Younger Than Yesterday – THE BYRDS*****

So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star/Have You Seen Her Face/CTA-102/Renaissance Fair/Time Between/Everybody’s Been Burned/Thoughts & Words/Mind Gardens/My Back Pages/The Girl With No Name/Why

The Byrds maintain their consistently high standard with Younger Than Yesterday. This was the last album before extensive personnel changes overtook the group. (US:24 UK:37)

"Put simply, this is one of the best and most cohesive records from a period of profound musical change. Just about every song is tightly structured, superbly played and infused with the sheer enthusiasm of the mid-60s music scene. Driven along by Roger McGuinn's innovative use of the 12 string guitar and Chris Hillman's 'lead guitar' bass, the group's highly distinctive arrangements provide a solid backdrop for their exquisitely controlled harmonies."

"1967 was a vintage year for pop music and this album, one of The Byrds finest, reinforces my belief about just how much great music was released in that year. The album is notable for the emergence of Chris Hillman as a songwriter as well as great songs written or co-written by Roger McGuinn and David Crosby. The other notable feature is that this was the last album before the group went through a period of high staff turnover. Four of the original five were together for this album."

"This is a beautiful album. I think it's the best The Byrds ever did. The songwriting here is amazingly consistent."

"The Byrds at their most complete. Definitely their best. Have You Seen Her Face and Thoughts & Words are two of my favourite Byrds tracks ever - both Hillman compositions too. The psychedelia doesn't intrude like it does maybe on Notorious, except on Mind Gardens naturally."

"This is a good and consistent album. The Byrds combined country, psychedelic, rock, pop and jazz into a sound all their own. There's a sophistication in their instrumental interplay. It's the type of stuff that sounds fairly simple at first but a closer listen reveals it to be pretty intricate."

"Opening song So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star would become a classic. Newcomer Chris Hillman immediately shows his abilities in Have You Seen Her Face, which marks the first cautious sounds of country rock."