For a REAL horror story, click on this link. Bwahhahhhahhhahhhhahhhahhhck! ... Dr. Byrds & Mr. Pie Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 It's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! No wait ... I got that wrong. If that were right, then the album should have been called Frankenbyrds. I vant to suck your bluud! Um, no. That would be Draculbyrds. I believe the real album title comes from that one novel that was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Yeah! Treasure Byrdsland! That's it! I admit that I haven't been noting which band members were leaving when in my Byrds reviews. But I will mention now that the only original member left at this point was Roger McGuinn ... who apparently was the only one who wasn't frightened off by the Black Spot! Sort of working off what was accomplished with Sweetheart of the Rodeo, McGuinn continues down the country-music path, except this time he combines it with good ole rock-and-roll, and that makes these songs more enjoyable in the long run. But this still ain't a great album. It got a 7.9. How great can it be? Well, a 7.9 indicates that this is a good album by all accounts. Some of the songs in here are as enjoyable as the dickens! There are some other totally sloppy ones that keep this album from becoming something that's particularly worth remembering. Oh well. What else can you expect from an album whose title is a really bad pun? (And me calling a pun bad is pretty sorry, indeed.) Overall Album Score: 7.9 out of 10 (This is an improvement over Sweetheart of the Rodeo ... but this is certainly one of the weakest albums to carry The Byrds' moniker.) Average Song Score: 8.2 (There are some excellent songs in here ... and there's some excellent #$#@, too.) Album Tilt: 8.0 (This album is an entertaining listen. It's unfortunate that some of the songs on here weren't really worked on enough.) Artist Rating: 7.5 (The Byrds ... even if there's only one left ... still do an okay job with their albums. It's not artistic, though, and it certainly doesn't impress me with any artistic aura.) Track Reviews This Wheel's On Fire 9/10 This is a good version of that old The Band/Bob Dylan song. I think my favorite is still The Band's version, but this is good. (And ... ohhh!!! This is the "Absolutely Fabulous" theme song --- You know, that's that one 90s British sitcom with the two middle aged tarts whom no one can hardly understand ... I had always been wondering what that song was.) Yep. I like this song. The Byrds did really well with it. (I'm not sure about the tornado siren at the end here, but ... hmmm ... who cares?) Old Blue 10/10 This is AWESOME! Yes, this is country music, but when I think of The Byrds' previous album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, I'm thinking the songs should have been much more like this. See, this is real country-rock. The melody is nice, the instrumentation is pleasantly lightweight (and so are the lyrics). And there's clapping. I love the clapping. Your Gentle Ways of Loving Me 9/10 This is really good, too. It's nice, quiet, laid-back, tuneful ... if you really have to listen to country-rock music, it might as well be like this! This is really good, too. I'm glad those foos left the band leaving Roger McGuinn all by hisself. He's coo. Child of the Universe 7/10 I suppose that it's songs like this that keep Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde from being a rock-and-roll classic (other than the fact that the album title has this awful pun). A recurring section of this song is really awful. But another recurring section is really nice. Therefore, this song is both good and bad. So I gives a 7. Nashville West 8/10 This is a very goofy (and very fun) country-rock instrumental. The wild drumming at the end might remind you of Keith Moon's excessive drumming from The Who. But it ain't Keith Moon. Only Keith is allowed to do that and get away with it. Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man 9/10 I wonder what Jesse Jackson would have done if this song were released today? No, this song isn't racist ... but it does say the words "Ku Klux Klan." And just the sheer hint of racism by a white band would set Jesse Jackson and his cronies off ... (Rrrrggghhh! I think you can tell that I dislike Jesse Jackson.) But this song is alright! It's, again, one of those laid-back country-rock ditties. I still don't like the slide guitar (arrrggg!), but I like this song overall! It's a good one! King Apathy III 7.5/10 Ho hum. This song starts out as a regular old 60s rock song ... and then, all of the sudden, it turns into a country-rock song. Verrrrrrry unfocused, and I think the transition between the two styles was done sloppily. Oh well. I suppose the song doesn't totally flop. It just flops a little bit. Candy 8/10 This is a purely unremarkable but enjoyable country-rock song. HmmmHmmm! The tune could have been better ... the instrumentation could have been much sharper. So it's not perfect! Bad Night At the Whisky 7/10 Yeah ... This album isn't classic because of songs like this. It's sloppy, not really enjoyable, and TOTALLY unremarkable. I'm like ... hmmhmmmhmmmhmmm. That word describes it all. Medley: My Back Pages/B.J. Blues/Baby What You Want Me To Do 7/10 This is a really dull, sloppy, and generic "Medley" (as the title might suggest to some). Well, since this is the last song of the real album, I think I will do myself a favor and just switch this whole thing off! (Arrrgh!! They really needed to take some of these jerk-tracks out. This coulda been a contenda!) BONUS TRACKS Stanley's Song This is a dead-dull country music song. They must really think Stanley stinks. Lay Lady Lay How many Bob Dylan covers can one band do in their entire career? And what's with that annoying keyboard? I dunno. This Wheel's on Fire (Alternate Version) Why don't Eddy & Patsy (from that British TV show) have a catch-phrase? I wish they did, because I wanted to make fun of it here. But since they don't have one, I'm left out in the cold. Total bugger. Medley: My Back Pages/B.J. Blues/Baby What You Want Me to Do (Alternate Take) I can't believe that they made me type up that song title again. What complete and utter jerk in the boxes!! I think this version is slightly better, actually. That's the communist conspiracy for ya. Nashville West This version of that song has a cool rhythm section!!! It doesn't really add much to the song, I'd say. Oh well. Such is life ... and underpants ... oh baby. Does anyone out there know Kate Beckinsale? If so, could you possibly set me up on a date with her, 'cause she's really cute. If you would like to get into contact with either Dr. Byrds or Mr. Hyde, then please send me an e-mail here!

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He is the lovechild of Goldie Hawn and Walter Cronkite.