Epilogue
Undeniably, the release of the Byrds’ first four albums on CD in April
1996 set a new, higher standard for reissues of 60’s artists on disc for the
following reasons: their state-of-the art sound quality; the generally
judicious choices made on the remixing and mastering of tracks; the inclusion
of top-flight and often rare bonus tracks; and the superb and informative liner
notes (by David Fricke) and song notes (by Johnny Rogan). The entire project
exuded class and excellent attention to detail. Clearly, a considerable amount
of work, research, and preparation went into it.
Thus it was all the more puzzling why neither Project Director Adam
Block nor especially Producer Bob Irwin saw fit to include annotations
regarding which tracks on each album had been remixed, and from what type of
multi-track masters. One would have thought that would have been a relatively
straightforward matter to cover. While casual fans may not have cared, Block
and Irwin had to have known that die-hard Byrds’ fans would, and surely
deserved that information. Ironically, even the much-maligned 1990 box set had
managed to include such historically useful notes, making it crystal-clear
which tracks had been remixed and from what source tapes. This unexplained
omission has marred the otherwise fine Legacy CD reissue series of the Byrds’
catalog over the years, and led to understandable speculation and debate-
notably in the past decade in online forums.
On a more minor note, it was rather surprising that apparently none of
the surviving Byrds were asked for their feedback on the remixed tracks prior
to the release of these Legacy reissue CD’s. After all, Roger McGuinn had
served as a musical consultant on the 1990 box set, reviewing “… hours of
previously unreleased material…” and assisting in the creation of new stereo
mixes of some songs that had only been in mono (1990 box set, liner notes, 13).
David Crosby seemed especially upset that the Legacy reissue team failed to
solicit his opinions ahead of time: “… The only thing that pisses me is that
they never asked anything. They never talked to me not once, they went ahead
and did it and just did it….” (http://www.analogplanet.com/content/david-crosby-can-remember-his-name-and-great-deal-more-part-ii-0).
It is this writer’s hope that, in some small way, this article will
lead to Columbia/Legacy Records, as a part of Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.,
posting a ‘white paper’ of sorts on their website that at least lists which
songs were actually remixed from the first four Byrds’ studio albums and from
what source tapes (http://www.legacyrecordings.com).
Byrds’ fans across the globe can only hope, while they enjoy the group’s
incredibly timeless, superb, and eclectic music.
Appendix A: Notes on Methodology and the
Compilation of Meter Chart Data
Each track on the first four Byrds’ studio albums was diligently
listened to, from each relevant source, at matched volume settings on
headphones first in order to map out the location of the instruments and vocals
across the soundstage. Next, musical cue points and the actual track
lengths were noted; listed lengths are notoriously unreliable and were not
used. Then each track was listened to multiple times on both headphones and
speakers, first from the various sources that represented the original stereo
mix, and then from the respective Legacy disc. Any audible differences between
them regarding the volume/level of instruments or vocals, their location and
depth in the soundstage, as well as their tone, texture, and general frequency
characteristics, were noted. All listening session notes were duly dated. In
order to gain more insight and perspective into certain tracks, the monaural
mixes were listened to as well.
In order to resolve any questions or uncertainties, or to confirm
listening conclusions regarding the status of a particular track-whether or not
it had been remixed-comprehensive meter data was compiled from 24-segment, peak
reading LED meters from a Sony TC-KA3ES cassette deck. These meters were tested
using an Audio Reference CD derived from NCH Digital Waveform Programmable Test
Tone software. This Reference CD contained balanced mono signals using standard
16 bit, 44.1 kHz sampling PCM WAV files, with the default output level at 33%
of full modulation (Redbook Standard), and presented the following frequencies
as sine waves: 33 Hz; 400 Hz; 1 kHz; 13.33 kHz; 15 kHz; and 17.5 kHz.
With the record level (input volume) of the tape deck set at ‘3.0,’
both channels were matched exactly for all the previously listed frequencies,
and all registered at –4dB on the meters. The same precise channel matching was
observed with the record level set at ‘3.5,’ which naturally resulted in a
higher meter reading of 0dB for all frequencies. These two volume settings
(‘3.0’ and ‘3.5’) were tested specifically as they represented the most common
settings utilized in the testing of individual tracks. As an example, for the
CD sources used, the Columbia discs generally were typically set at the higher
point (about ‘3.5-4.0’); while the hotter Legacy CD’s usually had to be pegged
down to the lower (‘3.0’) level, although there were obviously variations
depending on the track. The 1990 box set normally ran between those numbers,
although there were occasions where it was dialed in close to the Legacy.
In compiling meter data for specific tracks from relevant sources, the
record level setting was adjusted for each source so that the meters registered
at the same level for each channel, normally at a specific point in the intro
of each song. In this manner, the different mastering levels of each source
were compensated for. The resulting output levels of each channel were charted
over a range of usually 20-24 specific points throughout a song. Quite often,
this meter plotting was repeated several times, for accuracy and consistency
purposes.
Appendix
B: References
Books and Articles
Hjort, Christopher. 2008. So You Want To
Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star. The Byrds Day-By-Day 1965-1973. London: Jawbone
Press.
Hughes, Rob, 2003. The Byrds. Younger Than
Yesterday. Uncut. Take 75.
Kubernik, Harvey, 2006. Interview with Roger
McGuinn: comfortable in his Folk Den. Goldmine. 32: 15: 678,
19-20.
_________, The Byrds Reconsidered: The 1996
Legacy CD Reissues-Part 1 (originally published in the Tracking Angle;
posted by Michael Fremer, 10/01/20004).
_________, David Crosby Can Remember His
Name…and a Great Deal More- Part II (originally published in the Tracking
Angle, 2; posted by Michael Fremer, 11/01/2004).
Priore, Domenic. 2007. Riot On Sunset
Strip- Rock ‘n’ roll’s last stand in Hollywood. London: Jawbone Press.
Rogan, Johnny. 2012. Byrds. Requiem For
The Timeless. Volume 1. London: R/H [R. House].
____________. 2008. The Byrds. Timeless
Flight Revisited. The Sequel. London: Rogan House.
Thomson, Graeme, 2012. The Story Of The
Notorious Byrd Brothers- Change Is Now. Uncut. 186: 30-35.
_________, Rob Hughes, Tom Pinnock
(Interviews by); Introduction by Roger McGuinn. The Byrds’ 20 Greatest Tracks (As chosen by Emmylou Harris, J
Mascis, Bobby Gillespie, Jonathan Wilson and more). Uncut. 186: 36-41.
Unterberger, Richie. 2003. Eight Miles
High- Folk-Rock’s Flight from Haight Ashbury to Woodstock. San Francisco:
Backbeat Books.
___________. 2002. Turn!Turn!Turn!- The
‘60’s Folk-Rock Revolution. San Francisco: Backbeat Books.
Web Sites
AnalogPlanet web site (Publisher: Keith
Pray; Editor: Michael Fremer),
Byrds Flyght web site,
Connors, Tim, 1997-1998. Byrd Watcher- A Field Guide to the Byrds of
Los Angeles, web site,
Ford, Roger, 2011. Electric Dylan, web site,
Hoffman, Steve. Mastering Engineer’s web site,
Mix Magazine, Classic Tracks, web site,
Rick Resource Rickenbacker Forum, Byrds Forum: by James Krause, web
site,
Sound On Sound Magazine, Classic Tracks, web site,
Acknowledgements
My thanks to Roger Ford, and Christopher
Hjort.
Mark Teehan
