Younger Than Yesterday

So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star is a wild awesome groove that sets the hooks in deep. CTA-102 comes in outta nowhere with the weird. hard to see where it fits. lots of great time signature and rhythm work. Hot shit the late 60's was just a genre soup where every band borrowed every texture and sound under the sun. Yea a real landmark of an album

It is rare to find a band in the late 60's that can tread the same ground that the Beatles explored at the same time without sounding entirely derivative. Bravo.

Above average summer of love fare. Definitely influenced by superior mid 60s psychedelia like Revolver and Pet Sounds. Some cool songs though. "Renaissance Fair", "Mind Gardens," and "My Back Pages" are the stand outs. You can definitely hear some early Crosby, Stills, and Nash in some of the songs, which makes sense given that David Crosby was the Byrds' lead guitarist.

Enjoyed the whole thing. You can tell these guys were ahead of their time with trying new things

This is our thyrd Byrds album, so I was bracing myself for this to break the streak of great albums this week. However, this was a really fantastic project. So much more overtly psychedelic than the previous projects (one was a country album). Really great production effects, and a lot of variety from track to track. At points, this does feel quite country/folk, then something snaps back and we're in psych territory again. Perfect example: CTA -102. That seemed to be a normal '60s rock track, but then it gets squeezed through a low-pass filter and we hear unintelligible alien chatter. I thought my phone malfunctioned; imagine what some person in the '60s would've thought hearing that on their turntable! I also recognized My Back Pages, and that's because it's a Bob Dylan song. Anyway, this album is excellent and keeps the streak alive for a wonderful week of new/old music. Five albums, average rating of 4.8/5 for the week. Favorite tracks: Everybody's Been Burned, Mind Gardens, CTA 102, My Back Pages, Time Between. Album art: Lo-res by design? That appears to be the case, and I think it kind of works here. This seems like a very unassuming, bland rock project, weathered by time and shelves, but you put it on and it's barely terrestrial. Great job, Byrds. 4.5/5

This was a beautiful morning album. I think the thing I liked about this is that it was so tightly packed, and while it lacked a little something to pump it to a five, it was a high four.

Prior to this, I knew some of the Byrds' music but this album delivered way more than I expected. Younger Than Yesterday is filled with catchy tunes that I'll be relistening to often. My favorite tracks are Have You Seen Her Face, Everybody's Been Burned and Why.

Look I find the Byrds a particular level of melodic blandness where everything sounds the same. Always on 60's compilations, most interesting thing on this album is the appearance of Hugh Masekela Is this really a 1001 'best' album?

Love the byrds, there's allot of music that wouldn't exist without the foundation they helped lay. Using odd instruments and an interesting spatial audio setup made them true innovators

Wow, some wild stuff on here! Backwards sitars and electronic experimentation. Love it!

Surprised by this - thought it was going to be a mediocre Beatles knockoff but the whole album is a fun and psychedelic listen. Holds up pretty well in 2022! I'll be revisiting The Byrds for sure.

First time of listening to this one, aware of "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star". I can see why this was called the American "Revolver" as you can hear the Beatles influences throughout. A great album I think and gives warning about the powerhouse the Byrd's became both collectively and Individually in American rock music. You can hear the birth of the CSN&Y harmonies on "Why" Loved the aforementioned "Rock & Roll Star" "Everybody's Been Burned" "Thoughts and Words" and the Byrd's usual, a Dylan cover "My Back Pages" A great album rightfully on the list and I can't believe I hadn't heard it in its entirety before.

A pleasant listen. The best song (by far, in my opinion) is the Bob Dylan cover. I am grateful to these musicians to provide shoulders for many others to stand on. Waffling between 3 & 4 stars...

This was great! I think this is the fourth album I've heard by The Byrds and I've enjoyed each one more and more A fascinating mix of folk and some more experimental electronic music, with off-kilter melodies floating around reversed guitars and modulated vocals

A couple of songs were a little too 1967 but there are some beautiful songs on the album. Everything's been burnt could have been a modern Bond theme, Have you seen her face another classic. I haven't listen to the Byrds since in was in my early 20's; never heard this album only Greatest Hits. I missed out.

Not quite a 5 star record for me, but it’s close. I’m saving that for Notorious Byrd Brothers. I think the Byrds reached higher highs on that record, even if My Back Pages gets stuck in my head for days every time I hear it.

Interesting melodically and sonically and feels very ahead of it’s time - love some of the darker Melodies - while the songs are quite memorable and the whole album feels like it keeps you wanting more. A nice inclusion of I might say so.

From David Crosby to The Byrds! I don't know much about them, but it feels like they are trying to be like early Beatles. Then I heard the end of C.T.A - 102 and WTF. Is that like Crazy Frog in my right ear? Bizarre. Renaissance Fair is not too bad, a bit of Simon & Garfunkel vibes. Everybody's Been Burned has a nice slightly down-tempo vibe. Another very S&G feeling track. I like the guitar work here. Almost reminds me of a Radiohead guitar track with the two panned guitars playing different things. Thoughts & Words is not bad either. The album seems to be getting better as it goes, at least for me. Not a huge fan of the right-panned drums. I assume this must be an early stereo-remaster where they feel they must pan things hard left and right. Some nice reverse tape echo effects here, probably quite unique for the time. Well, theres a few tracks after this that don't do much for me either. Ended up being just okay.

Enjoyable and very of it's time. The more I listened to it the novelty sort of wore off though.

Was it the law that every rock album had to have psychedelic tracks in 1967?

All-in-all, this was probably pretty sweet for 1967… Not a huge fan of their sound, but I can see how they likely inspired many others who followed… I liked that there was a fair amount of diversity among the songs – as opposed to very song sounding like every other… The top 2 songs are the ones that I knew going in – “So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star” – which apparently was a slam about “manufactured” bands like The Monkees, and is really well done – though years later, I really enjoyed the version that Nazareth did, where they worked a decent section of it into their song “Telegram”. The other is the cover of Dylan’s “My Back Pages” – and like most Dylan songs, I almost ALWAYS prefer the way other artists cover his songs, and really enjoy The Byrds cover here… “CTA-102” is a pretty good experimental song, and I also thought “Everybody’s Been Burned” & “Why” were among the strongest tracks on the album.. Glad I listened, but other than a historical marker for other artists, I doubt I will be going back to this one… If we had gradations, I’d probably give it a 2.25 – the extra 0.25 for the likely influence it had on other artists, but for me it just seems dated… There is a lot of music from that era, that still stands up today (i.e. Hendrix, Doors, The Who, Yardbirds, etc.) but most of this album does not IMO… Solid 2 for me…

The psychedelic stuff is interesting but not really developed enough to withstand scrutiny, and some of it is annoying to listen to. And yet ironically most of the songs are too short to develop into anything. The big hit is ok, clearly they were already getting fed up with the music industry and being famous but it comes off as weirdly toothless. The guitar lines are interesting, but the 'Free Jazz'-inspired interplay seems to be a bit beyond their capacity at this point. The album is carried mostly by being one of the first to do it (even if George Harrison did it first), the harmony vocals, and especially the bassist working his backside off. But it's not enough. Tangent: I really wish they'd stopped covering Dylan. They strip away all the meaning and nuance from his stuff, and that's the entire reason I listen to that guy's music. Fave: Renaissance Fair Least Fave: Mind Gardens Strong Bad Demerit Counter: 1

I get that some of the stuff might’ve been seen as innovative at the time but I just don’t like it and I don’t think it’s very good. I tried to keep in mind that this stuff was in the late 60s, but then I went back and listened to a sampling of some other bands’ albums that were released about the same time, the beach boys, the Mamas and Papas, Motown artists, and this album doesn’t measure up to their contemporaries

So good

I generally love The Byrds and this is no exception. Fantastic album top to bottom. “So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star,” “Have You Seen Her Face,” and “My Back Pages” are my favorite songs on it, but every song is really enjoyable. It’s just good, fun 60s folk rock.

Folk rock, psychedelic rock, pop rock. What a lovely follow up to Fifth Dimension. I mentioned in that review I wanted to listen to more of their albums and here we are. A poppier take than the previous, YTY feels like a proper continuation. Better songwriting, better mixing. Still great harmonies and amazing guitar work, this album is full of catchy tunes. I think overall it's more refined that Fifth Dimension, feels like they know what they're doing. But there was a certain charm in being a little more raw. There's some weird stuff at the beginning of the album but it clears up and it's just boo after bop. Big fan of this album, like it about as much as the previous. Might relisten, really impressed by this band and would love more. 4.5/5

This was a fun album. It took a few listens for me, but it’s really grown on me. At first, I was half listening while doing other things and the tape distortions on the more experimental tracks were a bit grating. But it was a completely different experience when I sat down to actively listen and read the lyrics. This might actually be one of my favorite albums on this list so far. I may even try to find an old vinyl pressing for my collection. I only really knew “Turn! Turn! Turn!” and their cover of “Mr. Tambourine Man” before hearing this album. It had a lot of variety, ranging from the straight forward pop of early Beatles, the more whimsical and experimental side of Hendrix, the free love hippie music of Donovan and the Mamas and Papas, to the more psychedelic dirges of Jefferson Airplane and later Indian-influenced Beatles. “The Girl With No Name” could easily be a Tom Petty song. As a big Cure fan, I can see a straight line from this band to them. Lots of jangly, 12-string guitar, heart on its sleeve vulnerable love songs, and psychedelic jamming. “Why” even has a very similar chord structure to “Boys Don’t Cry.” Favorite tracks: C.T.A 102, Time Between, Everybody’s Been Burned, My Back Pages, Why 5/5

to me, this is THE byrds album. i know 'mr. tambourine man' gets all the attention, justifiably so, for its groundbreaking, but this album to me is the most authentically byrdsy. chris hillman has stepped into the void that was left by gene clark's depature and has stepped up brilliantly - providing some of the best songs on this record, but really what may be my favorite byrds song of all time, 'have you seen her face.' roger (jim?) mcguinn sort of takes the backseat here and it feels mostly like a david crosby and chris hillman record. and gary usher's production holds up really well in terms of albums that came out this year - a surprisingly important and underrated producer of the era. really what this album is is the byrds at a crossroads, halfway between folk rock bob dylan cover band and country rock. it's an album i adore and have adored and this listen was no exception.

brilliant - makes me feel i'm in california and that can only be a good thing CTA 102 - the best mind gardens is a better trip song than TNK and very nice 'my back pages' beatleish and 60s ofc but more subtle and shimmery

Yep, an album hugely influential on tonnes of stuff I love, whilst also being absolutely fantastic itself.

Laurel Canyon might be just another place on map if not for the Byrds. Tom Petty and countless others were steeped in the jangly sounds of McGuinn and company.

9/10. Was between 8 and 9. This didn’t stand out on one specific but I really enjoyed the balance between creativity and chill vibes. And almost every single song was enjoyable.

Enjoyed the memories. Wish radio DJs would have played more of these cuts than just “Rock and Roll Star”. And I’ve heard “Tambourine Man” a few hundred times more than necessary. Thanks for this one.

Fun fun fun! I would listen again!

From the British Wave parody "So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star" (with frenzy screams of fans and all) to the genuine hits "Have You Seen Her Face", "The Girl With No Name" and "Why", from the lively "C.T.A.-102" continuing previous album's "Mr Spaceman" sci-fi streak (including space alien gibberish at the end), to the mystical heights of "Mind Gardens", and from California to the rest of the world, this record is quite the wild ride into an exhilarating sixties theme park. There's a even one mandatory Bob Dylan cover ("My Back Pages"), but this time the Byrds didn't even need those sorts of cover to flesh out the tracklisting. Probably because contrary to other LPs in the past, they now had everything at hand as in-house songwriters. *5th Dimension* had already set the psychedelic tone of an era. *Younger Than Yesterday* could now capitalize on that tone, and take things further. As far as I'm concerned, said things went downhill from that point on. *The Notorious Byrd Brothers* still had great moments, and was reputedly groundbreaking in terms of production. But the individual songs in it were hit-or-miss for me. And I'm not even talking of that weird full-on country mode of that other famous album that followed after... But to come back to this particular record, which I still find very endearing (including for its minor misfires), it is also one to listen to on the strength of only *one* of its songs, i.e. the mesmerizing and melancholic "Everybody's Been Burned", probably one of the best compositions David Crosby ever penned (and also one of his most moving performances as a singer). This song best exemplifies what's great about the whole opus: it's cinematic *and* heartfelt, firmly set in a time and place but also timeless. Listen to it and weep. This is the epitome of The Byrds' early career, and as such, it should be part of this list, obviously. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 875 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 68 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 30 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 28

I have always found it hard to pinpoint a specific Byrds album that must be heard, as there is filler on some of their releases and it just never feels like there is just one album to listen to. Saying that, this could be the album I would point to. I would recommend the deluxe edition because Old John Robertson and Lady Friend should have been on the original album. My Back Pages is an excellent cover of the Dylan song and probably my favorite Byrds song (for some reason). The first five songs are really good, though there is no reason to have the weird ending to CTA-102. The country influence they would later explore when Gram Parsons took temporary control of the band can be heard on Old John Robertson, Time Between and pretty much anything else Chris Hillman is involved with on this album. If I could give this album a 4.5 then I would. I greatly dislike Mind Gardens though. It's just faux-hippie bullshit. I don't mind if you do drugs but please don't ask me to listen to the shitty results of your doing those drugs. It's not much to ask. The only redeeming part of that song is (a) it actually does end and (b) at some point I will die and never have to recall that I did once hear the song. The deluxe edition has two versions of the song and then David Crosby forces us to listen to an instrumental version at the end of Old John Robertson. I don't need an alternate version of this song, unless that alternate version is just dead air or an album without the song on it.

Why is it always either Bob Dylan, David Crosby, Stills, Nash, the Beatles or the Beach Boys? And why does the Byrds always combine them all on one album. Can't not like it. 4 Ok, this is considerably better than any of their other albums. It's so special compared to the others. 5 But "My Back Pages" is twice on the album? Is it part of the idea? He keeps getting older? I actually really like the way they incorporate psychadelica in this album. It's not like the 13th floor elevators which is just weird noise for 2 hours. Eh it gets a 5 for "Thoughts and Words". It's so good.

1a

Cool

Incredible album all the 3ay through. Beautiful guitar work and poignant lyrics. Standout song is my back pages which is so good that it's in the album twice

Great! I really enjoyed it. The last track, Why, is my favourite.

Definitely cutting edge of the 60's, I new sounds everywhere

Has it all for a 60's album. Rock, folk, psychedelia. Love this one!

Love the Byrds and also Buffalo Springfield, as the group evolved. Great old music!

Wonderful, classical album by The Byrds, certainly one of important bands in the history of "modern" music.

meh

I never listened to the Byrds when I was growing up and they were active, but I'm glad to get a chance to make up for that now. A beautiful mix of psychedelia, jazz and country, and holy crap, that twang! Music like this is one of the reasons I've always been a huge fan of Rickenbackers, Telecasters, and Danelectros. A perfect late 60's time capsule.

Foundational. Amazing.

Five stars for the extraterrestrial message on C.T.A. - 102.

I’ve never been a huge Byrds fan, so I wasn't expecting to love this as much as I did. I will say though this album is a lot more wild and fun than Mr. Tambourine Man. Twangy and folksy, but also acid-dripped and psychadelic. Lots of really off the wall moments on this album (CTA – 102, Mind Gardens, for ex). There’s a pretty wide variety of styles, but it comes together well. 4.5 stars but I'm feeling generous so I'll bump it up. Very good record.

YES. HELL YES.

Yeah, this is great. Great songs, atmosphere, vocals, harmonies etc etc. Apart from the sounds at the end of CTA-102, I also like the psychedelic rock elements here - think they work well, in contrast to the Cheap Thrills album we had a few days ago. One of my favourite Byrds albums, only like The Notorious Byrd Brothers even more.

Really enjoyed this. I hadn't listened to the Byrds prior to this experience, and the previous album by them didn't do it for me. This feels much more like they are doing their own thing and in their prime. You can feel the influence the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel and others had on them, but you also see how they evolved their own unique style and substance. Quite a few classics in here and I'll be coming back for more

Starts strong with You Wanna Be a Rock And Roll Star. Love Roger McGuinn's jangly guitar. My Back Pages is also a classic. What strikes me is how much albums like this set the stage for 80s jangle rock.

Older than Tomorrow

6/10

My expectations were low after The Notorious Byrd Brothers and the first few tracks had me nervous but it really turned around for me around track 5. First of all, they appealed to the grammarian in me by correctly singing "between you and me" (instead of "you and I") on Time Between. After that, this album was shimmery gold in my ears.

I really enjoyed this. Great harmonies with a dash of psychedelia and a sprinkle of country. Plus the great Hugh Masekela on the opening track! What’s not to love?!

Notes - Folk rock/psychedelic - David Crosby - Some elements of noise in here as well that I didn’t expect lol - Short and sweet songs - The bass playing here is great - Apparently for this album their bass player stepped forward as a more prominent singer and writer - All of the songs are super distinct and memorable but still all work together - very cool! - Fantastic vocal harmonies and performances throughout Fav - Renaissance fair - Really cool chord progression and imagery Least fav - CTA 102 - Cool but don’t think it adds too much 5/5!

Nice short, upbeat songs Cat has very unexpected part at the end 5/5 material so far Thoughts and word-> ticket to ride Not loving mind gardens, instrumental is too much

4.25

They spelled it wrong again

Really nice album

Reminiscent of mid-career Beatles, with a bit more guitar twang.

Great 60s rock with awesome experimental vibes

60s choral psychedelic pop- alien references that made me smile. Worth a listen

Pretty good album. So you wanna be a rock and roll star

Great album, among the best of its day and certainly one of the best the Byrds ever put out. The guitar work is gorgeous and innovative and probably launched a hundred bands. There is the requisite amount of silly experimentation you find in rock albums of the late '60s, which makes some the album seem a little unfocused. But on the whole musically, this is an incredibly lovely and vibrant collection of songs. Fave Songs: Have You Seen Her Face, So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star, My Back Pages, The Girl with No Name, Why, Thoughts and Words, Everybody's Been Burned

I continue to have no idea how to think about the Byrds. Eclectic to a fault; Californian to a fault. Both are semi-accurate descriptors of at least the first half. But it held my interest and the rest of the record is packed with simply great work. Bottom line: I have no idea how the band is supposed to work.

Really good, I liked this album more than their Fifth Dimension one I’ll give it an 8/10

Reminds me of what The Beatles were doing at the same time, but in an original kind of way. Interesting songwriting and execution.

This is very much up my alley. I love every single song so far. Overall great album! I enjoyed it. This album was fueling my love for music from the 60s

Really digging the psychedelic energy here. 4/5

Good album. Psychedelic feel in a lot of places I wasn't expecting.

Prefs: So You Want To Be a Rock'n'Roll Star, C.T.A-102, Renaissance Fair, Time Between, Everybody's Been Burned, Thoughts and Words, My Back Pages, The Girl with No Name, Why Moins pref: Mind Gardens

A golden age album

A good course in rock history

An early example of psychedelic music to come.

Yes a 60’s album that more than deserves to be on the list. So real catchy and interesting songs on here, really an American band that could keep up with the British Invasion at the time. One of those Iv been wrestling with giving a 5 but just can’t because of the song mind gardens just go right through me I can’t listen. Maybe harsh compared to my other ratings but a song that bad is enough for me to not see this as a masterpiece.

MEGA NICE!!! Lidt Mark Knophler guitar lyd, men ellers fed 60'er lyd

4/5 really Beatly sounds, nice!!

Listened Before? N WOW! These guys are good! It's the most sixties sounding thing I've ever heard. I'm assuming they influenced an entire generation of musicians. I could listen to this all day. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: My Back Pages, So You Want to be A Rock 'N Roll Star

Interestingly enough, the biggest hit from this album is probably the one that fits the least. This album is replete with experimentation in the studio coming off the heels of the Beatles’ Revolver. Dylan’s influence is ever present and the cover of his song, ‘My Back Pages’ was a highlight for me. The country rock tinges, which later would be explored more in depth for the Byrds, stood out for me as well. Overall, this album did a great job in combining space rock psychedelic experimentation with the raga folk sound that made them famous

At it's best, the songs are short and insanely catchy ("So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" , "Have You Seen Her Face", "C.T.A.-102" and "Renaissance Fair") all feature strong lead vocals, the usual 12 string guitar sound and rich vocal harmonies, with special praise going to Chris Hillman's melodic bass lines. Sadly there is a low point; David Crosby's vocal on "Mind Gardens" is horribly off key, and at 3.28 it's the longest track. So this 29 minute album really suffers as a result. It's a shame because some of the CD bonus tracks would have been available.

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and will likely dig a bit more into their catalogue.

Pretty cutesy 60s psych pop

Yo, this album's weird. I have no idea why it's famous or needs to be listened to (other than being a good Byrds album), but I like it!

Very good album. I listened through it twice. Dunno what it is exactly that I like, but it's well put together, front to back. 4/5

Love this band, era, and sound. Never actually listened to any of their albums til now

good album

Younger Than Yesterday was somewhat overlooked at the time of its release during an intensely competitive era that found the Byrds on a commercial downslide. Time, however, has shown it to be the most durable of the Byrds' albums, with the exception of Mr. Tambourine Man

Sonido Beatles muy chulo

Farther out there and more diverse than the other Byrds record so far.

Fun, can see the Beatles influence/inspiration in it

Un poco rollo.

Good stuff. Very tight song structure. Mature song writing with a bit youthful spark still to it.

Bien joué ils m'ont grow dessus

good tunes

Overall quite nice, a couple songs I didn’t care fo

Good ol classic rock. Very Beatles-esque.