Review: Mr. Tambourine Man

 Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds

Rating: 8/10 (Very good)

Track Listing (highlights are bolded):

1. "Mr. Tambourine Man"

2. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better"

3. "Spanish Harlem Incident"

4. "You Won't Have to Cry"

5. "Here Without You"

6. "The Bells of Rhymney"

7. "All I Really Want to Do"

8. "I Knew I'd Want You"

9. "It's No Use"

10. "Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe"

11. "Chimes of Freedom"

12. "We'll Meet Again"

Review:

The impact this album had on the realm of popular music is impossible to deny. Whether you find the jangly sound the perfect insomnia medicine or breathtakingly beautiful, fusing contemporary pop-rock music by the Beatles, Beach Boys, Hollies, etc. with Dylan and folk stylistics was not just novel but a revolution. Yes, this "danceable folk music" was for young (introverted) teenagers, but this could be also enjoyed by adults and intellectuals alike. At once, pop music became a more serious affair, and it paved the way for other bands and artists to increase the artistic stakes of their own music. Although they weren't the first ones to experiment with this sound (the Searchers most notably), they were by far the most important purveyors of the style, launching the whole 60s folk-rock scene with the Lovin' Spoonful, Mamas & Papas, and so many others. Even Dylan himself was influenced by how the Byrds covered his own music.

That's all well and good, but you probably don't care about that, right? The influence was important back in 1965, but who really cares about that today? Ever since the 60s, the singer-songwriter boom of the 70s and the college-rock scene of the 80s-90s took place that seriously increased the sophistication of this style. Is the album still worth listening to today?

If you go in with the right frame of mind, absolutely. With a bit of adjustment, it can become a heart-stoppingly gorgeous record. McGuinn's jangle is one of the most beautiful sounds to come out of the decade. It glistens with heavenly perfection, yet it feels humanistic and personal like all good folk music should. Although future jangle-pop guitarists like Peter Buck and Johnny Marr would explore new dimensions of this style, it is hard to argue that anyone has ever surpassed the sonic perfection created here. Along with this, the stately perfection of those three-part vocal harmonies is unmatched. It doesn't matter what kind of material they play: as long as those two ingredients are there, it will sound wonderful.

Yet, it is those exact two ingredients that can lead to frustration. Even after you adapt the sound, the album is extremely monotonous with barely any shifts in style or mood. It's a great style and mood, of course, but it makes the record very limited in emotional expression when the band could do so much more. This might have been excusable if the songwriting and idea pool was diverse, but it's also lacking in that regard as well. 4 Dylan covers, 3 other covers, and 5 originals, and practically all of them (with two exceptions) are played with the exact same sound and mood. I've probably heard each song at least 20-30 times by now, and I still cannot tell some of them apart. In short, it's a mood piece and a near-great one at that, but when a lot of artists have expanded upon this since then, it's hard to hold the opinion of the record being a classic.

All forgiven in the end though. It is only a debut, and the band would improve upon the sound presented here on future records. Besides, the album doesn't have a single truly weak song and has a handful of classics. The most iconic one, of course, is the title track, one of the best Dylan covers ever recorded. The most incredible aspect of the cover is how it poppifies the original while still preserving the aching, haunting spirit of the original, jangle light and airy without overwhelming the vocals. The solo section for McGuinn's vocals was an important touch as well. He cannot match the tender performance of the master himself, but he sang it with humble sincerity that made it personal and relatable. I'm not going to argue whether this version surpasses the original: it doesn't, but it explores a new direction for the song that has to be commended. 

Sadly, that magic touch was not repeated on the other three Dylan covers. Their renditions of "Spanish Harlem Incident" and "All I Really Want To Do" are very nice, but the way that Dylan would stretch and warp each syllable is what made both so lovely in the first place. Without the vocal charm, they become rather ordinary folk-rock songs. Their version of "Chimes of Freedom" is better but unfortunately misinterprets the song. Dylan's original is intimate as if he was sitting at his bedside envisioning the chaotic world and finding a way to comprehend it. McGuinn mistakes it for an assertive protest anthem and sings each verse as a declaration, causing the song to feel imbalanced throughout. Good attempt, but it doesn't exactly make the grade for me. At least the other traditional folk/country covers here are really strong, especially "Bells of Rhymney," where the sonic bliss of the band's sound amplifies the spiritual power of the song.

Thankfully, this album isn't solely Dylan covers. Gene Clark's compositions are already showing promise, and one could argue that he never truly surpassed the general level of songwriting here. Each of his songs at least has a solid hook, and on "It's No Use," the kickass riff makes the sharpest and darkest part of the album. The pinnacle of songwriting is "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better," a very successful merger of Beatlesque pop and their folksy jangle. In fact, this is perhaps the song that demonstrated to the Beatles that the texture of a pop song can be just as important as the hook. Remove McGuinn's guitar and the harmonies and you're left with merely a solid piece of 60s pop music. What makes it special is how McGuinn gives it a very ornamented jangle, where each note sounds like a ray of sunshine beaming on your face. It's so easy to get caught up in the beauty and speed of the song that you almost forget about the melody itself. Would "Norwegian Wood" and "If I Needed Someone" be the same without this song? I have my doubts.

All and all, the album does have value besides being a landmark in the history of popular music. Others (including themselves) have built upon what they created, but the freshness and beauty of this record are still treasurable more than 50 years later. It may not be perfect, but who could resist that delicious Rickenbacker tone? If anything, we should all be thankful that they had enough songwriting capability to build upon this folksy majesty over the next three years. Recommendable to all fans of folk-rock, jangle-pop, and 60s rock/pop music, but it might be wiser to hear albums like Younger Than Yesterday before this one.