Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde – THE BYRDS****

This Wheel’s On Fire/Old Blue/Your Gentle Way Of Loving Me/Child Of The Universe/Nashville West/Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man/King Apathy Iii/Candy/Bad Night At The Whiskey/My Back Pages-B J Blues-Baby What You Want Me To Do (Medley)

By the time of the country-rock release Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde, only Roger McGuinn from the original Byrds remained. So here he was largely dependent on session musicians. (US:153 UK:15)

"This record mostly continues in the country-rock vein, but adds a dose of heavier rock to some of the songs. It's not a bad record, but there are a few shortcomings, mostly due to the fact that Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman departed, leaving the last of the founding members, Roger McGuinn, to recruit a new group consisting largely of session musicians. Thus, to a greater extent than any previous Byrds album, this is more like a McGuinn solo record with a backing band. The group sound is less distinctive than in the past, with McGuinn the main singer and songwriter here; he's good at both roles, but not great at either. The song quality is a step down from previous Byrds albums."

"Dr.Byrds and Mr. Hyde may not be the best Byrds album but it was better than 95% of what was being released at the time. I would not recommend it as a starting place if one would like to explore The Byrds catalogue, but as an album it provides a lot of surprises and will certainly keep your attention."

"I'm a big fan of McGuinn, but there is no denying that he never quite had the genius of Hillman, Crosby or Parsons. Totally capable and a mostly excellent songwriter, true, but it was the people who surrounded him that required him to up his game to the next level and create some of the best music of the 60s. Here, as the sole leader of the group, you can tell he's struggling with the role. The songs try to do too much or too little and lose focus. The band that surrounds him are definitely capable musicians, but it just doesn't sound even close to as inspired as their earlier records."

"Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde was the perfect title for the album as The Byrds would produce music that spanned their career. Their country roots would lead to a number of tracks but Roger McGuinn would also reach back into the group’s past for some good old psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll. It may not have been cohesive but it sure was interesting."