Set You Free This Time
Encyclopedia
"Set You Free This Time" is a song by the American folk rock
band
The Byrds
, written by band member Gene Clark
and first released in December 1965 on the group's Turn! Turn! Turn!
album. According to Clark, the song was written in just a few hours during The Byrds' 1965 British tour, after a night spent carousing with Paul McCartney
at the Scotch of St James
club in London. The song's lead vocal
is performed by Clark, who also plays acoustic guitar
and harmonica
on the track. "Set You Free This Time" concerns the breakup of a relationship and Clark's vocal inflections and densely-worded lyrics suggest the influence of Bob Dylan
. The song also has a vague country-rock feel to it, largely due to the song's melody and Clark's harmonica solo. The chord progression and rhythm of the song, however, are atypical of country music
.
Following its appearance on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, the song was issued as the A-side
of a single
on January 10, 1966. However, initial sales were relatively poor, with the single only managing to reach #79 on the Billboard Hot 100
. As a result, Columbia Records
in America began promoting the single's B-side
"It Won't Be Wrong
" instead, which resulted in the single eventually climbing to #63. In the UK, after a review in the NME
stated that the B-side was better than "Set You Free This Time", CBS Records
went a step further and actually re-released the single with "It Won't Be Wrong" as the A-side. This re-issuing of essentially the same single twice within two weeks caused confusion among British radio DJs
over which of the two songs they should play and contributed to the single's failure to chart. To accompany its UK release as a single, the BBC
commissioned a short promotional film from The Byrds. However, on the day of filming a physical altercation occurred between the band's manager Jim Dickson and rhythm guitarist David Crosby
and although some footage was shot, the clip was never aired.
Despite its lack of commercial success, the single release of "Set You Free This Time" gained mostly positive reviews in the music press
. The first edition of Crawdaddy!
magazine described it as "a lovely, moving song with Dylan-like 20-syllabal lines deckful of well chosen words." In the UK, Penny Valentine
was complimentary in her review of the song for Disc
magazine, commenting "On first play, I didn't like it - but now I do. It's rather unByrd-like and very, very Dylan-like. It's slow and gentle and rather sad about never being a person who had much, and though she laughed at him and has now come for help, he doesn't hold a grudge. Ahh!" The Beatles
' drummer
, Ringo Starr
, reviewing the single for Melody Maker
, commented "I only heard it the other day. They can do no wrong in my book. Great record, man, I love the voices."
During February 1966, The Byrds performed "Set You Free This Time" on the U.S. television program
s Hollywood A Go-Go
, Where The Action Is
, The Lloyd Thaxton Show
, and Shivaree
. However, the song disappeared from the band's live concert
repertoire following Clark's departure from the group in March 1966. During his solo career, Clark would often return to the song in live concerts and consequently, it appears on his live albums In Concert and Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased. The Byrds' recording of "Set You Free This Time" is included on several of the band's compilation album
s, including The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1
, The Essential Byrds
, There Is a Season
, and the expanded and remastered edition of The Byrds' Greatest Hits
. It has also been included on the Gene Clark compilations, Echoes, American Dreamer 1964–1974, Flying High, and Set You Free: Gene Clark in The Byrds 1964–1973.
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...
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...
, written by band member 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....
and first released in December 1965 on the group's 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...
album. According to Clark, the song was written in just a few hours during The Byrds' 1965 British tour, after a night spent carousing with Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
at the Scotch of St James
Scotch of St James
The Scotch of St James club was a popular meeting place for rock musicians during the mid 1960s situated at 13 Masons Yard, Westminster, London SW1...
club in London. The song's lead vocal
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
is performed by Clark, who also plays acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and 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...
on the track. "Set You Free This Time" concerns the breakup of a relationship and Clark's vocal inflections and densely-worded lyrics suggest the influence of 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...
. The song also has a vague country-rock feel to it, largely due to the song's melody and Clark's harmonica solo. The chord progression and rhythm of the song, however, are atypical of country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
.
Following its appearance on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album, the song was issued as the A-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
of a single
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...
on January 10, 1966. However, initial sales were relatively poor, with the single only managing to reach #79 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...
. As a result, 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...
in America began promoting the single's B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
"It Won't Be Wrong
It Won't Be Wrong
"It Won't Be Wrong" is a song by the American folk rock band The Byrds, which appeared as the second track on their 1965 album, Turn! Turn! Turn! It was written in 1964 by band member Jim McGuinn and his friend, Harvey Gerst, an acquaintance from McGuinn's days as a folk singer at The Troubadour...
" instead, which resulted in the single eventually climbing to #63. In the UK, after a review in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
stated that the B-side was better than "Set You Free This Time", CBS 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...
went a step further and actually re-released the single with "It Won't Be Wrong" as the A-side. This re-issuing of essentially the same single twice within two weeks caused confusion among British radio DJs
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...
over which of the two songs they should play and contributed to the single's failure to chart. To accompany its UK release as a single, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commissioned a short promotional film from The Byrds. However, on the day of filming a physical altercation occurred between the band's manager Jim Dickson and rhythm guitarist 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...
and although some footage was shot, the clip was never aired.
Despite its lack of commercial success, the single release of "Set You Free This Time" gained mostly positive reviews in the music press
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
. The first edition of 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...
magazine described it as "a lovely, moving song with Dylan-like 20-syllabal lines deckful of well chosen words." In the UK, Penny Valentine
Penny Valentine
Penelope Ann Valentine was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality....
was complimentary in her review of the song for 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, commenting "On first play, I didn't like it - but now I do. It's rather unByrd-like and very, very Dylan-like. It's slow and gentle and rather sad about never being a person who had much, and though she laughed at him and has now come for help, he doesn't hold a grudge. Ahh!" The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, reviewing the single for Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, commented "I only heard it the other day. They can do no wrong in my book. Great record, man, I love the voices."
During February 1966, The Byrds performed "Set You Free This Time" on the U.S. television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s Hollywood A Go-Go
Hollywood A Go-Go
Hollywood A Go-Go was a Los Angeles based music variety show that ran in syndication in the mid-1960s. It was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers.-History:...
, Where The Action Is
Where the Action Is
Where the Action Is or ' was a music-based television variety show in the United States from 1965–67. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon...
, The Lloyd Thaxton Show
Lloyd Thaxton
Lloyd Thaxton was an American writer, television producer, director, and television host best known for his syndicated pop music television program of the 1960s, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, which began as a local show on KCOP Los Angeles in 1961.-Life and career:The son of a newspaperman, Thaxton was...
, and Shivaree
Shivaree (TV series)
Shivaree was a Los Angeles-based music variety show that ran in syndication from 1965 to 1966. It was hosted by Gene Weed. In its brief run, the show featured numerous well-known acts, including the Rolling Stones, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Byrds, the Bobby Fuller Four, the...
. However, the song disappeared from the band's live concert
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
repertoire following Clark's departure from the group in March 1966. During his solo career, Clark would often return to the song in live concerts and consequently, it appears on his live albums In Concert and Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased. The Byrds' recording of "Set You Free This Time" is included on several of the band's compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, including The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1
The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1
The Original Singles: 1965–1967, Volume 1 is a compilation album by American rock 'n' roll band The Byrds. Originally released in 1980, it offered, for the first time, all of the mono single versions of the Byrds' singles released between 1965 and early 1967...
, The Essential Byrds
The Essential Byrds
-Disc one:#"Mr. Tambourine Man" – 2:31#"I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" – 2:32#"All I Really Want to Do" – 2:04#"Chimes of Freedom" – 3:51...
, There Is a Season
There Is a Season
There Is a Season is a four-CD box set by the American rock band The Byrds that was released on September 26, 2006 by Columbia/Legacy. It comprises 99 tracks and includes material from every one of the band's twelve studio albums, presented in roughly chronological order...
, and the expanded and remastered edition of The Byrds' Greatest Hits
The Byrds' Greatest Hits
The Byrds' Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in August 1967 on Columbia Records . It is the top-selling album in The Byrds' catalogue and reached #6 on the Billboard Top LPs chart but failed to break into the UK Albums Chart...
. It has also been included on the Gene Clark compilations, Echoes, American Dreamer 1964–1974, Flying High, and Set You Free: Gene Clark in The Byrds 1964–1973.