Why? (Single Version or"Younger Than Yesterday"&

Those who flock to The Byrds
budrocket
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Post by budrocket »

It's A Small World Part Deux: I see Gary Gutfeld also played drums for you all. I've known Gut since the 7th grade back in 19-*mumble*-*mumble*

bw
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
budrocket
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Post by budrocket »

Hey Paul - Douglas' "Banjo Album" is a GREAT record, in a world of Earl Scruggs imitators he's really one of a kind for a whole bunch of reasons that probably wouldn't much interest here on a Rickenbacker-oriented site (though he was one of the few to use a Ricky Bantar, i.e. the Monkees' "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round"). I especially like the chord changes on the B section of "Clinch Mountain Backstep," & listing the author of "Foggy Mtn. Breakdown" as one "Lester Scruggs" <g> Rodney produced that one.

An interesting factoid: "With Care From Someone" was written mostly by Douglas & Bernie Leadon, who were roommates for a time. Geno came over one day & heard them playing it, went home that night & put words & a melody to it...thus Dillard & Clark was born...

I'm seeing Doug & Rod Dillard this weekend at the Birchmere down in DC so if you have any questions about the LP I can pass 'em along...

bw
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
randyz
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Post by randyz »

Buddy: You mentioned Smalltown Parade of London. Didn't their line-up include Paul Bevoir? I've been listening to several of his CD's lately as well as a compilation of other associated bands (i.e. Jetset). He wrote some good tunes.
budrocket
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Post by budrocket »

Smalltown Parade basically *was* Paul Bevoir. Story goes he cut some demos, which spent a few weeks at the top of the BBC Demo Challenge show, & was offered a deal. At that point he called me & a couple other mates to help put together the band, & we all convened in London in the summer of '90 to get it going.

It's sort of like the story of the Grass Roots.

bw
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
randyz
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Post by randyz »

Thanks for the info. I happened upon his song 'Maybe Not' on an indie compilation and it blew me away, so I sought out some of his OOP solo discs. Always looking for good sounds...
beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

Small world, eh, Buddy? Gary is a very good Keith Moon-style drummer.

I'm somewhat familiar with Paul Bevoir and the Jetset. He contributed a song to one of Puffy (aka Puffy Amiyumi)'s Japanese albums.

(How interesting that this thread went on a wild tangent and ended up with references to the Jetset - which is the original name of the Byrds!!!)
budrocket
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Post by budrocket »

Glenn, thought you'd get a kick out of this old photo of Gut from our Mod days. I don't even want to tell you how long ago this was taken. The Who had Big Ben in the background on their first Lp, but in Hayward we had BIG MIKE! <g>

Apologies to disinterested readers that find this over-indulgent...we'll reign it in after this

bw
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"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

I love it!
mark_telfer
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Post by mark_telfer »

I slightly prefer the YTY version of Why?, not only to listen to but to play.

It's easier to control the strumming of the opening F# minors on the Rickenbacker and the suspended E major chords sound better too. Similarly, the dropped D tuning capoed at the second fret suits the Gretsch better. The bass line is far more imaginative too. There's something that happens when the bass line resolves itself at the end of the intro, that tells you that the album is coming to an end.

However, there's no doubting that the solo on the single version is quite stunning.

I'm guessing that the RCA version was on the 360/12's neck pickup, the single version was on the 360/12's bridge pickup and the YTY version was on the 370/12Byrd's middle pickup.
"But the man has a 47-string guitar." (Grace Slick on Paul Kantner's attempt to tune his 366/12 during a Winterland show of October 31 1969).
budrocket
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Post by budrocket »

> I'm guessing that the RCA version was
> on the 360/12's neck pickup, the single
> version was on the 360/12's bridge
> pickup and the YTY version was on
> the 370/12Byrd's middle pickup.

That's as good a guess as any. Also don't forget each producer had their own way of EQ'ing & mixing the 12-string, not to mention attack & release settings on the compressor(s). Melcher established the compressed/sustain sound, Stanton seemed to prefer something a little more snarly & neo-metallic, & Gary Usher liked to explore the mid-range of the instrument.

bw
"The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face."
242_foxtrot
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Post by 242_foxtrot »

Hey guys. I'll try to experiment on my modified Carl Wilson. I call the guitar a 370/12 CW BYRD. I'll give a listen to all the versions and try each pickup positions. Don should chime in. He's a huge McGuinn fan. He used to own a 68 360/12, (modified at the Rick factory) to a 370/12 BYRD. He has a 67 360/12 that's modified to look like a BYRD model. The guitar is wired so all pickups can be combined, or used one at a time.
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