Fifth Dimension (1966.) Byrds' third album.

By 1966, the Byrds had released two studio albums - Mr. Tambourine Man, and Turn! Turn! Turn!. Both of these studio albums demonstrated the group's ability to create excellent folk-rock that was easily among the finest of the day. And then, in 1966, the group had something totally unexpected happen - Gene Clark left the band. With Clark gone, Roger McGuinn, the guitar genius who had done so much for the band already, became more free to do the things he wanted to in the band. This caused the band to be lead in a new musical direction. Was it a good thing? Read on for my review of Fifth Dimension.

The Byrds have a ton of excellent album, and it's really hard for me to pick a favorite, but if you forced me to choose a favorite, there's a very good chance this would be the one I'd pick. After two albums of folk rock, the group began experimenting with psychedelic rock, which was becoming more and more popular in this day and age. What resulted from their experiments with this new style of music was what was, in my opinion, an album that surpassed their first two (both excellent albums in their own right! I admit, I'm a little prejudiced because I like psychedelic rock more than folk rock, but still, I stand by my opinion.) Many a Byrds classic emerged from this album, including the title track, Mr. Spaceman, and the controversial-but-still-cool Eight Miles High. This album beautifully demonstrates that the Byrds truly had no limits musically, and that they could quite literally do anything they would put their minds to, in a musical sense. What's truly incredible is that, on this album, EVERY SONG IS GREAT. While the first two albums had mostly excellent songs, no one can deny that they had a few fillers. Listen to songs like Wild Mountain Thyme, I See You, Captain Soul, John Riley and What's Happening?!?! and you'll see that the lesser-known songs on this album are certainly no fillers. The group even covers the blues classic Hey Joe (and this is a 1966 release, meaning they actually COVERED it a full year before Jimi Hendrix unleashed his version on the masses.) As hard as it maybe be to believe, I actually like the Byrds' take on the song more than Hendrix's (and I'm a Hendrix die-hard!) There isn't really anything else I can say. If you want to hear the Byrds at their best, get Fifth Dimension. No sixties rock collection is complete without it.

The Byrds catalogue got remastered and reissued. The reissued feature expanded liner notes and bonus tracks, making them superior to the original CD releases. THIS, my friends, is the way remastered albums should be done. It's just too bad that other record labels (Mercury, for example) aren't likely to follow the example set here.

It's hard to believe the psychedelic rock geniuses on this album are the same band that recorded the folksy Turn! Turn! Turn! LP just a year earlier - this sounds like it could be a different band entirely, in many aspect. If I keep talking, I'm going to start to ramble, so I'm just going to end it now. This is, more likely than not, the ultimate Byrds album, and it's also one of the defining albums of sixties rock and roll. I give this one my highest recommendation.

After two primarily folk-rock albums, the Byrds came out with...this! Even at first listen, the difference between "Fifth Dimension" and its predicessors is clear. The likely reason? Gene Clark's departure. Good, I was never really fan of Clark's compositions. With McGuinn at the reins, the Byrds combine their most inspiring original work ("5D," "Eight Miles High" and even "Mr. Spaceman") with beautiful traditional folk tunes ("Wild Mountain Thyme," "I Come and Stand at Every Door," "John Riley") for a beautifully majestic album. Thanks Roger! (PS- God, "Wild Mountain Thyme" is gorgeous!)

"Fifth Dimension" is a truly beautiful album that should've been the greatest album ever. Intelligent and masterful songs such as "5D", "I Come and Stand at Every Door", and "Eight Miles High" are some of the best ever recorded - "5D" is second only to "Sweet Jane" as my favorite song. If only the R&B throaway insturmental "Captain Soul" and "The Lear Jet Song" had been excused. "Captain Soul" isn't bad, but it doesn't mesh well with the other songs on the album. It is a totally different sound that sticks out like a missing tooth. "The Lear Jet Song" is nice and cleaver, but ultimately pointless. The album would have worked better if they were replaced by "Why?" and "Psychodrama City", which are both bonus tracks on the remastered reissue from Columbia / Legacy. If the Byrds had done this, "Fifth Dimension" would be perfect, the sequencing and sound of all the songs would've been similar to "Velvet Underground & Nico" (a truly great album).

That being said, every other song on this album is a masterpeice. They are perfectly arranged and with thought-provoking lyrics, being extremly influential on psychadelic rock. "5D" is an incredible tribute to the human imagination and psyche. As another reviewer noted, this isn't the most consistant work by the Byrds, but is probably their greatest.

In my musical opinion, this was the first best album by THE BYRDS, despite the departure of singer and harmonica player GENE CLARK. Although he got to write EIGHT MILES HIGH and I KNOW MY RIDER with ROGER MCGUINN and DAVID CROSBY, he also should have earned a co-writing credit for the group written instrumental CAPTAIN SOUL, since he contributed outstanding harmonica riffs. The title track is a excellent beginner for this album with the tone of ROGER's 12-string RICKENBACKER sounding the same as the the live performances of UNTITLED/UNISSUED, the harmony vocals of CHRIS HILLMAN and DAVID CROSBY. The group arranged WILD MOUNTAIN THYME is an excellent sequel with the orchestra and harmony vocals. The next two songs MR. SPACEMAN and I SEE YOU kick the album into high speed overdrive. ROGER delivers a excellent guitar solo on MR. SPACEMAN, and DAVID delivers excellent lead vocal on I SEE YOU with ROGER's psychodelic gutar riffs. WHAT'S HAPPENNING is also a great song written and song by DAVID, and the next song is good, but could be better. Now, we are EIGH MILES HIGH with the intro bass guitar by CHRIS, DAVID and ROGER's blasting psychodelic guitar riffs and the harmony vocals of ROGER and DAVID. It is unfortunate about the allegations of how this song and the title track were written about drugs. Meanwhile,DAVID's arrangement of HEY JOE that would later became a hit for JIMI HENDRIX has the album still in motion. The riffs of CHRIS's bass guitar , DAVID's electrifying rhythm guitar, ROGER's 12-string guitar, and MICHEAL CLARKE's drums keep the instrumental CAPTAIN SOUL on the go. On the other hand, I think that the harmonica played by GENE CLARK is the highlight of this song. The next song JOHN RILEY is an excellent song with the intro guitar by ROGER and the orchestra in the background, and then we on a plane trip with THE BYRDS during 2-4-2 FOX TROT (THE LEAR JET SONG) in the intro guitar by DAVID, ROGER's guitar solo and the harmony vocals. As for the bonus tracks, I have always loved this version of WHY better than the YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY version. This version has a more refreshing sound of the vocals by ROGER and DAVID and the band's musical contributions. I KNOW MY RIDER is a outstanding rock song with the harmony vocals and the ROGER's guitar solo, and DAVID CROSBY's PSYCHODRAMA CITY is an excellent song too. The RCA versions of EIGHT MILES HIGH and WHY are good, but the quality of the music to these songs do not match up to the true magic of the original versions. Meanwhile, this fast-paced instrumental version of JOHN RILEY keeps the album in motion, and then comes the bonus interview with JIM MCGUINN (that's how he says his name) and DAVID CROSBY. One more point, I do not understand why DAVID never sang a lead vocal on their first two albums, since he had an amazing voice.

The only song that sounds FAIRLY good is "Wild mountain thyme" (and thats still just a cover). The byrds are great - when they do folk rock. Here they obviously tried to be "different" and "original" and whatsever. Most of the songs got no melody, they are just failed hippie experiments. And just listen to "Captain soul"! Sounds like children in elementary school that just have learned taking blues chords. Im so embarrased I own this record!