The Byrds - 1972-01-16 - London, UK (SBD)

The Byrds 

1972-01-16

The Rainbow Thetre

London UK

Soundboard Recording

320 kbps

Artwork Included

01. Lover Of The Bayou

02. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

03. Mr Spaceman

04. Buglar

05. I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician

06. My Back Pages > Baby What You Want Me To do

07. Black Mountain Rag

08. Mr Tambourine Man

09. Pretty Boy Floyd

10. Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms

11. Tiffany Queen

12. Chestnut Mare

13. Jesus Is Just Alright

14. Chimes Of Freedom

15. Eight Miles High

16. Nashville West

17. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better

18. Roll Over Beethoven   

19. Hold It

The Byrds - 1972-01-16 - London, UK (SBD)

In early 1972, The Byrds played 4 shows in Europe, 2 in Paris and 2 in London. It would be the last time the band would play overseas prior to their break up in 1973. While the line up of Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Skip Battin and Gene Parsons continued to shine on stage, their fortunes in the studios were in decline. Neither of their 1971 albums, Byrdmaniax nor Farther Along, had fared well on the charts in either the US or the UK. Critical reviews of both albums were often times scathing. For example, Richard Green of the NME wrote "When the true history of rock comes to be written, The Byrds will get a deserved place of honour on the strength of tunes like Mr. Tambourine Man, Eight Miles High, and So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star. Hopefully the writer will not have listened to Byrdmaniax or he may drastically alter his opinion."  Eventually, the studio failures took their toll on the Byrds. Gene Parsons would be dismissed from the band in July 1972. , Roger McGuinn would cancel all touring after February 1973.  An attempt to reunite the original 5 Byrds stalled when their album of new material was met with poor reviews. In July 1973, Clarence White was tragically killed by a drunk driver. That same month, McGuinn released a solo album, effectively putting an end to The Byrds. Download this soundboard recording from January 16, 1972, 4 decades ago today, therefore, to hear Te Byrds' last hurrah before the band faded into rock history.