Fly back through the fifth dimension back to the Byrds page!

The Minced Flamingo Overall Album Score: 9.3 out of 10 ...Soar!!!! That's what The Byrds do. After those rather boring (but unique and revolutionary) debut album and the cloned follow-up, they finally create something a little more exciting in Fifth Dimension. They not only expand on their sound by adopting some psychedelic undertones, but they add considerable beauty to their work. Nearly every track on here is a gorgeous work, which alone makes this their finest work! The most intriguing aspect about listening to The Byrds music is that they usually manage to be interesting even though they don't always write great melodies. Of course, Fifth Dimension has its fair share of memorable tunes (notably, "Mr. Spaceman") but they were far more interested in their actual arrangements. So, even if they don't have a necessarily great melody, their work manages to still be entertaining. Well, this is an important step toward album-rock it seems. Not that I really know about anything! It's funny that "Eight Miles High" was a hit single for this group. It honestly didn't leave much of an impression on my when I went through and scored the tracks! But that's a unique song and one that suggests that the public mindset was ready for some severe changes. The Byrds' role in ushering in a new era of rock was pretty much done by this point, but they were unquestionably one of the main forces leading up to the 1967-1969 era, arguably the golden years of rock 'n' roll. You can talk about this album's historical value all you want, but what's most important is the music itself. And, Fifth Dimension succeeds with flying colors. You'll love what you hear --- believe me. "Wild Mountain Thyme" is phenomenally gorgeous, "John Riley" is a particular favorite ... and "5D" is an utterly unique composition and a great album opener. I also like their version of "Hey Joe," which is a much different take than Jimi Hendrix's more revered version a year later. All of that said, I'm still not willing to put The Byrds on any of my personal favorites list. But if you're going to own anything by The Byrds or any of their successors' albums like Crosby, Stills and Nash or Buffalo Springfield, definitely own Fifth Dimension, because it's the king. Overall Album Score: 9.3 out of 10 (The Byrds deliver this fresh-sounding follow-up to their revolutionary earlier albums. Thankfully, this is much more exciting and enjoyable to me... You know, I can get bored easily.) Average Song Score: 9.0 out of 10 (There is hardly a boring moment!) Album Tilt: 9.5 (Much fresher than their previous albums. I'm raising this score specifically because of the diversity.) Artist Rating: 9.5 (These guys were one of the principle movers of psychedelia, weren't they? ... Yeah...) Track Reviews 5D (Fifth Dimension) 9/10 You know, the hooks aren't as grand as I would have hoped though it's difficult to not admit that "5D (Fifth Dimension)" isn't a solid composition. The melody is fine enough, and it reminds me of a Scottish song for some reason. The arrangements are undoubtedly the greatest aspect of this --- it's extremely well done. Their layered vocal harmonies are kept in the chorus and just one guy sings the verses --- that worked in their benefit, I think. Wild Mountain Thyme 9.5/10 Likewise, I'm not a huge fan of the melody, but the atmosphere of "Wild Mountain Thyme" ends up winning me over. Naturally, there's the 12-stringed jangly guitars, but there's also a perfectly arranged violin that manages to give this effort an exotic and unique touch. Their vocal harmonies have never been better. It's genuine Americana, and they're as touching as ever! Mr. Spaceman 10/10 Whenever "Mr. Spaceman" comes along, I'm always glad to receive it. It's odd to hear such an upbeat pop-song right after "Wild Mountain Thyme," but I do treasure diversity! The melody is easily the catchiest of the album, and certainly one of the Byrds' greatest overall. It's just a good song --- and I like the sci-fi lyrics! I See You 9.5/10 This is an expertly done early psychedelia song. It's like the genre had a good reason to exist!!! (Oh, who am I kidding? I love psychedelic music.) The melody is pretty simple though they absolutely nail the atmosphere. It's thick, and they glitter it up with some guitar work that sounds like somebody took some LSD. The whole song has a nice drive to it --- a sense of urgency. This is very fresh sounding. I love it! What's Happening?!?! 9/10 Another nice song! The Byrds are on a roll...What's Happening?!?! is an excellent track that combines their already established 12-string ideas with some weird psychedelia. Very good. It sounds solid and 100 percent fresh. The vocal performance is excellent, and I love that pseudo sitar. I Come and Stand At Every Door 7.5/10 Uncharacteristic of The Byrds compared to the five previous tracks. It sticks out like a sore thumb. This is too slow and lethargic for me to even care about it. It's an old folk song, so maybe they should have just stuck with the originals! This is so boring that they should have left this with Turn! Turn! Turn!. Meh!!! Eight Miles High 8.5/10 Nice! They're reverting back to the original and fresh psychedelic ideas. "Eight Miles High" begins with a nice bass riff and then some really off-kilter guitar comes in. Though that's all pretty deceiving, because a fairly ordinary Byrds tune pipes up after that. Well, I still like it... Again, they aren't much for melodies all the time, and their harmonies don't stick out at me here. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) 9/10 It seems like everyone covered "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)" until everyone finally settled on Jimi Hendrix's version... But hey whatever, this one's actually quite a bit faster and more guitar-heavy. This is pretty fun! Captain Soul 9/10 An R&B-styled rock jam. Like you'd expect, the chord progression is dull, but this thing is very fun to hear. The instrumentals are rather busy and they're all done solidly. A nice beat and bass riff keeps the flow going, and it even features some soulful harmonica and lead guitar. Nice work. John Riley 9.5/10 What a beautiful song. Nothing too fundamentally different except the melody and harmony work together to create something that's just utterly gorgeous. The violins they add are perfect and lend this track such a gorgeous atmosphere. Very well done. 2-4-2 Fox Trot (The Lear Jet Song) 8/10 And the final track predominantly features airplane noises. "2-4-2 Fox Trot" is mostly a sound-effect novelty track though it's an interesting novelty that doesn't really overstay its welcome (at two minutes). That said, they could have at least wrote a nice melody or a haunting chord progression or something --- they just repeat the same bar over and over on top of sound effects. Meh!!! BONUS TRACKS "Why" is a good B-side though it would have been a weaker link if it were included in the album. I do like the instrumental interlude featuring a sitar-like instrument. (It's funny how they like to make their guitars sound like sitars --- and they never use the real thing --- at least as far as I can tell.) It's interesting! "I Know My Rider" is an old folk cover, and it's pretty dang good. It fits the Byrds' already established style perfectly, and this is enjoyable to listen to. I like the melody, and their beautiful instrumentation is great as always. Again, there's that pseudo sitar instrumental solo... "Psychodrama" is more like Psycho-boring city! But at least I like to listen to their guitars on the technical standpoint. The riff might be dull and plodding, but there's one guitar player who's just going nuts over this. It takes awhile for them to start the melody, but you almost wish they would have just left this as an instrumental. I still think this is a good song --- don't get me wrong. And now there's another version of "Eight Miles High" ... Thanks guys... (Only die-hard Byrds fans will appreciate it. The final version was the best one, certainly.) This version of "Why" is also not too essential. We already have the original version in these bonus tracks ........ Hey, who can complain about bonus tracks, anyway? The Byrds play "John Riley" and then there's about 15 minutes worth of The Byrds discussing their work on a radio show. Again, this is great for the fans --- everyone else will undoubtedly find it boring. Leave your comments about this album here or die a miserable death. Lenny507@lunchboxpad.com (Leonard Los) received Oct. 19, 2004 The "talking section" you speak of after the "John Riley" instrumental is actually the "Open End" interview record that was released to radio stations. It was quite a concept, The Byrds furnish all the answers to questions ask by the djs who were sent the record. This saved a lot of time for the group since they didn't have to show up for live radio interviews to promote their lp.

All reviews are copyrighted by the author, Michael Lawrence. He lived through the fifth dimension.