The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II
Encyclopedia
The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II is the third greatest hits
album
by the American rock
band
The Byrds
, but only the second to be released in the United States, since the earlier The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II
had only been issued in the UK. The album was released in the U.S. by Columbia Records
on November 10, 1972 (see 1972 in music
) in lieu of any new Byrds' product during that year. It spent a total of thirteen weeks on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
chart and peaked at number 114.
Released just prior to the highly publicized reunion of the five original members of The Byrds, the album was compiled with input from the band's guitarist
and leader Roger McGuinn
, but offered a somewhat erratic survey of the band's later years. The bulk of the album's songs are drawn from the years 1969 through to 1971, with the 1968 albums The Notorious Byrd Brothers
and Sweetheart of the Rodeo
only being represented by "Wasn't Born to Follow" and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
" respectively. The album also included "He Was a Friend of Mine
", which had originally appeared on 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn!
album, a period already covered by the band's first compilation album, The Byrds' Greatest Hits
. The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II featured a number of the band's U.S. charting singles, including "Ballad of Easy Rider
" (#65), "Jesus Is Just Alright
" (#97), "Chestnut Mare
" (#121), and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (#74). However, since none of these singles reached the U.S. Top 40, they couldn't really be considered bona fide hits
.
Press
reaction to the compilation was largely lukewarm, with Bud Scoppa, writing for Rolling Stone
magazine, criticizing the album's song selection: "If you were asked to put together an anthology album of one of the longest-lived, most productive rock groups ever, and you had the total output of the group to choose from, I'll bet you wouldn't come up with anything remotely resembling this album. It's not that the obvious selections aren't included, it's that so little else is." Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine
described the album in his review for the Allmusic website as "not a bad sampling of the Byrds' final years, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo itself offers a better summation of the musical direction the Byrds took after 1967."
The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II was re-issued on CD
in 1990 but is currently out of print. The album's cover photograph was later reused for a UK double album
compilation named History of The Byrds
.
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album
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...
, but only the second to be released in the United States, since the earlier The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II
The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II
The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II is the second greatest hits album by the American rock band The Byrds. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 29, 1971 by CBS Records as a follow-up to the band's first compilation album, The Byrds' Greatest Hits...
had only been issued in the UK. The album was released in the U.S. by 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...
on November 10, 1972 (see 1972 in music
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
) in lieu of any new Byrds' product during that year. It spent a total of thirteen weeks on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes
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 peaked at number 114.
Released just prior to the highly publicized reunion of the five original members of The Byrds, the album was compiled with input from the band's guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and leader Roger 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...
, but offered a somewhat erratic survey of the band's later years. The bulk of the album's songs are drawn from the years 1969 through to 1971, with the 1968 albums The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the fifth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in January 1968 on Columbia Records . Musically, the album represents the pinnacle of The Byrds' psychedelic experimentation, with the band blending together elements of folk rock, psychedelic rock,...
and Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by American rock band The Byrds and was released on August 30, 1968 on Columbia Records...
only being represented by "Wasn't Born to Follow" and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song was first officially released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest...
" respectively. The album also included "He Was a Friend of Mine
He Was a Friend of Mine
"He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. The earliest known version of the song is titled "Shorty George"...
", which had originally appeared on 1965'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, a period already covered by the band's first compilation album, 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...
. The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II featured a number of the band's U.S. charting singles, including "Ballad of Easy Rider
Ballad of Easy Rider
Ballad of Easy Rider is the eighth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in November 1969 on Columbia Records . The album was named after the song "Ballad of Easy Rider", which had been penned by The Byrds' guitarist and singer, Roger McGuinn , as the theme song for the 1969...
" (#65), "Jesus Is Just Alright
Jesus Is Just Alright
"Jesus Is Just Alright" is a gospel song written by Arthur Reid Reynolds and first recorded by Reynolds' own group, The Art Reynolds Singers, on their 1966 album, Tellin' It Like It Is....
" (#97), "Chestnut Mare
Chestnut Mare
"Chestnut Mare" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Roger McGuinn and Jacques Levy during 1969 for a planned country rock musical named Gene Tryp. The musical was never staged and the song was instead released in September 1970 as part of The Byrds' album...
" (#121), and "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (#74). However, since none of these singles reached the U.S. Top 40, they couldn't really be considered bona fide hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
.
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...
reaction to the compilation was largely lukewarm, with Bud Scoppa, writing for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, criticizing the album's song selection: "If you were asked to put together an anthology album of one of the longest-lived, most productive rock groups ever, and you had the total output of the group to choose from, I'll bet you wouldn't come up with anything remotely resembling this album. It's not that the obvious selections aren't included, it's that so little else is." Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
described the album in his review for the Allmusic website as "not a bad sampling of the Byrds' final years, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo itself offers a better summation of the musical direction the Byrds took after 1967."
The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II was re-issued on 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 ,...
in 1990 but is currently out of print. The album's cover photograph was later reused for a UK double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
compilation named History of The Byrds
History of The Byrds
History of The Byrds is a budget priced, double album compilation by the American rock band The Byrds and was released on May 18, 1973 by CBS Records . The compilation was released exclusively in Europe and the UK, peaking at #47 on the UK Albums Chart, but it was also available in the United...
.
Side 1
- "Ballad of Easy RiderBallad of Easy RiderBallad of Easy Rider is the eighth album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in November 1969 on Columbia Records . The album was named after the song "Ballad of Easy Rider", which had been penned by The Byrds' guitarist and singer, Roger McGuinn , as the theme song for the 1969...
" (Roger 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...
, Bob DylanBob DylanBob 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...
) – 2:03- NOTE: Bob Dylan is not officially credited as a songwriter on "Ballad of Easy Rider".
- "Wasn't Born to Follow" (Gerry GoffinGerry GoffinGerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...
, Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
) – 2:00 - "Jesus Is Just AlrightJesus Is Just Alright"Jesus Is Just Alright" is a gospel song written by Arthur Reid Reynolds and first recorded by Reynolds' own group, The Art Reynolds Singers, on their 1966 album, Tellin' It Like It Is....
" (Arthur Reynolds) – 2:09 - "He Was a Friend of MineHe Was a Friend of Mine"He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. The earliest known version of the song is titled "Shorty George"...
" (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...
, new words and arrangement Roger McGuinn) – 2:32 - "Chestnut MareChestnut Mare"Chestnut Mare" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Roger McGuinn and Jacques Levy during 1969 for a planned country rock musical named Gene Tryp. The musical was never staged and the song was instead released in September 1970 as part of The Byrds' album...
" (Roger McGuinn, Jacques LevyJacques LevyJacques Levy was an American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist.Levy was born in New York City in 1935, and attended its City College. He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute...
) – 5:09
Side 2
- "Tiffany Queen" (Roger McGuinn) – 2:42
- "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" (Roger McGuinn, Gram ParsonsGram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
) – 3:52 - "You Ain't Goin' NowhereYou Ain't Goin' Nowhere"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song was first officially released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest...
" (Bob Dylan) – 2:35 - "Citizen Kane" (Skip BattinSkip BattinClyde "Skip" Battin was an American singer–songwriter, performer and recording artist. He is best remembered as a member of The Byrds, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
, Kim FowleyKim FowleyKim Vincent Fowley is an American record producer, impresario, songwriter, musician, film maker, and radio actor. He is best known for his role behind a string of novelty and cult rock pop singles in the 1960s, and for managing The Runaways in the 1970s...
) – 2:33 - "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician" (Roger McGuinn, Jacques Levy) – 2:03
- "America's Great National Pastime" (Skip Battin, Kim Fowley) – 3:00