Columbia Releases Long-Buried Byrds' "Live At The Fillmore--February 1969"

Byrds fans may appreciate CD-reissues of the band's psychedelic folk-rock and country-rock albums of the '60s, but nothing brings them to an eight-mile high like an unearthed concert recording. They may be able to reach that height with the Feb. 22 release of "Live at the Fillmore - February 1969" (Sony/Columbia), featuring sixteen tracks that were recorded less than a week after the release of "Dr. Byrd and Mr. Hyde."

When the 51 minutes of music were recorded at Bill Graham's famed Fillmore West, the Byrds had undergone many personnel changes. Founding members David Crosby, Chris Hillman, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke were long gone, leaving just Roger McGuinn. Gram Parsons, important in defining the Byrd's country-rock sound on "Sweetheart of the Rodeo," had come and gone. When the Byrds played the Fillmore on Feb. 7-8, 1969, the lineup included McGuinn, guitarist Clarence White, drummer Gene Parsons and bassist John York.

The Byrds, who usually headlined in the Bay Area, were just the opening act. "Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West" was meant for former Paul Butterfield Blues Band/The Electric Flag guitar god Mike Bloomfield, vocalist Nick Gravenites and keyboardist Mark Naftalin, loosely billed as The Jam. The shows were hastily booked to allow them to record a super-jam live album.

According to McGuinn, the engineers started taping the show a bit early, using the Byrds' performance as a sound check. Portions, but not all of their sets, were captured on tape.

History has left us a hackle-raising, 10-minute medley of "Turn! Turn! Turn!/Mr. Tambourine Man/Eight Miles High," bridging the early folk-rock years of the Byrds with their later raga-rock years. Other songs include "Drug Store Truck Drivin Years," "Wheels On Fire" and "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star."

Along with the "Live at the Fillmore" album, Sony/Columbia will release "(Untitled) / (Unissued)" on CD, a remastered version of the 1970 double-LP album, which contained one album of studio recordings and one album of live tracks. The second side of the live LP contained just one song--an extended 15-minute version of "Eight Miles High."

In addition to the original LPs' material, the CD version includes three alternative studio takes and three unreleased studio tracks, including a cover of Little Feat's "Willin'," the Lowell George chestnut. Of the eight live tracks, five are from New York's Felt Forum (March 1, 1970) and three from New York's Fillmore East (Sept. 25, 1970). There is also an unindexed bonus track, "Amazing Grace," a studio cut that has never been released.

The new live album and the remastered version of "(Untitled) / (Unissued)" will be joined by the remastered albums "Byrdmaniax" and "Farther Along," which each have three unreleased bonus tracks.