History YMMV / TheByrds

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Song, in this case. Internal competition ensured that several excellent Gene Clark compositions were kept off the band's first two albums, sometimes being used as single B-sides and at other times being left unreleased altogether until the CD reissues came out in TheNineties. Byrds biographer Johnny Rogan has commented that the ''Turn! Turn! Turn!'' in particular album would have been substantially improved by the inclusion of these songs.
** In another example, the band recorded a version of the traditional blues song "I Know You Rider", intended for release as a single in late 1966. However, it was eventually pulled, with "Mr. Spaceman" from the ''Fifth Dimension'' album being issued in its place. Many fans find this decision incomprehensible, as they feel that "I Know You Rider" is one of their strongest covers (it was eventually released on the ''Never Before'' compilation, and later the ''Fifth Dimension'' reissue).

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Although ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' are fairly widely considered to be the band's two best albums, they're also more overtly redolent of TheSixties than a lot of their other work (the former for its use of backwards guitars and whatever "Mind Gardens" is supposed to be, and the latter for the blorps and swirls from the Moog synthesizer that appear all over it as well as the lyrics to songs like "Change Is Now" and "Natural Harmony"), and thus more clearly dated.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Although ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' are fairly widely considered to be the band's two best albums, they're also more overtly redolent of TheSixties and than a lot of their other work (the former for its use of backwards guitars and whatever "Mind Gardens" is supposed to be, and the latter for the blorps and swirls from the Moog synthesizer that appear all over it as well as the lyrics to songs like "Change Is Now" and "Natural Harmony"), and thus more clearly dated.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Although ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' are fairly widely considered to be the band's two best albums, they're also more overtly redolent of TheSixties than a lot of the band's other work (the former for its use of backwards guitars and whatever "Mind Gardens" is supposed to be, and the latter for the blorps and swirls from the Moog synthesizer that appear all over it as well as the lyrics to songs like "Change Is Now" and "Natural Harmony").

** "Mind Gardens" is probably the most controversial song in the Byrds' canon. Some fans think it's an interesting and inventive musical experiment, some think it had potential but was undermined by Crosby's rather Shakespearian vocal performance, and still others just think it's an unlistenable track that nearly ruins the ''Younger than Yesterday'' album, and that it should have been bumped in favor of Crosby's "It Happens Each Day."

** The drum overdub on the ''Never Before'' mix of "Lady Friend" is almost universally regarded to be terrible, but fans are more split on the merits of some of the other edits made, such as the acoustic guitar solo that Chris Hillman added to "It Happens Each Day."

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The bridges of a couple songs on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'': "Wasn't Born To Follow" (music is suddenly phased and discordant) and "Old John Robertson" (a string quartet out of nowhere and takes over the song before fading away just as abruptly as the band comes back in).

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The bridges of a couple songs on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'': "Wasn't Born To Follow" (music is suddenly phased and discordant) and "Old John Robertson" (a string quartet out of nowhere takes over the song before fading away just as abruptly as the band comes back in).

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The bridges of a couple songs on ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'': "Wasn't Born To Follow" (music is suddenly phased and discordant) and "Old John Robertson" (a string quartet out of nowhere takes over the song).

** Things shifted around in their later years, though. ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' and ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' were better received in Britain than America. A couple of years later, "Chestnut Mare" was a Top 20 hit in the UK but didn't even make the charts in the US.

** Things shifted around in their later years, though. "Chestnut Mare" was a Top 20 hit in the UK but didn't even make the charts in the US.

** "Mind Gardens" is probably the most controversial song in the Byrds' canon. Some fans think it's an interesting and inventive musical experiment, some think it had potential but was undermined by Crosby's rather Shakespearian vocal performance, and still others just think it's an unlistenable track that nearly ruins the ''Younger than Yesterday'' album.

** The drum overdub on the ''Never Before'' mix of "Lady Friend" is almost universally regarded to be terrible, but fans are more split on the merits (and lack thereof) of some of the other edits made, such as the acoustic guitar solo Chris Hillman added to "It Happens Each Day."

** Despite the fact that ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is now seen as a groundbreaking work in the country-rock genre, a number of fans wish that the band had stuck with Roger [=McGuinn=]'s original idea for a full survey of American music from the eighteenth century to 1968.

** The controversial "Triad" may well have been boundary-pushing when David Crosby wrote it back in 1967, but it's aged rather poorly--nowadays, the whole thing comes across more like a cringe-inducing boast than anything else.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Although ''Younger Than Yesterday'' and ''The Notorious Byrd Brothers'' are fairly widely considered to be the band's two best albums, they're also more overtly redolent of TheSixties than a lot of the band's other work (the former for its use of backwards guitars and, well, whatever "Mind Gardens" is supposed to be, and the latter for the blorps and swirls from the Moog synthesizer that appear all over it).

** "Mind Gardens" is probably the most controversial song in the Byrds' canon. Some fans think it's an interesting and inventive musical experiment, some think it had potential but was undermined by Crosby's rather, uh, Shakespearian vocal performance, and still others just think it's an unlistenable track that nearly ruins the ''Younger than Yesterday'' album.

** "Mind Gardens" is probably the most controversial song in the Byrds' canon. Some fans think it's an interesting musical experiment, some think it had potential but was undermined by Crosby's rather, uh, Shakespearian vocal performance, and still others just think it's an unlistenable track that nearly ruins the ''Younger than Yesterday'' album.

** "Mind Gardens" is probably the most controversial song in the Byrds' canon. Some fans think it's an interesting musical experiment, some think it had potential but was undermined by Crosby's rather ''Shakespearian'' vocal performance, and still others just think it's an unlistenable track that nearly ruins the ''Younger than Yesterday'' album.

* NeverLiveItDown: Crosby's onstage behavior at the Monterey Pop Festival (most notably, his rant about John F. Kennedy's assassination and his public proclamations in favor of LSD) seems to be this for him in the context of his time with the Byrds. It's commonly cited as being the reason why [=McGuinn=] and Hillman decided that he was more trouble than he was worth as a bandmate. Downplayed in that [=McGuinn=] and Hillman have said that they didn't actually have anything in particular against what Crosby was saying; rather, they thought it was inappropriate for the environment, and they resented Crosby's increasingly diva-esque behavior and willingness to go off-script.

** The song also provides a case of HilariousInHindsight as it begins with the line "In 1996, we ventured to the moon." This is doubly funny because the first moon landing would occur only a year and a half after the song's release, and because the idea of the year 1996 conjuring up futuristic imagery seems awfully quaint nowadays.

* GeniusBonus: "Space Odyssey" is often described as sounding like a hallucinogen-influenced science fiction sea shanty. This isn't far off, since the song's melody is taken from a nautically-themed English folk song called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Z4wqaTjPI "The Handsome Cabin Boy."]] Roger [=McGuinn=], who was well-versed in English, Scottish, Irish and American traditional music, would no-doubt have been aware of the tune.
** The song also provides a case of HilariousInHindsight as it begins with the line "In 1996, we ventured to the moon." This is doubly funny because the first moon landing would occur only a year and a half after the song's release, and because the idea of 1996 conjuring up futuristic imagery seems awfully quaint nowadays.

* MemeticMutation: Among fans of the group, Roger [=McGuinn=]]'s apparent desire to be contacted by aliens--as evidenced by songs such as "Mr. Spaceman" and "[=CTA=] 102"--is this (as is his love of sea shanties).

* HilariousInHindsight: "Space Odyssey" begins with the line "In 1996, we ventured to the moon." It's double funny because the first moon landing would occur only a year and a half after the song's release, and because the idea of 1996 conjuring up futuristic imagery seems awfully quaint nowadays.

* GeniusBonus: "Space Odyssey" is often described as sounding like a hallucinogen-influenced sea shanty. This isn't far off, since the song's melody is taken from a nautically-themed English folk song called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Z4wqaTjPI "The Handsome Cabin Boy."]]

* NeverLiveItDown: Crosby's onstage behavior at the Monterey Pop Festival (most notably, his rant about John F. Kennedy's assassination and his public proclamations in favor of LSD) seems to be this for him in the context of his time with the Byrds. It's commonly cited as being the reason why [=McGuinn=] and Hillman decided that he was more trouble than he was worth as a bandmate. Downplayed in that [=McGuinn=] and Hillman have said that they didn't actually have anything in particular against what Crosby was saying; rather, they thought it was inappropriate for the environment, and they resented Crosby's increasingly diva-esque behavior and willingness to go off-script more generally.

* GeniusBonus: "Space Odyssey" is often described as sounding like a mixture of sci-fi and sea shanty. This isn't far off, since the song's melody is taken from a nautically-themed English folk song called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Z4wqaTjPI "The Handsome Cabin Boy."]]

* NeverLiveItDown: Crosby's onstage behavior at the Monterey Pop Festival (most notably, his rant about John F. Kennedy's assassination) seems to be this for him in the context of his time with the Byrds. It's commonly cited as being the encapsulation of why [=McGuinn=] and Hillman decided that he was more trouble than he was worth as a bandmate.

* DorkAge: Some see everything the band did after ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' (or, in a more extreme variant, everything after ''Notorious'') as this. In recent years, though, appreciation for the band's later era has increased, particularly due to the undeniable quality of Clarence White's guitar playing, and the fact that the latter-day Byrds were far better onstage than the classic lineup.

* GeniusBonus: "Space Odyssey" is often described as sounding like a science fiction-themed sea shanty. This isn't far off, since the song's melody is taken from a nautically-themed traditional English folk song called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Z4wqaTjPI "The Handsome Cabin Boy."]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Upon its release in 1969, ''Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde'' was considered a welcome return to form for the band after their commercially unsuccessful experiment with the country genre on ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo.'' Averted now that ''Sweetheart'' has been thoroughly VindicatedByHistory.