THE BYRDS - FIFTH DIMENSION (1966, Columbia)

FIFTH DIMENSION

America's Beatles take their first magic carpet ride.

The Byrds have often been called America's answer to The Beatles and although their popularity in the 1960s jettisoned them into the stratosphere of rock stardom, today they are frequently just plastered with the "folk-rock" label of their early years while a genre spanning catalog is often stripped down to "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn, Turn, Turn". This leads people to forget that this band was also one of the finest psychedelic, and later country, and even later southern rock bands of its era. Fifth Dimension certainly has some low points ("What's Happening?", "I Come and Stand at Every Door" come to mind) but also some of the least indulgent and carefully gilded songs in the psychedelia genre. Although certainly full of psychedelic moments, Fifth Dimension would be the last LP to still retains the skeleton of folk-rock that the Byrds would later discard for their more experimental excursions, the pop influenced Younger than Yesterday and the kaleidoscopic The Notorious Byrd Brothers. 

After the fear of flying induced departure of primary tunesmith Gene Clark, his songwriting duties were taken up by David Crosby who had yet, or never would, overcome the worst of his free love obsessions. Crosby does manage to muster up some of his best, and least drippy, material including his cover of "Hey Joe", far inferior to The Leaves' little nugget but I certainly prefer Roger McGuinn's 12 string over Hendrix's downtrodden bullshit any day of the week. Crosby is largely credited with introducing "Hey Joe" into the rock catalogue after plucking it from an obscure folk singer-songwriter named Billy Roberts and introducing it to The Leaves and Love, eventually recording it himself as a member of The Byrds. It is a shame that the down tempo Hendrix version is now recognized as the classic rendition over these three fast paced translations. 

Roger himself especially shines on "5D" and his sitar-like runs on "Eight Miles High", which also features throbbing bass lines by Chris Hillman, can be trying but his solos are more precise and restrained then many of his contemporaries. While bands like the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane placed an emphasis on musicianship over song craft, a choice which has not let their music age all to gracefully, The Byrds, coming originally from the folk and bluegrass scenes, never sacrifice craftsmanship for the sake of psychedelic experimentation, but instead are able to have both, arguably more often than their contemporaries from Liverpool. The instrumental "Captain Soul", featuring ex-Byrd Gene Clark on harmonica and Michael Clarke's "I can hit a drum in time!" drumming, can seem like filler but is well structured, driving and provides an interesting oasis from the more ethereal tracks. The best songs however showcase The Byrds' ability to blend various genres into cohesive radio ready songs. Their is the beautiful "Wild Mountain Thyme", whose three part harmonies are too beautiful to be written off as hippy-dippy folk and the crown jewel of the LP, the country tinged "Mr. Spaceman", chock full of hooks, harmony, and clever lyrics. The McGuinn sung "Mr. Spaceman" in many foreshadows the country tinges of The Notorious Byrd Brothers and especially Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The Byrds had a habit of ending their LPs on off-kilter notes. Fifth Dimension concludes with the sound effects laden "2-4-2 Fox Trot", which strangely works and does not seem quaint in 2009. If you have the CD-reissue you should definitely check out the paranoid, Gene Clark inspired bonus track "Psychodrama City" which could almost pass for a Velvet Underground song until the Byrds harmonies kick in.