Live At The Boarding House

This is surely an essential record to have for BYRD maniacs. Four of the five original Byrds reunite for one last time. I believe they did reunite when they were inducted in the R & R hall of Fame, but this is the last time they played both solo and Byrd music. Essentially, this might have been the formation of McGuinn, Clark, and Hillman. It comes via a radio broadcast from 1979. M,C, &H released their first Capital record in 1980, so this may have been a prelude.Clark,Hillman and McGuinn each perform solo pieces then start doing Byrds tunes. A lot of the Byrd tunes like Chestnut Mare did not have any original Byrds but McGuinn on them. But the X Byrds rise to the occasion and help Roger through these songs.David Crosby joins them on most of the songs they sing together, but does not sing any lead vocals. Missing is Drummer Michael Clarke. Still four out of five ain't bad. Another oddity is that McGuinn,Clark, and Hillman rotate on lead vocal for the full Dylan version of Mr. Tambourine man. This is odd in that only McGuinn and Crosby sang on the original recording. So this the only way you will hear all the Byrd vocalists do Mr, Tambourine Man.With the two Clarks gone, you realize, this music will never get this treatment again. So go for it. Gene Clark's two solo songs suffer from a quiet vocal over his guitar. Otherwise, quality is good in the recording.

This CD is a 2014 release of a 1978 live, mostly acoustic, date at San Francisco’s legendary Boarding House (1971-1980). The music originates from a radio broadcast and was never intended as a commercial release. No new musical ground is broken during the 67 minute concert. The set list comprises seventeen well honed numbers identified with each artist’s solo career and their collective work with the Byrds. The audio with few exceptions ranges from satisfactory to good.By 1978, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and David Crosby were a decade plus into their post Byrds career. Even Roger McGuinn is about five years into his solo career having placed the Byrds (as a regular recording/touring group) on the shelf following the untimely death of Clarence White.Hillman, Clark and McGuinn were wood shedding in small venues, polishing their chops in anticipation of recording and releasing their first album for Capitol Records.The” special guest”, David Crosby was experiencing an extended hiatus from the temporarily inactive CS&N. Crosby, the consummate performer, was always eager to get on stage and play.The set starts with two numbers associated with Gene Clark, “Silver Raven” and “Release Me Girl”. The artist is in fine voice, unfortunately, the sound is flawed. Gene’s voice is in the back of the mix while his guitar is over balanced. It’s a fair bet, if this was a commercial release, these two tracks would have been omitted.Chris Hillman is featured in the next two selections,” Bound To Fall’ and “It Doesn’t Matter”. The prior audio challenges resolved, Chris and the band deliver a stellar performance.Next, Mr. McGuinn delivers strong renditions of “Ballad of Easy Rider” and ‘Jolly Roger”. The band, properly warmed up, tackles” Chestnut Mare” ,”Crazy Ladies” and ”Train Leaves Here This Morning”. It’s at this point the listener experiences the full synergy of the band. The harmonies are tight and the playing is relaxed and flowing.David Crosby is then introduced and the four musicians proceed to play six classic Byrd’s hits. They also perform energetic versions of Dylan’s classic,”Knocking on Heavens Door “and Roger McGiunn’s composition” Bye Bye Baby”.Overall, the primary value of this recording is twofold. It allows the listener to hear original Byrd band members (sans Michael Clarke) performing an acoustic set with Roger predictably playing his Rick 12. The set is relaxed, with the band in fine form and the audience responding in a very enthusiastic manner.Secondly, the three numbers , starting with” Chestnut Mare”, performed by McGuinn, Clark and Hillman( MC&H), offer a glimpse into what could have been a lasting musical legacy.If properly produced, with an emphasis on the folk/rock/country genre, this musical entity(MC&H) could have conceivably placed somewhere between CS&N and The Eagles circa 1978.Unfortunately, Capitol records A&R management choose a glossy pop/rock direction. the end result were two modestly successful albums all but forgotten by all but the most dedicated fans.So it goes.

i have noticed more of these "bootleg" type offerings starting to pop up here on amazon lately, so i thought i would try one and this is my first... my review is for this cd not the players, since they are all hall of fame members, thats a no brainer. but as many of the reviews already have stated , the recording is barely passable and people should be aware of that fact before they contemplate this purchase. nice song selection and all the performers headlined get their moment in the spotlight but the recording quality is so marginal it is almost unlistenable in places. almost. for casual fans i would recommend skipping this one and invest in an official recording. for you fanatics out there, you will certainly what to consider adding this to your collection.

What a GREAT CD! Oh my God! This blows the Byrds reunion LP pn the Asylum label right out out of the water. Everybody is right on the mark; everybody gives it their all. Also of interest, there is no drummer, yet you don't miss the drumming. Despite the tiny type on the cover, David Crosby appears on quite a few of the cuts.If you are a Byrds fan, you truly need this CD. McGuinn, Hillmann, Crosby and especially Gene Clark get their moments in the limelight. I cannot recommend this CD enough. An excellent release. The only drawback is that Gene Clark's vocals are mixed way down on the first few cuts, almost as if his microphone was off and his vocals were being picked up by the other mics.Outside of that, I repeat, this a great CD. If you have the black box collection of The Byrds from around 1990, you are familiar with the three new cuts by McGuinn, Crosby and Hillmann. This CD is similar in feel, but has the blessed addition of Gene Clark.