Byrdmaniax

Byrdmaniax
Studio album by
the Byrds
ReleasedJune 23, 1971 (1971-06-23)
Recorded
  • June 2, October 6, 1970, January 9–26, March 1–6, 1971
  • Orchestral overdubs: mid–March – early April 1971
StudioColumbia, Hollywood
Genre
Length34:06
LabelColumbia
ProducerTerry Melcher, Chris Hinshaw
The Byrds chronology
(Untitled)
(1970) 		Byrdmaniax
(1971) 		The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II
(1971)
Singles from Byrdmaniax
  1. "I Trust (Everything Is Gonna Work Out Alright)"
    Released: May 7, 1971
  2. "Glory, Glory"
    Released: August 20, 1971

Byrdmaniax is the tenth album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in June 1971 on Columbia Records[1] at a time of renewed commercial and critical success for the band, due to the positive reception that their two previous albums, Ballad of Easy Rider and (Untitled), had received.[2][3] The album was the second by the Byrds to feature the Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons, and Skip Battin line-up of the band and was mostly recorded in early 1971, while the band were in the midst of an exhausting tour schedule.[2][4] As a result, the band had little time to hone their new songs before recording commenced and thus, much of the material on the album is underdeveloped.[2] Byrdmaniax was poorly received upon release, particularly in the United States, and did much to undermine the Byrds' new-found popularity.[2]

The album peaked at number 46 on the Billboard Top LPs chart but failed to reach the UK Albums Chart.[5][6] The song "I Trust (Everything Is Gonna Work Out Alright)" was released as a preceding single on May 7, 1971 in the United Kingdom but it did not chart.[1][6] A second single taken from the album, "Glory, Glory", was released on August 20, 1971 and reached number 110 on the Billboard chart, but again, the single failed to reach the UK chart.[7] Byrdmaniax remains one of the Byrds' most poorly received album releases, largely due to the incongruous addition of strings, horns, and a gospel choir which were overdubbed onto the songs by producer Terry Melcher and arranger Paul Polena, reportedly without the band's consent.[2][8]

  1. ^ a b Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited (2nd ed.). Rogan House. pp. 542–547. ISBN 0-9529540-1-X.
  2. ^ a b c d e Fricke, David. (2000). Byrdmaniax (2000 CD liner notes).
  3. ^ Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  4. ^ Eder, Bruce. (1990). The Byrds (1990 CD box set liner notes).
  5. ^ "The Byrds Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  6. ^ a b Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 275–279. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  7. ^ Hjort, Christopher. (2008). So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-By-Day (1965-1973). Jawbone Press. pp. 282–283. ISBN 978-1-906002-15-2.
  8. ^ "Byrdmaniax review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-10-04.