vonx

The Byrds: There Is a Season [Columbia/Legacy; 2006]

There Is a Season, the latest in a seemingly endless string of Byrds anthologies, splits its four discs evenly between the two distinct phases of the band and presents a strange mix of hit singles, album tracks, live material (including five previously unreleased recordings), and obscurities ranging from B-sides to songs that only saw their first release on reissues and the original 1990 Byrds box. The huge book comes with a lengthy and painstakingly detailed essay by David Fricke that tells the band's story as well as I've seen it written, and includes a bonus DVD with some (lip-synched) 60s TV appearances. But it's hard to tell what the audience for the set is, given that hardcore Byrdmaniax won't find much new sound here. It's sort of like a really big best-of set. (van Pitchforkmedia.com)