played on radio there was a possibility that extraterrestrials might intercept the broadcasts and make contact. However, in later years McGuinn realized that this would've been impossible since AM radio waves
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
disperse too rapidly in space. "5D (Fifth Dimension)", on the other hand, was an abstract attempt to explain Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
's theory of relativity
Special relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
, which was misconstrued by many as being a song about an LSD trip
Psychedelic experience
The term "psychedelic experience" is vague – characterized by polyvalence or ambiguity due to its nature – however in modern psychopharmacological science as well as philosophical, psychological, neurological, spiritual-religious and most other ideological discourses it is understood as an altered...
. In particular, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine targeted "5D (Fifth Dimension)" shortly after its release as a single, claiming that it was one of a recent spate of pop songs to include veiled drug references in its lyrics. This resulted in some radio stations in America refusing to play the song.
McGuinn also penned the album's closing track, "2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)", which was an attempt to create an aural approximation of a flight in a Lear Jet. The song was inspired by the band's friendship with jet manufacturer John Lear and the title is a reference to the registration number of Lear's own personal jet, which was N242FT. The song makes extensive use of aviation sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s, including an in-cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
recitation of a pilot's pre-takeoff checklist and the sound of a jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
starting up. While the song can be regarded as another of The Byrds' quirky album closers, like "Oh! Susanna
Oh! Susanna
"Oh! Susanna" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was published by W. C. Peters & Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848. The song was introduced by a local quintette at a concert in Andrews' Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1847. Foster was said to have written...
h" and "We'll Meet Again
We'll Meet Again (song)
"We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song made famous by British singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles ....
" from their previous albums, Crosby and McGuinn actually took the song very seriously, arguing that it was an innovative attempt at incorporating mechanical sounds into a pop song
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
format.
One of Crosby's songwriting contributions to the album, "What's Happening?!?!", began his penchant for writing abstract songs asking irresoluble questions, a trend that has continued throughout his career with Crosby, Stills & Nash
Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young)
Crosby, Stills & Nash is a folk rock supergroup made up of David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, also known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young when joined by occasional fourth member Neil Young...
and as a solo artist. During a 1966 interview, Crosby admitted that it was a strange song, noting "It asks questions of what's going on here and who does it all belong to and why is it all going on. I just ask the questions because I really don't know the answers." Like "Eight Miles High", the song exhibits the strong influence of Indian classical music with its droning guitar and melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. "What's Happening?!?!" is also notable for being the first song written solely by Crosby to appear on a Byrds' record.
Both Crosby and McGuinn also collaborated on the jazzy "I See You", which represented another example of abstract lyrics coupled with raga-influenced, psychedelic guitar solos. Author Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan
Johnny Rogan is an author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He has written influential biographies of The Byrds, The Smiths and Van Morrison. His writing is characterised by "an almost neurotic attention to detail", epic length and a sometimes hostile...
has commented that "I See You" was indicative of The Byrds' move away from the darkly-romantic songs of Gene Clark towards material that examined psychological states. The album also includes the instrumental "Captain Soul", a song credited to all four band members that grew out of an in-studio jam
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
of Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:...
's "Get Out of My Life, Woman" and which features Gene Clark playing harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
.
The cover versions on Fifth Dimension include the Billy Roberts
Billy Roberts
Billy Roberts is an American songwriter and musician credited with composing the 1960s rock music standard "Hey Joe"...
' song "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)
Hey Joe
"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
", which would enjoy a brief vogue during 1966, with notable versions of the song being recorded by Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
, The Leaves
The Leaves
The Leaves were an American garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song, which became a rock standard.-History:...
, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
. The song was introduced to The Byrds by Crosby, who also sang lead vocals on their recording of it. Crosby, along with his friend Dino Valenti
Chet Powers
Chester William Powers, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, and a member of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name "Dino Valenti" and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow...
, had been instrumental in popularizing the song within the larger Los Angeles music community. Consequently, the guitarist had been wanting to record the song with The Byrds almost since the band had first formed in 1964 but the other members of the group had been unenthusiastic. During 1966, several other L.A. based bands enjoyed success with "Hey Joe", leaving Crosby angered by his bandmates' lack of faith in the song. Finally the other members of The Byrds acquiesced and allowed Crosby the chance to record the song during sessions for Fifth Dimension.
Another cover version on the album, "I Come and Stand at Every Door", is perhaps the most macabre song in The Byrds' oeuvre. The song's lyrics, which were adapted from a poem by Nâzım Hikmet
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
, recount the story of a seven-year-old child who was killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. The song describes how the child's spirit now walks the earth in search of peace in the nuclear age
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
. The two traditional folk songs included on the album, "John Riley
John Riley (song)
"John Riley" is a traditional English folk song ....
" and "Wild Mountain Thyme
Wild Mountain Thyme
"Wild Mountain Thyme", also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will You Go Lassie, Go", is a folk song, rewritten by Francis McPeake, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland...
", were both introduced to the band by McGuinn, who had learned them via recordings made by Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
respectively.
Release and legacy
Fifth Dimension was released on July 18, 1966 in the United States (catalogue item CL 2549 in monoMonaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
, CS 9349 in stereo
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
) and September 22, 1966 in the UK (catalogue item BPG 62783 in mono, SBPG 62783 in stereo). It peaked at #24 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, during a chart stay of 28 weeks, and reached #27 in the United Kingdom. The album's front cover featured a photograph taken by the graphic design company Horn/Griner and also featured the first appearance of The Byrds' colorful psychedelic mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
logo. The preceding "Eight Miles High" single was released on March 14, 1966 in the U.S. and April 29, 1966 in the UK, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and #24 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. A second single, "5D (Fifth Dimension)", was released on June 13, 1966 in America and July 29, 1966 in the UK, peaking at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but failing to chart in the UK. A third single taken from the album, "Mr. Spaceman", was issued on September 6, 1966 and reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 but again, failed to chart in the UK.
Upon its release, contemporary critical reaction to the album was somewhat tepid, although Hit Parader
Hit Parader
Hit Parader is an American music magazine focusing on the genres of hard rock, pop, and heavy metal.The magazine was originally started as a pop song lyric magazine by Charlton Publications in 1942. Charlton sold off the magazine before the company went under in 1991...
described the album as "the third and best album from The Byrds." The Hit Parader review also made reference to the recent controversy surrounding the album's two preceding singles by suggesting "If your friendly neighborhood radio station banned 'Eight Miles High' and '5D' you can listen to them here and discover that there's nothing suggestive about them. The only danger in this album is that it might addict you to groovy music." However, journalist Jon Landau
Jon Landau
Jon Landau is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
, writing in Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
, was less complimentary about the album and cited the departure of Gene Clark as a contributing factor in its artistic failure: "Unfortunately, they recently lost Gene Clark and the new album suffers greatly from this loss." Landau concluded his review by opining that the album "cannot be considered up to the standards set by The Byrds' first two and basically demonstrates that they should be thinking in terms of replacing Gene Clark instead of just trying to carry on without him." In the UK, Disc
Disc (magazine)
Disc was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into Record Mirror. It was also known for periods as Disc Weekly and Disc and Music Echo ....
magazine was also critical of the album, bemoaning a lack of energy in the album's contents and commenting "Here then are those Byrds with the fresh eager exciting music sounding like tired and disillusioned old men looking back on the happy days. This is a sad sound indeed." In more recent years, Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
, writing for the Allmusic website, has described Fifth Dimension as "wildly uneven", noting that the album's short-comings prevent it "from attaining truly classic status."
Despite its inconsistency, Fifth Dimension is today regarded as a highly influential, albeit transitional, album that is musically more experimental than the band's previous recorded output. The album can also be seen as a testament to the rapidity with which pop music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
was evolving during the mid-1960s. Like its predecessor, Turn! Turn! Turn!
Turn! Turn! Turn! (album)
Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk rock band The Byrds and was released in December 1965 on Columbia Records . Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string...
, the album was made under trying circumstances, with the band scrambling to compensate for the loss of their main songwriter in the wake of Clark's departure. This resulted in an uneven album that included a total of four cover versions and an instrumental. However, the album actually contained fewer covers than either of their Clark-era albums did, as well as an absence of songs by Bob Dylan, whose material, along with Clark's, had dominated earlier Byrds' releases.
Fifth Dimension was remastered at 20-bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
resolution and partially remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed as part of the Columbia/Legacy
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
Byrds series. It was reissued in an expanded form on April 30, 1996, with six bonus tracks, including the RCA versions of "Why" and "Eight Miles High". The final track on the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
extends to include a hidden promotional
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
radio interview with McGuinn and Crosby, dating from 1966. The interview is open-ended and formatted with gaps between the group's answers, whereby a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
could insert himself asking scripted questions, giving the illusion that The Byrds were being interviewed in person.
On April 26, 2005, Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989...
issued a compilation of outtake
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s from the Fifth Dimension recording sessions, titled Another Dimension.
Side 1
- "5D (Fifth Dimension)5D (Fifth Dimension)"5D " is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by band member Jim McGuinn. It was released as a single on June 13, 1966 and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. The song was also included on the band's third album, Fifth Dimension, released...
" (Jim McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
) – 2:33 - "Wild Mountain ThymeWild Mountain Thyme"Wild Mountain Thyme", also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will You Go Lassie, Go", is a folk song, rewritten by Francis McPeake, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland...
" (traditionalTraditional musicTraditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
, arranged Jim McGuinn, Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
, Michael ClarkeMichael Clarke (musician)Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
, David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
) – 2:30 - "Mr. SpacemanMr. Spaceman"Mr. Spaceman" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds and was the third track on their 1966 album Fifth Dimension. The song was initially written by band member Jim McGuinn as a "melodramatic screenplay" but it soon evolved into a whimsical meditation on the existence of extraterrestrial...
" (Jim McGuinn) – 2:09 - "I See You" (Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 2:38
- "What's Happening?!?!" (David Crosby) – 2:35
- "I Come and Stand at Every Door" (Nâzım HikmetNazim HikmetNâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
) – 3:03
Side 2
- "Eight Miles HighEight Miles High"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and first released as a single on March 14, 1966 . The single managed to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart...
" (Gene ClarkGene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
, Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 3:34 - "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)Hey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
" (Billy RobertsBilly RobertsBilly Roberts is an American songwriter and musician credited with composing the 1960s rock music standard "Hey Joe"...
) – 2:17 - "Captain Soul" (Jim McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Michael Clarke, David Crosby) – 2:53
- "John RileyJohn Riley (song)"John Riley" is a traditional English folk song ....
" (traditional, arranged Jim McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Michael Clarke, David Crosby) – 2:57- NOTE: The album erroneously credits "John Riley" to Bob GibsonBob Gibson (musician)Samuel Robert Gibson was a folk singer who led a folk music revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade...
and Ricky Neff.
- NOTE: The album erroneously credits "John Riley" to Bob Gibson
- "2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song)" (Jim McGuinn) – 2:12
1996 CD reissue bonus tracks
- "WhyWhy (The Byrds song)"Why" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Jim McGuinn and David Crosby and first released as the B-side of the band's "Eight Miles High" single in March 1966. The song was re-recorded in December 1966 and released for a second time as part of the band's Younger Than Yesterday...
" [Single Version] (Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 2:59 - "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)I Know You Rider"I Know You Rider" is a traditional woman's blues song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to the song's appearance in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by the noted father and son musicologists and folklorists, John Lomax and Alan Lomax...
" (traditional, arranged Jim McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby) – 2:43 - "Psychodrama City" (David Crosby) – 3:23
- "Eight Miles High" [Alternate RCA Version] (Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 3:19
- "Why" [Alternate RCA Version] (Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) – 2:40
- "John Riley" [Instrumental] (traditional, arranged Jim McGuinn, Chris Hillman, Michael Clarke, David Crosby) – 16:53
- NOTE: this song ends at 3:10; at 3:20 begins "Byrds Promotional Radio Interview"
Singles
- "Eight Miles High" b/w "Why" (Columbia 43578) March 14, 1966 (US #14, UK #24)
- "5D (Fifth Dimension)" b/w "Captain Soul" (Columbia 43702) June 13, 1966 (US #44)
- "Mr. Spaceman" b/w "What's Happening?!?!" (Columbia 43766) September 6, 1966 (US #36)
Personnel
NOTE: Sources for this section are as follows:The Byrds
- Jim McGuinnRoger McGuinnJames Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - David CrosbyDavid CrosbyDavid Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Chris HillmanChris HillmanChristopher Hillman was one of the original members of The Byrds which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby, and Michael Clarke....
- electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Michael ClarkeMichael Clarke (musician)Michael Clarke , was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the 1960s rock group The Byrds from 1964 to 1967. He died in 1993, at age 47, from liver failure, a direct result of more than three decades of heavy alcohol consumption.-Biography:Clarke was born Michael James Dick in...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional personnel
- Gene ClarkGene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
- tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, vocals (tracks 7, 9, bonus tracks 12, 15, 16) - Van Dyke ParksVan Dyke ParksVan Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
- organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
(track 1) - string sectionString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
arranged by Allen Stanton (tracks 2, 10)
Release history
| Date | Label | Format | Country | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 18, 1966 | Columbia Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |
LP LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... |
US | CL 2549 | Original mono Monaural Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path... release. |
| CS 9349 | Original stereo release. | ||||
| September 22, 1966 | CBS Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |
LP | UK | BPG 62783 | Original mono release. |
| SBPG 62783 | Original stereo release. | ||||
| 1989 | Columbia | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
US | CK 9349 | Original CD release. |
| 1991 | BGO | LP | UK | BGOLP 106 | |
| 1991 | BGO | CD | UK | BGOCD 106 | |
| 1993 | Columbia | CD | UK | COL 567069 | |
| April 30, 1996 | Columbia/Legacy Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated... |
CD | US | CK 64847 | Reissue containing six bonus tracks and a partially remixed version of the stereo album. |
| May 6, 1996 | UK | COL 4837072 | |||
| 1999 | Sundazed Sundazed Records Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989... |
LP | US | LP 5059 | Reissue of the partially remixed stereo album with two bonus tracks. |
| 1999 | Simply Vinyl | LP | UK | SVLP 0047 | Reissue of the partially remixed stereo album. |
| 2003 | Sony Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation.... |
CD | Japan | MHCP-68 | Reissue containing six bonus tracks and the partially remixed stereo album in a replica LP sleeve. |
| 2006 | Sundazed | LP | US | LP 5199 | Reissue of the original mono release. |
Remix information
Fifth Dimension was one of four Byrds albums that were remixed as part of their re-release on Columbia/Legacy. However, unlike Mr. Tambourine ManMr. Tambourine Man (album)
Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut album by the American folk rock band The Byrds and was released in June 1965 on Columbia Records . The album, along with the single of the same name, established the band as an internationally successful rock act and was also influential in originating the musical...
and Turn! Turn! Turn!
Turn! Turn! Turn! (album)
Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second album by the folk rock band The Byrds and was released in December 1965 on Columbia Records . Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string...
, which were remixed extensively, only a third of Fifth Dimension was remixed, although it is unknown exactly which tracks received this treatment. The reason for these remixes was explained by Bob Irwin (who produced these re-issues for compact disc) during an interview:
He further stated:
Many fans enjoy the partially remixed album because it is very close to the original mix in most cases and offers noticeably better sound quality. However, there are also a lot of fans who dismiss the remix as revisionist history
Historical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
and prefer to listen to the original mix on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
or the on the pre-1996 CD releases.