The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man

few debut singles in the history of rock and roll have had the immediate and overwhelming impact of the byrds' version of bob dylan's 'mr tambourine man'. marrying a beatles-like electric jangle to dylan's insight and folky melody (in many ways, breaking dylan into the pop market), it not only forecast the band's influence on the future of pop music but reestablished an american rock and roll presence in the face of the british invasion. the album of the same name, released in june of 1965, was a shotgun blast before the canon roar that dylan's 'highway 61 revisited' (released just two months later) would become. as much as bob dylan was an overwhelming influence on the young byrds - four of the twelve tracks on 'mr tambourine man' were dylan songs - his contributions were only a part of what made the band special. the chiming sound of mcguinn's 12-string guitar was the group's backbone, characterizing the byrds' presence in a way few rock instrumentalists had done until then. gene clark proved to be a mighty songwriter in his own right - 'i'll feel a whole lot better' has stood the test of time better than any other track here. yet, what distinguished the byrds and 'mr tambourine man' most was that they couldn't be easily pigeonholed. combining disparate musical backgrounds and openly reconstructing everything from a british wartime standard ('we'll meet again') to a jackie deshannon pop tune ('don't doubt yourself, babe') in their own open-minded image, the byrds kicked down the door to a new sound called folk-rock. many would soon follow.

Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Mr.Tambourine Man
2. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
3. Spanish Harlem Incident
4. You Won't Have To Cry
5. Here Without You
6. The Bells Of Rhymney
Side 2
1. All I Really Want To Do
2. I Knew I'd Want You
3. It's No Use
4. Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe
5. Chimes Of Freedom
6. We'll Meet Again