Anyone who thought the Byrds’ debut album was the work of a one-hit wonder based on the commercial success of “Mr. Tambourine Man” turned out to be sadly mistaken when the quintet’s sophomore LP Turn! Turn! Turn! was released on 12/6/65.
The marriage of folk and rock would remain a staple of contemporary music up to and including the rise of Americana. At the same time, the phrase ‘jangle-pop’ has its origins in the transcendent tones of the twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar of Roger McGuinn.
The second Terry Melcher-produced Byrds album built upon those virtues to the extent that, taken together, the eleven tracks of Turn! Turn! Turn! comprises a considerably more substantial piece of work than its predecessor, this despite the self-consciously tongue-in-cheek closer “Oh Susannah.”
The title song of the long player is composed of a Biblical verse set to music by folk icon Pete Seeger. At the same time, “He Was A Friend of Mine,” emerging in a circular acoustic guitar pattern, was a traditional folk staple rendered relevant as commentary on the tragic death of JFK.
Bob Dylan was one artist who interpreted the tune, and he is as prominent on this LP as he was on the prior one, if not more so. The overtly topical “The Times they Are-Changin'” is a far cry from the purely imagistic likes of the Byrds’ first hit, while “Lay Down Your Weary Tune,” from the 1963 album of that same name, foreshadows the intensely introspective material The Bard had begun to write (Bob’s recording of the song was not on that aforementioned LP of his).
Interwoven into all those selections–and hardly suffering in comparison–is the original material of Byrds co-founder Gene Clark. While his contributions to the group’s album betrayed more than a bit of debt to the songs of Lennon & McCartney–the derivative nature of which afflicts McGuinn’s co-write here of “It Won’t Be Wrong” and even more so his collaboration with David Crosby “Wait And See”–“Set You Free this Time” is the solemn sound of a songwriter finding his own voice.
Likewise benefiting from a background of lush guitars, “The World Turns All Around Here” finds the author crossing the threshold of emotional maturity, cushioned by layers of vocal harmonies that Crosby was an integral influence on. And “If You’re Gone” also bespeaks more significant growth of craftsmanship. Plus, Gene’s deeper voice is markedly different from that of McGuinn’s (featured on all the early hits).
“Satisfied Mind” further delineates the Byrds’ versatility, marking the first sign of their interest in country music, a genre they would explore throughout their existence, most famously with 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo, featuring the late Gram Parsons. The latter’s rancorous departure from the group marked dissension within the ranks, the likes of which (among other factors), led to Clark’s departure from the band in 1966.
No doubt that tension figured into the omission of two (!) versions of the latter’s “She Don’t Care About Time.” Those egregious oversights include relegating the song to the B-side of a single: the resplendent version appears on the expanded 1996 reissue of Turn! Turn! Turn! has all the earmarks of a Byrds hit.
The number eventually appeared on Clark’s third solo endeavor, 1973’s Roadmaster, which featured credits for his former bandmates Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke, among other notables. And Gene would return, then leave the Byrds, a couple of times over the ensuing years, most notably for the 1973 reunion album, where his participation was far superior to that of his disinterested bandmates.
But even the hindsight so clear as sixty years doesn’t diminish the glorious sound of the Byrds on Turn! Turn! Turn!. Even today, echoes of its exalting tones resound like little else of its time.
