McGuinn was the only constant and it would be impossible to argue against his being the most important member of the band. But lots of other guys were to me more interesting for whatever reason. Gene Clark was a very, very strong singer and songwriter. David Crosby was (and is, I suppose) a great singer, and he contributed some key songs to the band. Gram Parsons, of course. Clarence White was an outrageously talented guy, a great, great guitar player (McGuinn once told me that he was ‘better than Hendrix,’ which I don’t necessarily disagree with, but I thought it was a really odd reference point, really weird comparison…) and, to me, a really interesting singer. If someone asked me today my favorite Byrd, I’d probably say Clarence. Tomorrow? Who knows.
Hillman was hugely important to the band, and the record where his impact seems the strongest is often my favorite, the Notorious Byrd Brothers. Yes, he did tons of other post-Byrds stuff, a lot of it really, really good, and it saddens me that he’d play and not acknowledge his association with the Byrds. He did a tour not too long ago with McGuinn and Marty Stuart, who is the current steward of Clarence’s B-bender guitar, and if I recall correctly they were featuring songs from Sweetheart of the Rodeo. A friend of mine saw the tour in Austin and said it was every bit as ridiculously great as you’d imagine.
Man, I would love to see Chris Hillman with 99 other geezers. I’d love to hear him play, I don’t know, Time Between, but at the end of the day he could play whatever the hell he wanted and I’d be likely to leave happy.
So Bob, you are unappreciative of the production genius of Don Kirshner and the impeccable musicianship of the Wrecking Crew, along with the pop songwriting skills of Gerry Goffin and Carol King, Neal Diamond, and Boyce and Hart. It’s ignorant to deny the talent involved in producing that teen fare.
Davy and Mickey were actors, but Peter and Mike were musicians. Mickey Dolenz tells a great story about Paul McCartney playing a cassette of part of Sgt Peppers for him and asking about the music, and Dolenz is thinking “I’m an actor - what can I say to a Beatle about music?” Mike was also sort of a production visionary, his post Monkees work set the scene for the music video craze of the 80s.
If you want to make fun of my being nostalgic and reminiscing about the death of someone who I liked as a child, that’s just fine with me. But when was “talent” ever even a factor in a 10 year old boy’s determination of what he liked?
There were some good Monkeys songs; Last Train to Clarksville by Boyce & Hart and I’m a Believer by Smash Mouth were probably the best. The Monkeys were put on TV for me when I was 10, and I loved them. I tried to listen to their greatest hits on a road trip a few years ago, and a lot of it is pretty bad, but then a lot of pop music is always pretty bad. Just listen to Dandelion by The Rolling Stones, or Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. Now I’m going to have to go find those trading cards.
No insult was intended and there is nothing wrong with nostalgia. My original post was intended as a joke. And as a late-teen at the time,I was more turned off by the image projection and less tuned in to the underlying production. I may have missed something as a result.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor . If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
He was the genuine article; the ultimate “bootstrapper”. His mother did laundry for brothels to feed her family. Harry earned money from bare-knuckled boxing to attend college. He was instrumental in running the Mob out of Vegas and had at least one attempt on his life.
Then he got into politics and was exceptional at it. An LDS Democrat, he could work with anyone, but was iron behind his soft voice.
He championed Obamacare through in Senate, knowing that he was signing a death warrant for his re-election chances, because it was the right thing to do.
Then the GOP nominated a gibbering nutcase to run against him, and he was re-elected.
