Turn! Turn! Turn! – THE BYRDS*****

Turn Turn Turn/It Won’t Be Wrong/Set You Free This Time/Lay Down Your Weary Tune/He Was A Friend Of Mine/The World Turns All Around Her/Satisfied Mind/If You’re Gone/The Times They Are A-Changin’/Wait & See/Oh Susannah

The second album from The Byrds Turn! Turn! Turn! continued in the same vein as their debut with folk rock tunes set to jangling guitars. The title track was a US No. 1 hit single. Future albums would herald a change in direction for the group. (US:17 UK:11)

"What a follow-up. The Byrds only released two albums and a handful of singles with Gene Clark - but what a couple of albums they are."

"A fine album overall, an excellent album, even. Moments of genius are less here than the debut, but there are still more than enough shining moments to make the whole thing worth anyone's while."

"Although not quite as good as the sensational Mr Tambourine Man, this is still first class most of the time, in particular Gene Clark's material."

"For their third single Turn! Turn! Turn! everything comes together. As good as anything from their debut and simply a shining heavenly moment. The harmonies and the guitar! This Byrds' sound was distinctive. No one can match their sound."

"Few are likely to disagree about Turn! Turn! Turn! being a 'marking time album' - a little running-on-the-spot exercise before psychedelia and sci-fi motives kicked in. Yes, pretty much every Byrds album from 1965 to 1968 represented a breakthrough of sorts - except this one."

"The Byrds' second album closely follows the same formula, but what a formula: durable American folksongs (from Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and even Stephen Foster) and their own strong originals, laced with the band's keening vocal harmonies and chiming guitars."

"The band here was able to catch the zeitgeist of the age with their folk-influenced tunes, but the rock guitars kept it from sounding as outdated as much of their contemporaries now sound, along with tasty vocal harmonies and interesting arrangements."